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Sudipta Santra,19 yo, Responsibility Step, LPC Howrah, Kolkata, India I usually go for a walk on my rooftop in the afternoon. I get up to draw on my roof. I climbed to see the different houses in my neighborhood in different zones, to see many plants around, to see factories, to see water tanks from other houses, to see bridges and the best view is for me to see the open sky all around with the kites on each side. Most of the time, I go to the rooftop in the evening or in the afternoon, because the light is beautiful. I like these feelings, this is something very good . During this lockdown, I can not go anywhere else to hang out so when I feel like going to the roof, I feel better. I can see an open sky over my head.

Shabana Shaikh, 22 yo, Autonomy Step LPC Malwani, Mumbai, India Respected Coaches and dear friends, I am Shabana Shaikh, I work in Finance department. I want to start my speech with a question : how did I land in LP4Y ? The answer is very simple. It is because of my desire, or you can say hunger, to improve my English and also to learn some basics of computer. In fact some section of people speak fluent English but there are some section of people like me who has desire to speak English fluently but has lack of confidence and no idea how to use the words in proper order to form sentences. But the hunger to improve landed me here. If I honestly tell you all how my first day in the center was, it was not good at all. Whatever our coaches were telling, those things were just revolving around my head but I didn’t get anything. That was my first day experience, we all know every brain is different but today I am just sharing my own experience, observation and understanding in my own words. Next day I didn’t stop, I attended all the classes and the process kept going on. Gradually I learnt how to convert complex things into simple ones. That was the beginning of my learning, or you can say that step was the autonomy step at chich you start learning related about your stuffs with time. I keep on improving and our Coaches also noticed that improvement and they felt that I am reliable so they promoted me to enter in the next step which is responsibility. If I reached that step it doesn’t mean I conquered my target because my target is still and it’s my challenge, to speak English fluently, so guys what do you think about it ? Were this possible without any guidance ? The answer is no. It becomes possible only because of our Coaches, who guided me, supported me and helped me to clear my doubts for their dedication to work and support. I want to salute them and and I want to thank you to all our Coaches from the deep of my heart. At the end I want to say nothing is impossible, have patience, believe in yourself and keep alive the hunger of learning then impossible will say I am possible. Thank you Coaches and thank you all for hearing my long speech.

Don't miss anything about this brand new LP4Y's project in India!

The Youth Lab Team in Paris shares with us about their new place in Saint-Ouen and the coming projects to develop innovative solutions towards Youth inclusion. Jeanne Vigouroux, Saint-Ouen, France Since 2019, the Youth Lab Paris has been located in the Cité des Tilleuls, in Le Blanc Mesnil (93). A great opportunity for the team to be at the heart of the exclusion and make a diagnostic, understand inclusion related issues for the Youth in Seine-Saint-Denis and launch the project. Nevertheless, we were looking for a larger spot to make it a real Catalysts’ living and working place, and an open space for welcoming our training and events. Thanks to Société Générale, we found the perfect location : in a previous bank agency, closed and vacant for a few years. The place is accessible by the Paris metro, in Saint-Ouen, one of the cities of Seine-Saint-Denis. For the year to come and hopefully more, we benefit from it for free! The plan is to permanently establish the Youth Lab there, and find local grants to develop the project on the long-term. Renovating, painting, furnishing … It was a challenging undertaking. Arriving in August 2021, 4 catalysts started to take on this challenge. With the support of a few heroes, the Youth Lab team was ready to welcome fresh catalysts two months later in a beautiful, professional and warm environment. Some of you already visited us and can testify of the fruitfulness this community place enables. Seine-Saint-Denis has one of the 10 highest unemployment rates among French metropolitan departments. It mainly affects Youth : 28% of people aged from 18 to 24 years old are unemployed and do not have any qualification there. Yet, there is a lot of job creation, more than the national average. Inadequate qualifications, unserved neighborhoods, lack of public transportation, lack of “soft skills”, self-censorship, discriminations … are identified causes that do not enable the department's dynamism to benefit its inhabitants. Furthermore, there is a large social ecosystem, but if the impact is low, we can wonder if the cooperation between them is enough. Center for the development of innovative solutions to support the professional and social integration of excluded Youth : we aim at filling this gap. One of the main missions of the Lab is capacity building: organizing events to connect local actors and share good practices about Youth social and professional inclusion. The objective is to encourage dialogue and meetings between various local inclusion stakeholders, and work together on the development of innovative solutions. More than ever, nonprofits, policy-makers, corporates have to collaborate for change. We must capitalize on good practices put in place by each of us at the local level. So that tomorrow, each innovative method can be replicated and inspire new practices to foster the inclusion of young adults living in the 93. The next in-person roundtable gathering local inclusion stakeholders will happen on November 17th. As we are overall a sending organization, a series of inclusion training is coming : the what’s now event to accompany the catalysts back from the field in December, the inception training in January and the welcome weeks in February for the fresh catalysts on the departure. The 2021-2022 capacity building and training events calendar is planned : you will be able to discover it on our fresh new website very soon, stay tuned ! Befores and Afters - (Kitchen, dormitory & training room)

