2nd Edition – Aldeia da Luz (Mourão), June 20th and 21st, 2023
Five years later, the second Social Innovation Village (Aldeia da Inovação Social) will be held in the beautiful, rural Aldeia da Luz, in Mourão, Alentejo, on June 20 and 21, 2023. Why?
- Because five years later Portugal Inovação Social has made available to the national ecosystem of social innovation 152 million euros, approved 694 applications, funded 477 entities and partnered with 843 public and private co-investors, becoming its main catalyst.
- Because five years later Portugal has one of the most dynamic social innovation ecosystems in the world, with more networks, more partnerships and greater diversity, being today an experimental laboratory of new social responses with high potential impact on the lives of thousands of people and families, which inspire the evolution of public policies.
- Because five years later, Social Innovation has established itself as a paradigm of a new way of thinking about social intervention, bringing together citizens, entrepreneurs, and social, public and private organizations to jointly seek and experiment with new answers to the collective challenges we face;
- Because Aldeia da Luz is in itself a radical social innovation project that deserves attention and reflection.
The choice of location respected the innovative concept of creating a frame of reference in the dissemination, promotion and amplification of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Portugal and in Europe, starting from an inland and/or peripheral territory, transforming it into an interactive space of sharing, open to the community, of collaboration and social innovation driven by emblematic projects developed in Portugal.
Come and meet the entities and social entrepreneurs who are actively contributing to improving the way we live and join us to discuss ideas, share experiences, learn best practices and be inspired by success stories!
Em 2023, juntam-se à Portugal Inovação Social na promoção do evento a CASES (Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social) e a ESLIDER (Associação Portuguesa para a Inovação Social) para o maior evento de inovação social em Portugal!
The event will also have the collaboration and direct involvement of local partners, in particular the Coordination and Regional Development Commission of the Alentejo (CCDR-A), the Intermunicipal Community of Central Alentejo (CIMAC), the Municipality of Mourão, the Parish Council of Aldeia da Luz and the Company for Development and Infrastructures of Alqueva, SA (EDIA), so that it is possible to gather in a single space for two days the entities and people who constitute, think and contribute to the development of the vast ecosystem of social innovation.
The 2nd edition of Social Innovation Village (Aldeia da Inovação Social) is integrated within the activities to be developed by Portugal in the European consortium called “ESF+ Network of Competence Centres for Social Innovation” and which adopted in its communication the generic name FUSE (Facilitating United approaches to Social innovations in Europe), as part of the initiative launched by the European Commission to support the creation of National Competence Centers for Social Innovation, in each of the European Union’s member states.
Portugal is represented in this initiative by Agency for Development and Cohesion (AD&C) and by Mission Structure Portugal Inovação Social (EMPIS), with the support of four reference partners – the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Montepio Bank and Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa/Casa do Impacto, accompanied by an Advisory Board composed of about 40 entities from the national innovation and impact investment ecosystem.
1st Edition – Cerdeira (Lousã), 4th and 5th of July, 2018
In July 2018 the shale village of Cerdeira in the Lousã Mountains became the first Social Innovation Village. It was the first national meeting of social entrepreneurs, Social Economy organizations, investors, public entities, interested citizens and partners of Portugal Inovação Social.
For two days, the village welcomed in its streets, houses and outdoor spaces about 30 innovative projects, more than 50 leading entities in the ecosystem, 6 conference-debates, 8 sessions presenting social innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, 8 thematic workshops, artistic moments, and a bootcamp in social entrepreneurship.
Take a look at the first Social Innovation Village.