The online event of “Dialogue for Social Entrepreneurship,” organized by the Institute for Entrepreneurship Development (iED), was successfully held on Tuesday, December 8, in the frame of the project Another Entrance.

The purpose of the Dialogue was to identify Roma people’s needs in the field of Social Entrepreneurship as an occupational choice. Additionally, to generate ideas for future projects based on the identified by the Dialogue needs.

A little over 50 people attended the Dialogue; among them, there were representatives of social entrepreneurship organizations, representatives of Roma organizations, experts in Social Entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurs, and stakeholders in this field.

The Agenda of the Event

The Dialogue for Social Entrepreneurship started with a short presentation on the field of Social Entrepreneurship. Then, there was an introduction to Greece’s legislative framework, as well as related National and European Strategies. At the end of the first part, special time was given to the Social Enterprises founded by Roma people, as examples of good practices.

In the second part, the implementation of the Dialogue, the organizers made the necessary clarifications to ensure a seamless event. Originally, participants developed their ideas (brainstorming) on a padlet, which enabled real-time monitoring of ideas to make the process more efficient. The emerged ideas were:

• The establishment of a grocery store where Roma people will work as owners. Through this experience, they will develop professional and interpersonal skills, and at the same time, improve their quality of life.  
• The creation of a Network with Roma Social Entrepreneurs in the form of a platform. Through this platform, they can connect, support each other, and receive empowerment from related organizations. But mainly equip them with tools, developed within the project, tto facilitate their work and enhance their professional support  
• Training in Social Entrepreneurship skills within their Community  
• Step-by-step training for creating a social enterprise  

Finally, a voting procedure highlighted the prevailing ideas. Voting took place in real-time, anonymously, while all participants could watch the progress.

The partnership of Another ENTRance will discuss the ideas generated during the Dialogue for Social Entrepreneurship, and hopefully, they will lead to successful projects tailored to the Roma people’s needs.