For the opening night of the new edition of the auction sales of works of art for LP4Y, Albane & Thomas (PL Pedagogy South east Asia & Coach of GV West Bengal) were present. Catalysts, in France before their departure for the Philippines where they will continue their missions, they gave a testimony about their experience on the field, in India. Laure Delaporte, cofounder of LP4Y, shared success stories of Youth. To know more about Together we ART check on the website : https://www.togetherweart.com

Gerlie Mile Eula GV Calauan, The Phillipines Meet Gerlie and hear about her incredible journey from LP4Y to EuroAsia. Many young people get their first office job after college. I am not one of those who had this path. I am not a college graduate. I only finished senior high school. At the time, I thought about pursuing college, but we didn’t have enough money to fulfill all my needs for college. Even if I took a lot of part-time jobs and did product selling on the side, it would not be enough. And so, my parents and I decided that I would stop school and start working. At 19 years old, I became the breadwinner of our family of 11. My mother was also sick, so I understood why we had to make a difficult decision. That is why I used our life situation as motivation. I told myself that I will not let poverty control my life. Instead of doing nothing, I needed to find a solution. I needed to stay positive and continue my dreams. I believe in myself; I know I can make it. With this, I decided to join Life Project 4 Youth, an NGO in our area. There, through training and seminars, I was coached on how to be professional. They made sure that we, the youths in LP4Y, were ready when the time came for us to leave and find our own path. Gerlie (Third from left, middle row) with her LP4Y group. After 1 year of LP4Y training, I had to start my job search. I was nervous; I didn’t know if there would be a company that would accept me for my knowledge and skills. But, I always said to myself that if any opportunity came into my life, I would give my 100% effort. I remember getting mixed emotions on my first day to find a job. I sent out my resume to many companies and online job portals for vacancies that I thought fit my qualifications. That day, I received a phone call. I was shaking, but they said it was normal. After our conversation, the interviewer said I was not qualified; that they wanted someone who had better qualifications and has a college diploma. My heart sank. It was my first interview and I failed. But I did not let this affect me too much. From the start, I was prepared that this could happen. I accepted it right away and moved on. The next day, I had my second phone interview but still failed. They wanted someone with professional experience, which I did not have. Still, I needed to be positive and to continue my search. I’m a believer and a fighter. I needed to prove that even with my situation, I can still work. I reached my 10th phone interview, but still, I was rejected because of the same reasons. As anyone in my situation would feel, I was frustrated. It seemed that the universe did not want to give me a chance because I was not enough. My break came when I was contacted by Euroasia Executive Search, one of the companies that hosted our company visit and mock interviews while in LP4Y training. I was told I made a good impression when I was interviewed, and they wanted to hire me! I was so shocked and so happy at the same time! After all the disappointments, there was still this opportunity for me. I thought I would just keep on dreaming and hoping for something like this. But God gave it, and I am so blessed. When I started with EESI, my task and responsibilities were mainly administrative. Eventually, I realized that I wanted to be in recruitment. I knew I would be productive in recruitment. But I was also embarrassed and scared because I didn’t know if I was good enough. This was my first time to leave my comfort zone. And yet, I said yes to it. I am grateful and happy I accepted, and I am continually giving my best because I know this is the way for opportunities to come. Gerlie with the Euroasia family at their 2019 Christmas party. My job hunting experiences gave me valuable lessons, which I’d like to share with other job seekers. If you feel now what I felt before, I leave you this message: It is perfectly normal to feel hopeless at some point. We all go through this phase. I think it’s difficult to always be 100% positive about ourselves. But it’s normal to at times have doubts about ourselves, about what we are good at if we are competent or just good for nothing. What matters is that you are able to step back and that you do not let your negative emotions get the best of you. I hope that throughout your job hunting, you will hold the belief that there is a company out there willing to trust you, appreciate your efforts, and give you the opportunity that you have long wished for. Just wait for your perfect timing. And once it comes, grab it. Give your 100%. It might take longer, but trust that God has a plan for you. As long as you are motivated and you are open, believe that you deserve to receive more than you wish for. More importantly, don’t let your education level and self-doubt dictate or lead your life. That’s why you need to be strong and trust yourself first. Learn how to protect yourself from things that may give you heartaches and disappointments. In the end, you will realize that those heartaches are challenges you have actually overcome. Now, I still keep learning and being curious, and I don’t plan to stop. I know that there are still a lot of things that I need to know, and I am hopeful about my future. And wherever the opportunities take me, I will always bring all the experiences and lessons that my past taught me. Testimony released on the EESI website

