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A conflict-mediation programme for students in an Argentine high school; ex gang members in El Salvador return to school to learn how to start a small business; handicapped students in Peru attend normal schools; small farmers in Brazil join forces to produce fruit pulp, jams and inputs for the pharmaceutical industry; senior citizens form telephone help lines for their peers These initiatives have all made efficient contributions to the fight against poverty, inequality and social exclusion in their communities. And one thing they have in common is their contribution to social innovation, active citizen participation and reasonable costs.
From 4 to 7 December, this year’s Innovation Fair takes place in Plaça da Alfândega, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where 17 of the most innovative initiatives of the 1,700 presented over the past two years of the Experiences in Social Innovation competition, organized by ECLAC with the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
José Luis Machinea, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, will launch the Fair on Tuesday, 4 December. And as part of the fair, Enrique Iglesias, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Secretariat, will deliver a presentation on social development in Latin America on Wednesday, 5 December at 7:00 p.m. in the Centro Cultural Santander (Rua Sete de Setembro, 1028, Porto Alegre).
The 12 projects from eight Latin America and Caribbean countries on display at the fair are finalists in the 2006-2007 round of the competition. The five top prizewinners of the five 2005-2006 round will also attend. Each participating project will present its experience to the Committee of Notables.
Finalist projects come from Argentina (2), Bolivia (1), Brazil (4), Colombia (1), Ecuador (1) El Salvador (1), Mexico (1), and Peru (1). All have made innovative contributions in the areas of health, education, nutrition, environmental protection, income-generation, gender equity programmes for youth and social responsibility.
On Friday, 7 December, at 12:30 p.m., the Awards Ceremony, with first place winning US$ 30,000; second, US$ 20,000; third, US$15,000; fourth, US$10,000; and fifth, US$ 5,000.
The Experiences in Innovation Social project seeks to identify and promote the creative replication of innovative social initiatives within a framework of active community participation, as a means of strengthening citizenship and democracy.
The call for entries to the upcoming 2007-2008 round of the competition opens on 7 December.
Complete information on this competition, including multi-media materials in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, is posted at: www.cepal.org/dds/innovacionsocial/portada_i.htm.E-mail: innovacion.social@cepal.orgTelephones: (56-2) 210-2148/ 2451/2263.
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Experiences in Social Innovation Award