Learning for change: how social innovation can empower youth people and engage them in community act
Working towards a social economy requires the creation and existence of social innovation leading to a transformative change in society. Social innovation in the form of community work may be one of the most active and meaningful activities for people to participate in and should, together with new strategies regarding building a social economy, be strongly held and emphasized. However, our social base within society is becoming more mature. An essential, and in this panel session the main, question while being in this situation is how to engage young people in social innovation.
In a community where the impact of people’s input is of great influence on the general state of mind and, so, determines the outcomes social innovation creates, motivating people to participate in activities and contribute to society may eventually lead to the transformative change we are striving for. Among strategies to achieve this motivation of our youngsters are creating a respectful environment and trust-building cooperation, experimenting with new forms of acting and thinking and making people feel part of a group of like-minded others. It is that energy of the participants that build and run an active and social community.
What the organizations and their representatives during the session had in common is the fact that they recognize and identify the issue of a lack of participation of the youth. Sandra Rakocevic, regional coordinator of the youth platform YouSee!, implies that it is of high importance that youth employment is stimulated and young people are encouraged to overcome difficulties to get into the labour market. By reaching a more significant amount of active young people and social interaction we can achieve a development with regard to community and its social state of mind.
An influential, but rising, factor within the process towards more sustainable and social economies is the presence and contribution of the concept Time-Banking, which builds a bridge back to community by exchanging with no money or costs, but time as currency, as was being explained by Time Bank Coordinator of Time Bank Hull, Kate MacDonald. The concept can be used as a way of training people as well as a way of thinking towards a new economy. Time-banking can, in this manner, be interpreted as a start or tool to, in combination with other tools, provide engagement in communities, says Michael Marks with a PhD on time-banking.
A highlight during the discussion at the end of the session, is the recognition that the area of Europe might be afraid of innovation and it is a major issue and possible barrier regarding the road to a transformative change. To build and, ultimately, achieve a social economy, it is essential that the current state of mind is reformed, as ‘we’ generally want to keep the situation politically in the same position and are dependent of the government. Educating our people from a young age and making them realise that their engagement in communities can have a high impact on the development within the community, may reform the ‘welfare’ state of mind we are currently stuck in and that constantly presents itself as an issue, regarding social innovation and transformative change.
An inspiring part of not only this panel session, but the TRANSIT conference in general, is the fact that the power and say of the community is being recognized and focused on. It is indeed the youngsters who determine the future state of the current and upcoming generations, as it is their energy that stimulates the amount of participation within the society. It is by all means essential that we focus on the good deeds being practiced by this group of people.
What is interesting is the fact that, on the other hand, the current generation of a higher age also seems to notice the importance to influence the state of mind of their children and grandchildren. An evident example of this results from a talk I personally had with a visitor and at the same time representative of Slow Food Nederland that stands for “good, clean & fair food”. The organization was founded as a reaction to the popular system of fast foods in current society.
Besides being a part of this initiative, she also has founded her own enterprise, which is focused on personal franchise support and motivating people towards a healthy lifestyle. Her company puts the attention on people by providing them support in two ways; both by helping them maintain a lifestyle based on more organic products and more sustainable ways of living, as well as giving insights on how to build a franchise in the most effective and sustainable manner. Her enterprise and personal ideas are based on giving a helping hand to the community in general and also younger people, and can so be seen as a small contribution to the large socially active community. By being in charge of running a profit organization, her company cannot be considered as community work. However, she is driven by passion and the want to help, which are major keys in order to have a social behaviour.
Actions of individuals within a society will most probably not have a significant influence on the social development, for the eye, that is. The moment that each person puts on a more collaborative attitude and realises social interaction is essential for a more stable and sustainable state and, as a result of this, participates more in positive, engaging and meaningful activities, more significant outcomes will most probably be noticed on the long term.
