At the beginning of December 2021, the staff of the Diesis team participated in the online Training for Trainers organized by our Erasmus+ SELC project (Social Entrepreneurship in Local Communities). The objective of this Training of Trainers was to train the participants that will develop and implement a trainer for aspiring social entrepreneurs next year. The training program that will take place next year in Matera, will train aspiring entrepreneurs to develop their local social enterprises.  

It was a great occasion for participants to learn more about social entrepreneurship at the EU level, in Italy, Romania and Cyprus. We also dove into social business incubation techniques and tools. 

Diesis was also one of the organizers of this training. On the first day of training, we did an overview of social entrepreneurship at the European level, and we presented the latest policy developments, including the recently published Action Plan for Social Economy. On the second day of training, Diesis carried a presentation on the Social Business Model Canva, and why this tool is useful for aspiring social entrepreneurs and/or experienced social entrepreneurs.  

Moreover, Diesis coordinated a session focused on the importance of social business incubation for the development of efficient and sustainable social enterprises. Two guests joined us for this session:  

  • Morgane Goffin, social entrepreneur and co-founder of LemonSide, who told us about her experience in the creation of the social enterprise Lemon Side as well as their incubation history from the Belgian social incubator Coopcity. 
  • Julia Koczanowicz-Chondzyńska, President of the Management Board of FISE – Fundacja Inicjatyw Społeczno-Ekonomicznych, who shared with us the work of their social entrepreneurship support centre and the experience of Business Mixer. Business Mixer is a series of meetings between regular business representatives and social entrepreneurs or people who want to start a social business. 

We thank all the participants and the partners of the SELC project – Civitas Foundation, Danis Foundation, CLNR, Matera Hub and Synthesis – for this enriching experience!