The SEED2SCALE consortium is taking part in the Community of Practice event hosted in Athens and organized by Social Innovation+ Initiative, with the support of the Greek National Competence Centre for Social Innovation and our Greek partners.
The first day put the Greek ecosystem firmly in the spotlight, and we heard directly from local organisations about how social innovation is already being applied in very different contexts:
- HIGGS supports the organisations doing the frontline work through its incubator, accelerator, training and consulting programmes; it helps nonprofits and social enterprises become stronger and more sustainable, and it bridges the gap between them and private companies.
- Shedia turns a magazine into a route back into economic and social life. Greece’s only street magazine is sold by people experiencing homelessness, unemployment or poverty. Vendors keep 54% of the price of every copy they sell, creating an opportunity to earn income with dignity while reconnecting with the community. Furthermore, old magazines are upcycled into paper-made products that are further sold.
- POKoiSPE shows how employment can become part of recovery. The federation brings together Greece’s Limited Liability Social Cooperatives, which combine economic activity with the social and professional inclusion of people facing serious psychosocial challenges. Today, it is also piloting a network of five specialised supported-employment offices helping people with serious mental illness and people on the autism spectrum access the open labour market.
Although the models might seem different, they all use the methodology of social innovation, which means building solutions around the realities of the people and organisations they are meant to serve.
