Aug 25 2021
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Supporting Employability Through Social Entrepreneurship in Cyprus

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“Social entrepreneurship has remarkable potential to tackle the economic and unemployment crisis by combining profitability with sustainable growth and inclusion to deliver significant positive social and environmental impact for the common good. However, although social economy is gaining popularity in Cyprus, there is a lack of a support system and financial incentives that promote the development of social enterprises.“ Kyriaki Demetriou

The president of Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal  participated in the Networking Workshop ‘Development of Social Economy in Cyprus’ that took place within the framework of the project ‘Go Social: Supporting Employability through Social Entrepreneurship’  and presented the experience and activities of our social cooperative enterprise.

Suggested measures to support the Development of Social Economy and Employability in Cyprus

Μπορεί να είναι εικόνα 1 άτομο και χαμογελάειBy Kyriaki Demetriou
AKTI Project and Research Centre

-Member of GoSocial

 

The Networking Workshop ‘Development of Social Economy in Cyprus’ that took place within the framework of the European-Union funded project “Go Social: Supporting Employability through Social Entrepreneurship” brought together key stakeholders of social and environmental economy from Cyprus and abroad to increase mobilization and engagement of policy makers towards the development of the sector in Cyprus. The workshop highlighted the potential of social entrepreneurship in new and established economic activities as well as the social, environmental and economic benefits for Cyprus, especially within the context of improving employability and supporting the work integration of
vulnerable groups.

The following key proposals/suggestions were proposed for creating a supporting framework for the development of social economy in Cyprus deriving from the presentations of the keynote speakers and workshop discussion:
✔ Organise national awareness campaigns to recognize and highlight the importance and benefits of social economy as a crucial driver in shaping a sustainable, inclusive, healthy, and green future
✔ Create a positive social entrepreneurship culture among the future generations by promoting social and environmental entrepreneurship at all levels of school-education
✔ Provide attractive incentives for companies, like tax exemptions, to promote the development of the social economy
✔ Provide easily accessible grants and subsidies from public authorities and EU funds to new social and environmental businesses and existing businesses that would like to transit to social economy,
✔ Create seed funding opportunities for innovative, solution-oriented ideas to support their start-up and growth
✔ Include simplified tender procedures and reporting requirements for social businesses within the new law on social entrepreneurship
✔ Educate the young generation of entrepreneurs on new business models deriving from the Circular and Green Economy principles
✔ Create a recognizable certification/label for social businesses to increase awareness and visibility of social economy products and services among consumers
✔ Promote social and solidarity economy by providing training to migrants and refugees on green jobs to enable their work integration

✔ Train unemployed and socially vulnerable youth in educational/academic subjects and professions that are important for social and ecological sustainability and green-circular economy
✔ Organise training programmes on current social and environmental needs and challenges within the Cyprus context
✔ Provide practical guidance on how social entrepreneurs can provide solutions to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in charting the way towards recovery.
✔ Promote partnership and collaboration within organisations, institutions, private and public sectors within Cyprus for the development of social enterprises

Although in its early stages, a new social economy is emerging in Cyprus. Better collaboration and commitment are needed among public authorities, the social and economic actors. Coordinated actions for the development of support mechanisms, financial incentives, resource mobilisation, awareness raising, education and training in social entrepreneurship, are essential elements for the development of the sector. Enabling environment for social enterprises is supporting economic growth and benefiting society and the environment for the whole island.

More about the project: www.gosocialcy.eu

The project ‘Go Social: Supporting Employability through Social Entrepreneurship’, is co-financed by the European Union, with partners: Famagusta Walled City Association (MASDER), AKTI Project and Research Centre and Famagusta Women Centre Association (MAKAMER).

Τα περιεχόμενα του άρθρου αποτελούν αποκλειστική ευθύνη των εταίρων του έργου και σε καμία περίπτωση δεν μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ότι αντικατοπτρίζουν τις απόψεις τις Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.

Jul 10 2021
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A day at the Acropolis Museum together with refugees

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A day at the museum 

by Chiara-Lou Parriaud

On the 18th of June 2021, residents of the Welcommon Hostel and volunteers went to visit the Acropolis Museum, the exceptional sanctuary of Greek ancient artefacts found on the grounds of the Acropolis. Children and adults alike were eager to discover and understand the Ancient Greek history that has shaped the face of their city of residence. 

After a long walk under the blazing hellenic sun from Kapodistriou street to Dionysiou Areopagitou street, the group finally reached its destination. We were instantly drawn to the large glass panes of the museum that reflected the white columns of the Acropolis, the modern structure contrasting heavily with the Antique wonders the building contained. The children ran around and played outside the facility, marvelling at the ruins of an ancient Athenian neighborhood that were underneath the glass floor on which they stood. 

The “Welcommon team” at the Acropolis Museum – Children and volunteers absorbed in the contemplation of the Athenian ruins. 

