The program of “Varna – European Youth Capital 2017” kicked off with three events encouraging the development of young people. National Forum for Social Innovations, an international conference dedicated to non-formal learning as an instrument to raise youth employment and the European project “100 % Youth City” took place in Varna between 18th and 22nd January. More than 150 enthusiasts from Bulgaria and abroad took part in organizing the events. MOVE.BG is a supporter and partner of Varna’s candidacy for European Youth Capital since the beginning of the initiative.
The National Forum for Social Innovations, which took place on the 20th of January, hosted representatives of the public, civil and private sectors discussing the following key topics:
Social innovations and the role of business and the youth in the process of their creation.
Successful practices for social innovations in Varna and Bulgaria.
What is the profession of the social innovator?
The founder of MOVE.BG, Sasha Bezuhanova, gave a lecture on the interconnection between social innovations, social entrepreneurship and new business models of connectivity. She spoke about global connectivity, which puts all well-established business models to the test, and the rising need for collaboration, cooperation and shared creation. Social innovations are the new business model breakthroughs of today.
“We don’t need any antagonism, sharing is a win-win situation. Social entrepreneurs are the leaders of the future” said Bezuhanova.
Varna European Youth Capital is only the first one of a series of events of European significance. In 2018 Bulgaria will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU and Sofia will become European Capital of Sport. Plovdiv will be hosting the initiative for European Capital of Culture in 2019.
MOVE.BG will actively work to help realize the promising potential presented by all of these opportunities.
What chances does the European Youth Capital title offer?
The EYC initiative encourages cities to realize new ideas and innovative projects related to the active participation of young people in their community. The aim of the program is to showcase a well-established model, which could then be further used by the city for the development of its youth policies. EYC strengthens the relations between European and local actors and stimulates the inclusion of young people through the implementation of common European goals for youth policies.
The title “European Youth Capital” is awarded to a selected European city for a one-year term.
For this time period, the city gets the opportunity to present its youth-related cultural, social, economic and political life and development. Every project empowering the young members of a society builds to its better future, because in this way, the young are much more willing to give back to the community in return. Being awarded the European Youth Capital title indicates that the chosen city is one of the most progressive in Europe in terms of organized citizen participation aiming to improve city life, an aspiration that should continue well beyond the one term mandate.
The most evident advantage, however, is the chance for the city to demonstrate its cultural and youth initiatives on a European stage. The city will be at strong media focus, raising its popularity and attractiveness as a tourist destination. Being a leader in youth empowerment, the EYC will be a place for international and European meetings, a host of all sorts of major conferences and generally an attraction point for young leaders.
As regards to the regional effect, a forum for innovative and creative way of thinking for projects and ideas is being created, which can then stimulate cultural life and active civic participation in the municipality and beyond. This activity will create a community of boundless capabilities to generate new ideas. The development of programmes, during the EYC initiative, fosters the establishment of sustainable long-term practices well beyond the completion of the term.
The one-year program aims to turn Varna into a hub for social innovations and creative endeavor. But what is actually a social innovation?
Social innovations are new solutions to pressing and hard to solve social problems. Ideas that target to address socially significant needs and improve the quality of life of the citizens. Future growth and well-being depend as much on social innovations, as on new technologies. Social innovation takes place mostly in areas where problems are becoming acute or where existing models are unsuccessful or currently at a standstill. Social innovations are new ideas that address concrete social needs and are enacted by socially conscious organizations. What drives social innovations is the large gap between existing and desired, between what the government, private firms and the NGOs have to offer and what citizens actually need. This discrepancy is further exacerbated by the emergence of new technologies and scientific knowledge. We are facing acute innovation deficits and, at the same time, huge opportunities for new creative solutions.
Existing models do not cope well with these deficits.
Because they are often not flexible enough and lack imagination. This results in an unrealized potential. This is precisely why, a new way of thinking about public policies and civic activity is needed. A starting point for every social innovation is the realization of a specific social necessity and an idea of how it could be addressed. The best innovators have the sensitivity to notice needs not adequately engaged with by the market or the state. One should be good at listening and looking under the surface in order to understand the discomforts of society.
Social innovations are new ideas that work and create a market imbalance. Other market actors in that specific area are then forced to recreate the model and follow the footsteps of the innovators. As Stanford Business Centre for Social Innovation puts it, a social innovation is a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, productive, sustainable or fair than the existing models.
