ERE is another acronym to keep up to date with. It stands for Education for Responsible Entrepreneurship which is
“an alternative approach to enterprise education”. “These troubled economic times mean that we need enterprising people now more than ever. Fresh thinkers who spot opportunities, apply their entrepreneurial talents and overcome the obstacles to make their ideas happen.”
This idea is said to be filling a much-needed gap in more conventional enterprise education and bringing it more clearly into the 21st century as well as fitting well with new major political policies and support. It is based on a 4-part approach – the social, cooperative, sustainable and global/local. It aims to provide an alternative approach to enterprise education with its focus on social enterprise providing results that help wider society. It also explores an alternative governance structure to the hierarchical and sometimes undemocratic focus on the single Director. Its focus on sustainability especially in the management of waste and energy, is something that all businesses from the largest to the smallest are having to address both through self-interest on their bottom line, as well as customer and political demands. Lastly it provides a perspective on trade, partnerships and communities of interest that focus on the required balance between globalisation and localisation. This 4-part approach, the project says, is firmly part of the new and emerging social and green economies which future generations of employees and enterprises are having to recognise and understand.
So for the last two years the EU has funded the ERE project which is “now ready to be widely taken up by teachers”.
There are four parts:
- A free downloadable Guide to Education for Responsible Entrepreneurship in three languages. The Guide includes a description of the approach in four parts, together with case studies, simple activities, weblinks to downloadable publications and videos.https://sites. .google.com/site/veereproject/
teachers-guide
- An open educational resource website which enables any teacher to network with others about their own alternative approach to enterprise education. The site includes the downloadable guide, details of the teacher’s workshops and conference, presentations, and a review of curricula and qualifications.https://sites.google.com/site/
veereproject/home
- A YouTube Channel with 20 or so short videos, mainly in English) mentioned in the Guide on Education for Responsible Entrepreneurship. The channel includes a wide range of videos in English that could be used with students. https://www.youtube.com/
playlist?list= PLpxEnZ8KQnA4nDKUtrmI3BzpCtfP6 pjbI
- A small European network, based on the website, which will communicate about forthcoming events, and act as a platform for discussion etc.
The coordinator is Adam Cade who can be contacted at adam@susted.org.uk