Claire-Marie Beyet, Project Manager YIN Philippines Claire-Marie and Alexia Gaube tell us more about the Youth Inclusion Network and underline the importance of committed companies in the integration of excluded Young Adults! The Youth Inclusion Network : Let's work together for the future of the Youth! The YIN is a network of companies committed to the inclusion of Youth from excluded backgrounds. The network brings together socially progressive companies that wish to reduce poverty and fight exclusion. Created in March 2016, in the Philippines, at the initiative of Life Project For Youth Foundation, the YIN is now implanted in Vietnam (2018), Nepal and India (2021). Bangladesh, Europe and the USA may also soon join the network... We are 2 Project Managers (PM) taking care of the network. Our main challenges? Recruiting new companies, answering to national and international needs from the companies (COVID-19 pandemic and employment for instance) and remaining as attractive as possible! To date the YIN gathers 35 generous companies that are willing to increase the employment of the excluded youth, fight against exclusion and reduce poverty in general. Our role as PM is to interact with each company, to organise activities with them (company visits, training, mock interviews, …). A real life-changing experience as it allows us to prepare and facilitate Youth Inclusion while learning from all these companies (Ikea, Decathlon, Sodexo,...)! The last international event we organised was in February, the opening of the YIN in India. 60 participants from different countries, some amazing testimonies from Youth and CEOs/HR on youth inclusion, and high level debates: the perfect combination for a successful event! More recently, at a national level, we had the pleasure of organising with H&M Philippines a company visit for the Youth of multiples NGOs. This online event (COVID-19...) allowed 148 youth to take part in the visit! For more details about this initiative and how to join it: https://www.yinglobal.org/ - contact@yinglobal.org

