Innovative solutions to tackle unemployment or social exclusion
A small association, Jovesolides, had a dream: to apply innovation and creativity to solve social problems. The project, funded by the EEA Grants within Active Citizenship Programme, has grown and more than 500 entities have joined CreActiva Network. Even some of their ground-breaking proposals have been included in political parties’ programmes.
03.05.2016
Youth unemployment or social exclusion can be addressed from another angle. This is the basis of CreActiva Project: Statewide network for social entrepreneurship and innovation, which has set out the creation of a network of social entities, platforms, NGOs and public administrations for the coordination of actions within the framework of innovation and social entrepreneurship as a strategy to promote youth employability and socioeconomic alternatives. In a nutshell, to promote citizen participation in the development of projects for a better world.
The results have been very positive. More than 500 individuals and entities have joined the Network, which is starting to grow at international level. Besides, 4 Roundtables on Policy Advocacy were developed in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and the Basque Country, which have resulted in 23 proposals submitted to political parties, many of them were included in electoral programs.
4 Laboratories of Social Entrepreneurship and 4 Labs of Social Innovation were the seed of the II Forum of Social Innovation, held on September 2015, with more than 300 participants who generated creative solutions to two social problems: youth employment and refugees. Among the proposals, setting up a digital platform connecting schools and colleges with companies, in order to channel concerns and training towards labour market.
“Nobody teaches us how to innovate, for that reason we have generated learning spaces where people and institutions can discover how to do things differently”, explains Lourdes Mirón, representative from Jovesolides Association.
However, the project doesn’t end with the EEA Grants. “Our intention is to continue with training and to organize the III Forum because social innovation is a tool which marks a before and an after in organizations and projects”, points out Mirón.
Active Citizenship Programme has been managed by the NGO Platform for Social Action aiming at strengthening civil society, social justice and democracy.