Realising Integration through Social Enterprise Erasmus Project

Project Title

Realising Integration through Social Enterprise

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Integration of refugees

Project Summary

The RISE Project had the intention to investigate the integration of unemployed adults and young people into the labour market through the mechanism of Social Enterprise. The RISE Project focussed on the creation of positive social change for individuals and communities while at the same time enabling our learners to harness their entrepreneurial potential in order to deliver a viable, commercial product or service within a spirit of co-operation and collectivism.

We are confident to have reached all our objectives as set out in the application:
– We shared and documented the information on SEs in the partner countries
– We documented innovative approaches and prepared an overall synthesis, focussing on the situation of adult education in our respective countries
– We established contact with local/national networks working in the field to bring these networks together with our target groups
– The information of exchange was a core part of the project: We used different channels to realise this topic: Country reports, presentation of best practices during the project meetings, invitation of external experts to our meetings.

The consortium consisted of adult education providers from seven European countries working in the field of general adult education.
The coordinator looked out for an interesting geographical distribution – from Ireland in the West to Romania in the East -, a very different situation of the national labour market – from Greece with an unemployment rate of app. 23 % to Germany with app. 4 %. A second aspect was important during the preparation of the application: If these institutes of adult education are interested being involved in the set-up of a social enterprise after the projects end.

We began the project work with the recherche of best practices together with the establishment of relations to regional, national and European networks of SEs. Main argument for choosing these examples was the fact to reach the target groups mentioned in the application: persons at risk of social-exclusion and unemployment, young people and adults with disabilities, single mothers and mothers of many children, young persons and adults experiencing unemployment or the risk of it due to area depopulation and closing down of services, autistic people, long-term unemployed refugees, who want to start their own business and have innovative ideas, civil society organizations, people who are distant from the labour market, low-skilled, long term unemployed and young people at risk of social exclusion, low skilled women; gypsies; mentally disabled adult citizens; rural low skilled farmers.

We introduced the European dimension inviting a representative of ENSIE, the European umbrella organisation for SEs to the Brusses meeting.

After the third meeting in Germany we began to work on the guidelines for setting up a social enterprise: The more examples we had a look at during the meetings the more the picture became clearer about the fundamental recommendations.

The last two meetings – scheduled for Romania in April and Portugal in September – were organised as zoom meetings in October.
Dissemination activities became more difficult, but still we gathered addresses and names of stakeholders, the best practices, and the umbrella organisations we met during the project. This network of experts are the perfect addressees for our products.
For the monitoring and evaluation activities we agreed on a questionnaire for the participants. The results were the main element for the coordinator to evaluate if the project work keeps the track.

Quoting the objectives:
1. Share and document information
Every partner presented an overview of the activities of SEs in his/her country by producing a lecture, report or presentation.
Main element was the collection of 27 best practices in the partner countries; this collection is a valuable tool for providers of adult education and external stakeholders.
2. Consider and document innovative approaches
The consortium agreed on common guidelines for setting up a SE. From project meeting to project meeting this document was growing, and the expertise of the group as we were following the presentations of the best practices.
3. Liaise with local social enterprise networks
In every country the partners contacted the umbrella organisations of SE and national and regional stakeholders.
4. Exchange of information
This worked perfectly as every partner presented a country report and included external experts representing one or more SEs

After the project the partner institutions are part of the regional/national networks of SEs, and the persons who were involved in the project as well.
We are ready to engage ourselves in any activities leading to the foundation of a social enterprise and offer the services as adult education provider.
One example would be the plan of VHS Wien to open up cafeterias in 10 of its premises in Vienna hiring long-time unemployed and/or disadvantaged persons.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 79335 Eur

Project Coordinator

DIE WIENER VOLKSHOCHSCHULEN GMBH & Country: AT

Project Partners

• Media Partners SRL
• Hamburger Volkshochschule
• INSIGNARE – ASSOCIACAO DE ENSINO E FORMACAO
• DAFNI KENTRO EPAGGELMATIKIS KATARTISIS
• Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board
• EU WAREHOUSE