Discover the favorite places and people of the Vietnam Catalysts in their environment. Hanoi, LPC Ngọc Hà Cafe Cường, Hồ Hữu Tiệp lake " My favorite place is the coffee shop near the lake. It's like a signature place of LPC Ngọc Hà as we spend most of the time there having lunch, LPC meeting, playing cards, etc." Phuong Dinh, Community Mobilizer LPC Ngọc Hà, Hanoi, 2020 "The coffee Cường is one of my favorite place around the LPC Ngoc Ha. It is located around a very nice and quiet lake 1 minute walk from the LPC. I loved to come there in the morning to eat a Bánh mì (breakfast Vietnamese sandwich), drink a Cà phê sữa đá (vietnamese coffee with concentrated milk and ice) and enjoy the view. The owners were so lovely and always made fun of me when I was trying to pronounce Vietnamese words. It was the perfect way to start the day. We also used to spend our lunch time with the other Catalysts there, it was our QG!" Alexia Blot, Coordination Support, Coach Bread & Smiles 2 Hanoi, Country Coordinator, 2018-2020 "My favorite place was for sure the coffee shop near the lake and their delicious yoghurt coffee, early in the morning with the beauty of the sunrise on the lake or at lunch with the volunteers!" Robin Noël, Coach Bread & Smiles LPC Ngọc Hà, Hanoi, 2017-2018 Ngọc Hà Market "My favorite place around the LPC is the local market, I was afraid to go at first because it is so busy and I had trouble to communicate, but now it is a pleasure to interact with my favorite seller and practice some Vietnamese." Isaline Marmontel, Coach of Bread & Smiles 2 LPC Ngọc Hà, Hanoi, 2020 Mama Shop "My favorite place around LPC Ngọc Hà was Mama Shop. A little shop owned by a woman called Minh, where I spent many little moments buying groceries, but most of all, trying to talk to this amazing woman, that was really patient, trying to teach me some Vietnamese words, and using some french words she knew. She was our Vietnamese mama!" Lobna Tolba, Coach Bread & Smiles 2 LPC Ngoc Ha, Hanoi, 2019-2020 Hồ Trúc Bạch lake "My favorite place is the Hồ Trúc Bạch lake, we sometimes go there to do Swan pedalo boat, have a drink together on the small boats and watch the sunset!" Antoine Dutour, Coach of Bread & Smiles 1 LPC Ngọc Hà, Hanoi, 2019-2020 Hanoi, LPC Song Hong "My favorite place around LPC Song Hong was the Ca Phe 93. A family-owned coffee shop where all the community used to gather for lunch, dinner, a drink, to watch a soccer game, etc. A great spot to unwind and share good times with the community!" Gautier Renault, Coach of Woodies LPC Song Hong, Hanoi, 2016-2017 "My favorite place was the local bakery and all the street restaurant around the center. We went there every day. It was a good way to meet local people and share a good moment together." Pauline Mignot-de Valence, Coach Woodies, LPC Song Hong, Hanoi, 2015-2016 "My favorite place was the Bia Hoi. Sit on the street and drink a beer discovering the community" Adrien Mignot, Coach Bread & Smiles LPC Song Hong, Hanoi, 2015-2016 "The little coffeeshop on the lake in Hanoi where we had lunch most of the time, the seafood street restaurant in District 8 where people come with friends and family and are always so welcoming, willing to even invite you, or the bench where I used to sit between a tiny messy shop and a banh mi stand, both of the owners always giving me the most beautiful smiles." Roxane Durand, Support Hanoi, Coach Bread & Smiles LPC Bong Sao and Vietnam Coordinator, 2017-2019 HCMC, LPC Quán Tâm, District 8 "My favorite place would be a little coffee place on the road Phạm Thế Hiển literally in the motorbikes where we would always get our Cafe Sua Da to a lady that was very nice had her whole family around a 2 almost twin boys with whom we would always hang around and play! They were schoolless and ended up joining the Dragon Dance!" Jean-Baptiste Merieux, Coach Bread & Smiles LPC Quán Tâm, Vietnam Coordinator, 2017-2018 "The Market in the street, the coffee shops, the seafood place that made me discover I really like seafood :)" Eugénie Maman, Coach Bread & Smiles LPC Quán Tâm, 2017-2018 "Seafood and a fresh drink in the market street was definitely a blest." Chloé Cresp, Coach Lanterns & Lights, LPC Quán Tâm, 2018-2019 HCMC, LPC North Saigon, Gò Vấp District (Hồ Chí Minh) Phuong's Bia hơi "My favorite place was Phuong's Place. It's a Bia hơi which has been open at the very beginning of our mission. We've become very close with the owner and all the community around it. We were feeling like home at his place! How many times did we go there after a hard day or just to enjoy the food and fresh drink? A lot of marvelous moments together thanks to this place!" Hortense and Thibaut Coz, Coach Bread & Smiles LPC North Saigon, HCMC, 2019-2020 * Bia hơi: Vietnamese street restaurant Coffee Phin Điện "The coffee Phin Điện is one of my favorite places, around the park, a lot of children running around, the place where the neighborhood gathers for a coffee, play card and count their life. For me, it has been a place I met a lot of people, I read books and wrote down my feelings when I needed. All of this with sweet Vietnamese of French music and the best Vietnamese Coffee." Alice Delannoy, Coordination Support LPC North Saigon, HCMC, 2019-2020 "My favorite place is the park near our center. There are a lot of shops with lots of nice neighbors. I never expected the local community treated me and other volunteers friendly and generously like that before. I miss having lunch and coconut there after I finished my mission a lot." Linh Tran, Community Mobilizer LPC North Saigon, 2019-2020 Cần Thơ, Green Village Mekong J.Coffee 1980 "My favorite place was the J.Coffee 1980 around the lake in Cần Thơ. Just sit there with a book, some friends & a beer was my peaceful moment to rest and observe the daily life of the Mekong Delta local community." Daphné Fradin, Project Manager Mobilization, Green Village Mekong, Cần Thơ, 2019-2020 Streets along rivers "Streets along rivers like this one are typical from Mekong delta. They are my favorite place in Can Tho because its the best place for a long walk, you can observe on side fishers and boats, on the other side garden fruits and smalls houses with families eating outside. You collect smiles all along your way and you end your walk relaxed and peaceful. To me, this is really Mekong delta vibes." Lisa Bonnion, Green Village Leader, Green Village Mekong, Cần Thơ, 2019-2020

