The Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development and the Public Institution Regional Coordinator of Istria County for European Programs and Funds today held the final conference of the Project +Resilient "Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Istria: What and how to proceed?" In the Italian Community in Pula - Circolo. This event brought together about 50 individuals, members and representatives of associations, institutions, local and regional self-government units, representatives of the education and science sector, and current and future social entrepreneurs and people who want to be social innovators.
At the beginning of the conference, the audience was addressed by the Head of the Istrian County Prefect's Office, Mr Ivan Glušac, who greeted all present and expressed support for further work on the implementation of Public Policy will help develop social innovation and social entrepreneurship in Istria.
All those gathered today are part of a new ecosystem to support the development of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in Istria, for which a good foundation has been laid. Namely, everyone present had the opportunity to hear from Teo Petričević from the ACT Group a cross-section of the state of social entrepreneurship at the European and national levels. Followed by a presentation of Public Policy proposals to support the development of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in Istria by Lana Lovašić, Unite Us Consulting. The Public Policy Proposal is the crown of many years of participatory work of the Istria Foundation and the Aurora Public Institution and all relevant key stakeholders through numerous activities, which involved over 140 different organizations.
This was followed by a round table "What and how next?" Which brought together experts from various fields and sectors that are relevant in the field of social innovation and social entrepreneurship. The moderator of the round table was the director of the Istra Foundation, Helga Možé, and the participants were: Sanja Labinjan - JU AURORA, Lana Lovašić - Unite US Consulting, Teo Petričević and Jelena Anđelić - ACT Group, Kristina Afrić Rakitovac - FET Pula, Sven Maričić - UNIPU, Visio, Jasna Vekić - Red Cross Pula, Renata Kiršić - POU Labin, Antonia Babić - City of Pula, Borjan Batagelj - City of Labin, Tamara Kiršić - IDA, Stipe Efendić - Center for Rural Development Sinj, Božica Peruško - social enterprise Julijan, Danijela Kasumović Maružin - Punkt and Sandra Ćakić Kuhar - Home for the elderly and infirm Poreč.
The manager of the Istra Foundation, Helga Možé, pointed out that this is not the end of a successful project, but the beginning of a new story that will surely start even more new projects and ventures. Everything that has been done so far has pointed to the great need for the development of the Regional Center for the Development of Social Innovation - ReCeD'Istria and the need to strengthen human capacity, which will be part of the entire support system. Furthermore, all participants in the round table agreed that the presented public policy proposal is a very good basis for further action on the development of support systems for social innovators and social entrepreneurs. In addition to everything, the first initial meeting of the Istrian Network was held by social entrepreneurs, support institutions, organizations and people. The next steps were agreed upon at the meeting and responsibilities for the first quarter of the implementation of activities based on the presented public policy were shared.
The entire Conference was enriched by the Fair of Social Enterprises from all over Croatia, which was held on the outdoor terrace. In this way, the conference participants, as well as the general public, were able to get acquainted with the activities of social entrepreneurs and their products and services. It was Teo Petričević from ACT Group who pointed out that we can all support social entrepreneurs by buying their products or using their services, but what is important to mention is the possibility of contracting social enterprises through socially responsible public procurement.
The socially-owned companies that participated in the Fair are the following: KopriVITA , which produces food and other products with the addition of nettles, and in its processes includes people with disabilities and other members of marginalized groups; Lapo Lapo Design and Digital Printing Studio, which is a socially responsible studio of the Prizma Association that offers graphic and web design services and digital printing services ; The Association of Veterans' Cooperatives , which brings together cooperative organizations and family farms that bring together Croatian veterans and members of their families in the market; Center for Rural Development CERURA Sinj , which presented the Croatian Network for Social Entrepreneurship; Pula Bistro PUNKTwho employs vulnerable groups, who presented his lunch offer at the conference, the Center for Social Entrepreneurship Labin is a social enterprise that employs vulnerable groups; The Merlinci puppet company, which popularizes the cultural and historical heritage of Istria, promotes women's and minority rights, is also environmentally aware and gives the opportunity to perform to young non-established actors; Socially-owned enterprise Mediterranean Sculpture Symposium . In addition to the existing social enterprises, the ideas of the future were also presented at the fair, such as Laundry of the Shelter for the Homeless of the Red Cross Pula, which will employ the homeless; House of Philanthropy "Feel good house" as an interactive multimedia educational centre on philanthropy in Pula, with a permanent exhibition of a multimedia exhibition about the benefactors of the city of Pula and a chronological presentation of Pula philanthropy and the Furniture Workshop of the Association of Persons with Disabilities Rovinj which will offer repair and refurbishment of old furniture.
We believe that the Fair of this kind will come to life and be held every year throughout Croatia and will bring together a much larger number of social entrepreneurs and thus provide an opportunity for networking, support and development of new social ideas, which we could see today.
You can watch the recording of the conference on the YouTube channel of the Istra Foundation via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzmrobB_W3k
The project "+ Resilient" is funded by the Interreg Mediterranean 2014-2020 program from the European Regional Development Fund and co-financed by the Office for Non-Governmental Organizations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The project involves 14 partners from 8 Mediterranean countries and aims to network, connect and transfer knowledge and good practices to encourage and develop social innovation and influence the creation of stronger institutional support at the European level.