In the museum, each individual gazed at the archeological wonders of its liking. While some observed the ancient sculptures, others wondered at the ancient greek inscriptions on the marble steles. Children were fascinated by several models of the Acropolis over the years built for the purpose of the exhibition, the ancient citadel changing its outlook a myriad of times from the 5th century BC to today, going from a residence for kings, to a mythical place for the celebration of gods to a tourist attraction. Imagining a distant Athens populated by a different society with customs at odds with our contemporary times seemed to highly intrigue them. The mothers of the families took an incalculable amount of pictures of the superb view of the Acropolis, of the museum and of their children, all of which will serve as beautiful memories of this particular day. 

After two hours of strolling through rows of magnificent remnants of Antiquity, our group emerged from the museum with sparkles in our eyes, full of new knowledge on the wonders of the previous Greek centuries. No matter the age or the nationality, each individual thoroughly enjoyed this cultural outing, which is a testimony to the social and cultural atmosphere of the Welcommon Hostel, as residents and volunteers alike learned, connected and got inspired together, as a community. 

Here is what some of the residents had to say about their day at the museum. 

“I really enjoyed going to the museum. It’s a good place for me to learn and I got to learn from the past.”

“I was fascinated by the Greek mythological scenes that were depicted onto the marbled statues. Everyone should try to get familiar with these very interesting aspects of history. I was also intrigued by the story behind the construction of the monumental Parthenon, and the backstory behind the stones used to build the temple as well as the statues. I learned a lot, and I would love to go again.”’

“I had already been to the museum, but it was very nice to go with everyone from the Hostel – it’s always nicer to go with friends and as a community.” 

Anemos Anenosis, the social cooperative and all the Welcommon Team would especially like to thank the Acropolis Museum’s president and staff members for their cooperation in the organisation of this special day. 

Jul 06 2021
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Lisa W., one of our volunteers: “It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever made”

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Hello, I am Lisa

I was volunteering with Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal at the Welcommon Hostel in Athens, from the beginning of January to the end of June 2021.

It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever made. I think I will never forget the time in the hostel. I learned so much and my experience changed me in a very positive way. I learned a lot and my point of view changed in so many things! I met so many interesting people from different countries, different cultures and they all had different stories. We lived together, cooked together, laughed together and it felt like living in a big family. I think in this time I lost any kind of prejudice I’ve ever had before!

My two main Jobs where giving English and German lessons.

In the beginning it was pretty hard for me to stand in front of a group of people and to teach them a new language and I realized that it takes a lot of confidence. But after a while I got used to this new „teacher“ position and I started having fun giving lessons.

In the German lessons we did a lot of grammar work and it was a really new experience for me to teach my own mother language. I never realized before how tricky the German language can be and I think even me I learned a lot of new things about my language while teaching it.

A good thing was that all my German students where able to speak English so we had a good way to communicate with each other.

The situation in the english lesson was totally different because most of the time I didn’t had a language in common with my students. But I used a lot of pictures and body language and so we managed the communication most of the time pretty well. The main topics in my English lessons where vocabularies and dialogues. I tried to teach them the most important communication skills like for example asking for the bus station or calling a doctor.

Another activity I was doing was the „women’s sport class“. When I arrived at the hostel there was already a normal sports class, but I realized, that I never saw any women participating in this class. So I decided to start a sport class JUST for women and girls. I think that many women where very happy about this offer, because of cultural reasons most of them didn’t feel comfortable to do sport in front of men. In our sport class we did a lot of fitness, yoga and also dancing and we had a lot of fun together. I think that doing sport and being active is something really important if you are in a difficult live situation and I had the feeling that doing sport was very helpful for a lot of the women in the hostel. 

In the afternoon when the classes were finished, we used to some activity with the kids of hostel.

In winter we did a lot of different group games inside and when the weather became better we used to go with the kids to a playground in the neighborhood. I had a lot of fun playing with the kids and it was a really good experience having responsibility for a group of children.

Also part of the work in the hostel was to support our receptionists. Usually I worked volunteering three times six hours per week at the reception of our hostel. The work at the reception included the cleaning of the entrance room and the bar, giving hygiene articles to our residents and being responsible for our laundry room. This part of the work was a bit different to the other activities but I also enjoined because working at the reception means to have a lot of interactions with the residents (almost all of them refugees at the moment) and it also shows you what it means to work in a hostel or hotel.

Aside of all these things our volunteer group organized a couple of group activities that should bring all the residents of the hostel together. We did for example a cooking evening where we ate together and everybody was cooking his/her traditional food. Or a summer party where we danced together and learned different cultural dances. We also went to the beach with some residents and made cinema evenings in our backyard. It was a really feeling to see everybody coming together and having fun, no matter where they come from, what they believed in or which language they were speaking.

I think I will never forget the time in the hostel. I learned so much and my experience changed me in a very positive way.

Lisa Wittich