The partners of LP4Y in Vietnam share with us their vision of entrepreneurship Arthur Michoux, Général Manager, Gameloft Ashwin Gowrishankar, City Leader, Decathlon I am Ashwin from Decathlon. Some of you know us, Decathlon is a sports product designer, manufacturer and retailer. Our goal is to sustainably make the pleasure and benefits sports accessible! It might sound like a lot of complicated words but what it really means that we believe that sports should be a right for the many and not a privilege for a few. To make this a reality, we apply this “golden rule” to every action we do and every decision we make. You might have noticed that there was a word “sustainably” in our goal. This word is essential, as for us it means sustainable in terms of our human beliefs and sustainable in terms of protecting our planet. I arrived in HCMC 4 years ago and one thing stood out to me - Talent and Potential. Potential - of the market for sports and Talent - when I saw how entrepreneurial the Vietnamese people are. Let’s focus on Entrepreneurship as I think its the topic for the day. For me, I have had the chance to live among different cultures and I often like to think of links between them. Entrepreneurship comes from from the french word - “Entreprendre” which also comes from the Latin word “Entre” which means “between” and “prehendere” which means “to take”. Interestingly, it is also similar to the Sanskrit word (which is closer to my origins) “anthaprerna” which means “self-motivation”. For me, the modern meaning of entrepreneurship is thus “motivating oneself for taking charge”. And this is what I saw in Ho Chi Minh City. This is what made me come to this city and this is what makes me stay here. I’ve often said the most exciting part of my team here is that each one has the entrepreneurial spirit and the most challenging part of managing my team is that each one has too much entrepreneurial spirit. We have some examples of our running market manager who also sells avocados on facebook! Entrepreneurs need no qualifications because it is something “in” you but they need skills and methods to make sure they have the best shot at success. This is where I believe that LP4Y is a fantastic partner with a real technique of teaching these skills through your different stages of the program. This was the principal reason for which we felt we should work together. In Decathlon, we believe that talent can come from anywhere, and as far as possible that we should give chances to shine to people no matter where they come from or what background they have. The key for us is the shared values and attitudes of a sportsman - autonomous, responsible and dynamic - wanting to win! We have worked with LP4Y in a small but concrete manner. We just started our business in Vietnam 4 years ago, and right from the beginning, we wished to create this link. Our first concrete action was to install a basketball hoop in the Go Vap center - which I took a lot of pleasure to do personally and to meet everyone there. Then we had some basketball lessons given by our Decathlon teammates who like this sport. We believe that through sport we can also learn so we tried to contribute where we felt we were credible > on the sports field. Next, we also welcomed some interns who were a part of my team for a few weeks and who worked on different topics - including Design and market study and finally, when we opened our store, we have continued this process and today we have a teammate from Lp4y who is on contract with us working in the mountain sports department! We, of course, have big ambitions to work on youth employability which we believe is one of the causes we will defend in HCMC. However, I believe that we should dream big and start small, but START! The end of the LP4Y chapter in Vietnam is indeed bad news for us as we will miss you as a partner, however, we hope to continue working on this cause. Alice asked us what advice we would give to entrepreneurs, in all humility I would not give advice but share with you that what has always worked for me is to Dream big, start small but never forget that starting is the most important step. You will not have only successes and to remember that obstacles will be a part of the journey but I know that the Vietnamese strength of character in you will help you improvise, adapt to these obstacles and succeed in your ventures. Adaptability -> something I have discovered in Vietnam, for me is your greatest strength. So I would like to end with this quote from Bruce Lee on adaptability,- “ You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

