The South East European Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning is an independent, non-profit institution founded in 2009 on the initiative of eight (8) South East European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey.

 

Keen on ensuring a more definite contribution of education to their competitive standing, the countries of South Eastern Europe have signed up to a number of benchmarks which aim to promote more developed learning economies. Enshrined within the European Charter for Small Enterprise and the Small Business Act for Europe, lifelong entrepreneurial learning stands apart as a specific area for development.

 

SEECEL has an international governing board composed of appointed representatives from eight SEECEL member states (one from the ministry of education and one from the ministry responsible for the implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe) and representatives of the European Commission's DG Enlargement and DG Enterprise and Industry, the European Training Foundation, the Regional Cooperation Council and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. From its establishment SEECEL operates in the regional environment by involving the national authorities and experts in its activities.

From 2013 SEECEL also is applying the principle of secondment and based on this experience further encourages the equal opportunities of employment of experts coming from the region. SEECEL is also an active member in various working groups and thematic forums established under different macro-regional strategies, such as Danube Strategy and South East European 2020 Strategy, as well as reference point for various EU bodies and their expert working groups.SEECEL is born based on the expression of need of the pre-accession countries for institutionalisation of the regional dialogue and targeted cooperation in the field of entrepreneurial learning, within the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA), under Principles 1 and 8.
As a unique regional initiative and being funded by the European Commission through IPA multi-beneficiary programme, SEECEL enjoys the full support of its 8 SEE member countries that have come together for the purposes of co-working developments in entrepreneurial learning.
Consequently, future SEECEL growth and development presupposes continued EU commitment to the pre-accession enlargement process of the SEE region, and establishment of structures to support this process, while backing up this commitment with specific EU programs and fund structures. Among 8 SEECEL member countries, Croatia has joined the EU in July 2013. As a new frontier country Croatia assumes additional responsibility for further stabilization of the region as well as the integration of the region with EU. This is spelled out as one of the three priorities of Croatian foreign policy that has been aligned with EU foreign policies. In light of this, SEECEL and its member countries shall benefit from Croatian EU membership as it has access to substantially larger resources, from which all of the member countries shall benefit.

SEECEL continues to mobilise collective efforts and participation in addressing issues related to the entrepreneurial learning agenda under the Small Business Act of Europe.  Multiple countries benefiting from single mutually coordinated programme want to move this agenda forward in a socially, politically and cost effective manner.

 

Source: SEECEL