AQUACYCLE presentation at International Seminar on Social Inclusion and Innovation

Eng. Dirk De Ketelaere, Senior Researcher at Integrated Resources Management Company Ltd. (IRMCo), Malta presented the main achievements to date of the ENI CBC Med Programme funded AQUACYCLE project. He also explained about AQUACYCLE's social innovation & inclusion dimension, and the outcomes of a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Analysis of the local Governance Framework in the Water and Sanitation Sector of Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia. To foster interactive exchange of views and dialogue with the other projects that were presented, a 3-minute video clip on these aforementioned themes was uploaded to the MedTOWN project’s website ahead of the event, which remains accessible via this link.

The International Seminar on Social Innovation & Inclusion aimed to maximise synergies between SSE-focused innovative projects and open the scope to include those who tackle social innovation and inclusion from different points of view. Therefore, focusing on the knowledge acquired by social innovation projects with the capacity to transform the way in which the public administration and SSE entities relate to each other.

The main objective was to establish common reference parameters to evaluate the challenges and the limits of social experimentation & to offer a space of critical reflections and debates; while at the same time focusing on the legal framework, to learn from the exchange of the challenges & barriers and ways to overcome them, experienced by different initiatives.

Two thematic discussion panels took place: the first of which focused on how social innovation experiences are affecting public policies at different levels throughout the Mediterranean; while the second centred specifically on how experimentation at project level is being able to affect policies and the challenges they are facing, with examples from different projects (MoreThanAJob, MedUP, InnnovAgroWoMed, SIRCLES, AQUACYCLE, MedRiSSE).

The online seminar was organized on 26 January 2022 by the ENI CBC Med Programme funded MedTOWN project "Co-production of social policies with social and solidarity economy (SSE) actors to fight poverty, inequality and social exclusion".

MedTOWN is a social innovation initiative, which aims to strengthen the role of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) in the co-production of public goods with local networks and communities, through research and experimentation. Co-production seeks to empower people to achieve well-being outcomes at an individual and service level by involving them in the design and operation of services. MedTOWN embraces the use of social innovations like complementary currencies and promotes the role of social enterprises, co-operatives, user-led services and other forms of SSE as types of organisations that lend themselves well to applying co-production principles because they are often democratic membership organisations.

Speakers in opening of the event

YiannisTsukaldis National coordinator. MedTOWN project. Greece. EPEKSA

Fabrizio Paloni Joint Technical Secretariat. ENI CBC Med Programme

Nikolaos Mposinakos Headmaster of the registry of Social and Solidarity Economy entities. Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Greece

Keynote speech

Mikael Leyi SOLIDAR & SOLIDAR Foundation. Secretary General.

Panelists in First Panel: Social innovation & public policies in the Mediterranean

Vic van Vuuren Chair, UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE)

Judith Hitchman Joint Coordinator, Intercontinental network for the promotion of social solidarity economy (RIPESS), delegated by Urgenci's International Committee

Amal Chevreau Policy Analyst in Social Economy & Innovation Unit. Center for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. OECD

Victor Meseguer Director. Social Economy Europe

Moderator/Host/Facilitator Georgia Karavangeli Director MedTOWN project. Assembly for Cooperation for Peace (ACPP)

MedTOWN Presentation

Legal-political frameworks promoting Social and Solidarity Economy in the Mediterranean Region. A comparative cartography. Antonio lmansa Municipalist Foundation for Solidarity (MUSOL)

Panelists in Second panel: Projects & solutions. Affecting policy from project experimentation

MedUP Promoting social entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean region. Cristian Bevacqua Regional Program Coordinator. Oxfam Italia.

MoreThanAJob Reinforcing social & solidarity economy for the unemployed, uneducated & refugees. Dr.SamahSaleh Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work. An-Najah National University. Palestine.

InnovAgroWoMed Social Innovation in the Agri-food sector for Women’s Empowerment in the Mediterranean Sea basin. Marco Buemi Senior expert in networking/raising awareness, Cawtar. Tunisia.

SIRCLES Supporting Circular Economy Opportunities for Employment & Social Inclusion.

SawsanQodsi House of Water and Environment (HWE). Palestine.

AQUACYCLE Towards Sustainable Treatment & Reuse of Wastewater in the Mediterranean Region. Dirk De Ketelaere Senior Researcher. Integrated Resources Management Company Ltd (IRMCo). Malta

MedRiSSE Replicable Innovations of SSE in the provision of services &creation of decent jobs in the post covid-19 crisis recovery

Moderator/Host/Facilitator Georgia Karavangeli José Ruibérriz Social & Solidarity Economy Focal Point. Assembly for Cooperation for Peace (ACPP)