What the Catalysts of Vietnam retain about their experience in Vietnam Phuong Dinh - Isaline Marmontel - Antoine Dutour - Morgane Combes - Thibaut Coz - Gautier Renault - Quitterie Campagne - Clarisse Fabrèges - Roxane Durand - Lobna Tolba - Jean-Baptiste Merieux - Hortense Coz - Pauline Mignot de Valence - Adrien Mignot - Robin Noël - Chloé Cresp Daphné Fradin - Linh Tran - Lisa Bonnion - Eugénie Maman - Cécile Lecomte - May Tran - Alice Delannoy - Alexia Blot You can also become a Catalyst >> more information

We asked the Youth in Vietnam to say what LP4Y means to them in one word. Chính Công Ngô, 23 y.o, STAR Revival, HCMC Tứ Thị Bùi, 20 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, Hanoi Trâm Dao Hồng, 23 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, HCMC Huy Duc Nguyễn, 24 y.o, STAR Woodies, Hanoi Chiến Phan Phi Nguyễn, 20 y.o, STAR Revival, HCMC Huong Thi Nguyễn, 25 y.o, STAR Woodies, Hanoi Tú Thị Cẩm Trần, 23 y.o, STAR Lantern & Lights, HCMC Thanh Trung Nguyễn, 29 y.o, STAR Woodies, Hanoi Trần Thị Xuân Kiều, 24 y.o, STAR Seeds of Hope, HCMC Bang Thị Duong, 24 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, Hanoi Duy Quang Nguyễn, 20 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, HCMC Nam Đức Bui, 25 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, Hanoi Khoa Đăng Chau, 22 y.o, STAR Revival, HCMC Trang Thanh Lê, 22 y.o, STAR Woodies, Hanoi Đuy Thanh Nguyễn, 22 y.o, STAR Lantern & Lights, HCMC Dan Dô Van, 23 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, Hanoi Vy Thảo Thị Mai,19 y.o, STAR Revival, HCMC Long Đức Doan, 22 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, Hanoi Thư Hoang Anh Võ,18 y.o, STAR Seeds of Hope, HCMC Hanh Dang Thi My, 22 y.o, STAR Bread & Smiles, Hanoi

Trần Thị Xuân Kiều 24yo, Star of Seeds of Hope Program Life Project center Ho Chi Minh City Let's discover the wonderful evolution of Trần Thị Xuân Kiều, 24yo, 2 years after finishing the Professional Training for Entrepreneurs. She is now working as a leader sales executive.