About us
Square of Youth Association (SOYA) is a diverse group of young people brought together by Erasmus+ projects. Many of us have transformed our lives through these projects, developing key competencies, soft skills, and forming connections with friends across Europe, among many other benefits. We are dedicated to delivering youth work at a quality we would expect from ourselves, believing that the best way to engage in youth work is through young people working with young people. We are truly an Erasmus+ generation at Square of Youth Association.
Our mission is to connect Hungarian youth with Europe. We aim to provide opportunities for them to explore Europe, connect with their European peers, and empower them to become active citizens. We encourage them to take initiatives and contribute to their communities.
We also aim and working to:
Help young people learn through non-formal learning activities and enhance their soft skills. Increasing youth participation through our projects and providing international opportunities for young people.
Connect youth with stakeholders and decision-makers, facilitating the translation of youth voices to them and increasing youth involvement.
Promote dialogue among young people from EU member states and candidate countries, which includes collaborating with partners from outside the EU as well.
Internationality is a key component of our activities because we believe that international opportunities and mobilities have the potential to improve young people's learning and growth on a high level.
We primarily focus on three key topics, but due to our diversity and ambition, we are open to many other areas as well. The three key topics are:
Entrepreneurship and empowering young people to become entrepreneurs. Several of our members became entrepreneurs at a young age. We believe entrepreneurship not only as a business endeavor but also for its entrepreneurial skills, which are great soft skills in many aspects of one’s life.
Active citizenship and youth empowerment. Aiming for our projects and activities can have a multiplier effect and create impact on a broader scale.
Topics closely connected to the European Union and being a European citizen.
SOYA is also a member of the Danube Youth Organization Network and is committed to fostering cooperation among youth-focused organizations in the Danube Region. We find this particularly important in facilitating meetings with decision-makers and establishing cross-border collaborations.
Team
Bence Bíró
serves as president and project manager. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business and Management and a Master's degree in International Business and Economics. Bence completed an Erasmus+ exchange semester at NOVA Lisbon Business School. Additionally, he represents Hungary at the Danube Youth Council, advocating for youth in the Danube macro-region. He was also a representative of Hungary at the COP Youth Section. Bence has completed an internship at the Global Water Partnership and has participated in numerous Erasmus+ youth exchanges and training courses.
Gergely Márk Monostori
serves as vice president and project manager. He holds Master's degrees in Sports Management and Finance, along with a Bachelor's degree in International Business. Gergely has represented Hungary at the Global Youth Forum and has extensive experience with various international student associations. He also has experience in writing and conducting Erasmus+ projects. His interest areas include non-formal education through sports and outdoor education.
Activities
Regarding the topic of entrepreneurship, we are preparing our next project, an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange "Entrepreneur in a Week", which will be implemented in April 2025. Participants will acquire all the necessary skills and knowledge to become entrepreneurs, such as business plan writing, pitching, understanding how to get funding for their ideas, and more, all during an intesive week of activities. The project will also focus on developing entrepreneurial skills.
Besides entrepreneurship, another important topic to us is integration. Currently, we are implementing a Solidarity project in Budapest where we bring Hungarian and international university students closer together through board games and regular local events.
All the activities we implement are created, planned and realized by young people.
In March 2025 we have faciliated our first Visegrad Minigen project: a Policy-Making Hackathon, which aim was to have young people explore the topic of entrepreneurship, identify challenges they may encounter on their way and define ways in which they could be supported in becoming young entrepreneurs. The project was concluded with the creation of a policy document to be presented to decision-makers and stakeholders.
We also organize Erasmus+ information sessions with the goal of popularising Erasmus+. Youth exchanges and other numerous project types within Erasmus+ – such as Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs or European Solidarity Corps (ESC) – that are generally lesser known among potential participants. In connection with this initiative, we were exhibiting at the Sziget Festival 2024 to engage with young people and promoting Erasmus+ and SOYA. One of our goal is to attend more festivals to promote Erasmus+ and non-formal learning among youth.