Walking Through STRET.TT

The story of Students Today – Responsible Entrepreneurs Tomorrow (STRET) is more than a series of activities. It’s a shared piece of our hearts. It’s about connections, emotions, and long-term friendships. It’s about a teacher, some students, a spark—and the bridges we’ve built across four countries.

Let us begin at the beginning.

In 2013, a teacher—known affectionately as Teacher Tanja—approached Irina, the passionate activist and founder of ARNO. Her students had organized school bazaars, sold beautiful handmade items, and wanted to donate the earnings. But they didn’t know where. Tanja’s question led Irina to visit the school, meet the students, and witness something remarkable: a strong sense of purpose, empathy, and creative action.

Irina responded by organizing a special workshop on strategic giving—teaching the students how to donate not just with good intentions, but with impact. This moment was the seed. And with time, support, and belief, it grew into a regional effort to empower youth with not only entrepreneurial skills but also philanthropic values and social awareness.

In 2017, that small moment blossomed into the first STRET project, uniting partners from North Macedonia (ARNO and Gymnasium Rade Jovchevski Korčagin), Croatia (Prva Sušačka Gimnazija), Lithuania (Lizdeikos Gymnasium), and Belgium (Out of the Box). Between 2017–2019, high school students enrolled in “Entrepreneurship” classes participated in a specially tailored program that brought Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Social Entrepreneurship (SE) into the classroom. The courses were co-created by NGOs and educators, combining academic knowledge with real-world values.

The project didn’t just end—it evolved.

The success of STRET inspired something bigger: the STRET Teacher Toolkit (STRET TT). This was not just a continuation, but a deepening. A KA2-approved project, STRET TT took the core of the STRET experience and turned it into something that could live on in classrooms, long after the project ended. The idea was simple: give teachers the tools, inspiration, and community they need to teach entrepreneurship in a way that connects heart, head, and hands.

STRET TT brought together teachers, trainers, and policy thinkers. It produced a practical and inspiring Toolkit, delivered national-level recommendations for improving curricula, and created the very first cross-country teacher community focused on responsible entrepreneurship.

From there, the story moved forward with SEED (Social Entrepreneurship = Education + Development). This project brought fresh energy to the topic during challenging times. Students created ideas on plantable seed cards, learned with the support of local businesses and mentors, and turned their thoughts toward sustainable, social solutions. The cards were even made by a green enterprise from Skopje—proof that the values we teach can live in the details of the tools we use.

And now, we proudly present STRET TT2—our latest collective effort. A continuation of the original vision, but with new faces, new lessons, and an even greater commitment to our mission. This phase builds on everything we've learned: that teaching entrepreneurship isn't just about starting a business. It's about understanding your community, acting with purpose, and shaping the future responsibly.

This is not just another E+ project.
It is a living archive of friendships, passion, mistakes we learned from, and stories worth telling.
It is proof that when we work together—with honesty, openness, and a pinch of stubborn optimism—we can create something meaningful.

As we said in the foreword: “This Toolkit is an assortment and collection of, not only educational materials, but also a piece of our hearts.”

And that’s exactly what this Project History is—a love letter to all the steps that brought us here, and all the people who helped pave the way.

Let’s keep walking this bridge together.

And if you’re curious to explore where the journey began—check out our first STRET Teacher Toolkit website: https://stret-tt.site.pro/