ul. Jana Pawła II 6
tel/fax 061887-11-66
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Description of Association for Social Cooperatives
Association for Social Cooperatives was established in 2003. Mostly established by long-time unemployed, homeless, disabled people experienced by life, who decided towork together and start fighting for their interests. This decision was caused by significant change in the way of thinking. Being aware of the fact how powerful working together is they didn’t want to wait passively for help from the outside. They wanted to solve their problems themselves, problems of their families and local communities in which they lived.
In the beginning, theactivities of the association were focused on finding accommodation for its members. Hence, its original name was “Our Home”. However,it soon appeared, that there was a huge potential in members of the association and that their problems had more complex character then they thought. For example,lack of homes wasn’t main problem, but consequences of many related factors like: long-time unemployment, alcoholism, debts, court verdicts.
They decided together, that the basic problem of returning to normal life will be employment solutions. Member of association started to be more aware, saying about their reintegration they couldn’t skip its basic element “regular employment” Therefore in some period of time the foundation of statue goals becamecounteracting unemployment based on new social entrepreneurship and social cooperative movement. The board of association made a decision to broaden statue activities for broad-scale support of social entrepreneurship and social cooperative movement as a bottom-up initiative of disadvantaged people for their self-employment in their own social enterprise.
In 2005 General Convention of Association accepted a new members and at the same time they put a row of resolutions which have still big influence of present association activities. They changed name of Association “Our Home” to Association for Social Cooperatives and changed some statue goals. A new board were appointed who decided to undertake objectives based on supporting brand-new social cooperative movement in Poland, which mainly based on Italian social cooperatives solutions. According to the agreement with Barka Foundation March 1st 2005 Association became a user of businesses activities in couple areas of city Poznań. Those employment positions gave possibilities to the unemployment people to get vocational practice and when they became ready Association converted those places to their own social cooperatives, which work at present too.
Commencing New phase of activities,Association started to look for people with high skills, to create a group of experts who led information campaign about social cooperatives amid local communities and representatives of local authorities. Our representatives also participated in polish parliaments committees and subcommittees worked for preparation of polish legislation of social cooperatives act.
Before social cooperative act was legislated, social cooperatives in Polandwere based on a couple Polish acts. The most important of them are: “Cooperative Act”, “Promotion of employment and institution of labor market Act”, “Social employment Act”. Association propagated to establish social cooperatives, being aware how huge impact on legislation process would be dissemination of social cooperative ideas and presenting of already working social cooperatives.
Board of Assocation quickly realized that in order to achieve success and sustained social entrepreneurship developmentone has to work in partnership in local areas. It was made clear that as well in Association each potential member as in local community each partner brings their knowledge, experience, capacities, expectations and possibilities. When it’s all is moderated properly it brings measurable effects to whole local community. Therefore we all the time organized meetings, conferences, trainings inviting representatives from different legal entities, which could have substantial influence of shaping social economy in the region. As an example of the above were out of town social economy meetings. Apart from partcipants interested to establish their own social cooperatives, the representatives of local authorities, labour offices, private equities were invited too. It was a simple idea – preparation of those legal entities to cooperation in the future through enabling solving commonly exercises and problems during meetings. The objective of those meetings were dissemination of acquired results and to elaborate innovative solutions of support for social economy entities.
The realization of statue goals based on European Union Funds were the next phase of the Association’ activity. At the beginning of March 2006 the Association finally finished preparation works to realize one of the maingoals “Social Economy in Practice” Community Initiative Equal Project co-financed by European Social Fund. At this time officially we appointed a Centre of Social Economy, responsible for activities in big city. Past experience showedus that actual support system for excluded people is insufficient and it’s necessary to appoint new entity working in social economy field, simultaneously fulfilling system of labor institutions. This role was to be done by Centre of Social Economy. The main task of new entity of Association was to realize activities to support unemployed, homeless, disabled people and those who were potentially at risk of social exclusion to establish social cooperative as an alternative form of self-employment.
As an organization which co-created social cooperative movement in Poland we weren’t inertfor new problems occurring in this sector caused by lack of uniform law acts and variety of different interpretations. From the beginning of legislation ofsocial cooperative Act we discern how many amendments need to be done in polish law regarded the social cooperative to conform law to abilities of people to which this form of activation is directed. We were aware that the social cooperative act and the possibility to establish social cooperative by five people is not enough. It’s not a panacea for all problems which those people have to solve. The Association organized courses, scholarships, conferences which atried to answer problems of modern social cooperative in Poland disseminating ideas, problems and work which has to be done to create fruitful future. Being aware how difficult is to start social business in Poland we organized also the grants fund for new social entities where new social cooperatives could put the application to get money for equipment and adaptation their buildings to increase their competitiveness.
During transnational cooperation we commenced preparation works to create international fair trade network. The idea came from partnerships from Scotland, Belgium, Italy and Poland. The Idea of Fair Trade Net was to create grounds of national net, able to fulfill all requirements on national and transnational level. This objective was accomplished partly because of local character of the majority of social cooperatives and enterprises. Thanksto those activities some organizations started to trade on the transnational level, but rather individually and incidentally, not as a network.
Our representatives for three years actively participate in almost all conferences and meetings regarding the social economy problems. Through those meetings we present basic problems of social cooperatives simultaneously propose debates for systemic solutions intending to reinforce social cooperative sector.
In 2006 together with our partners we initiated activities of social revitalization in Poznan. At present we work in Srodka and Ostrow Tumski district. This area’s infrastructure is degraded and also many social problemsare accumulated (unemployment, alcoholism, passive local community). We started to cooperate with housing estate council, local authorities, branch of city department responsible for revitalization projects and other local organizations and local leaders. This district will be a pilot project in revitalization. We are an active propagator of social revitalization ideas and social consultancies in whole process. Association as an representative of those people, who because of their problems extremely rarely try to fight for their laws. Being aware of it to improve their law consciousness we decided to create Bureau of Social and Law Information to increase in this area active participation in social life by local inhabitants.
In 2007 Association created a Support Centre of Social Cooperative for the whole Wielkopolska voivodship. This internal entity was responsible for counseling and informative activity for initiative group of social cooperative and for already existing social cooperative. Legal and essential support were very useful, especially when it came to registration and preparation of grant application. We participated in many meetings organized by social cooperatives. For example general conventions regarding changes of the board of cooperatives, fusions or meetings with external customers regarding future business activities. Thanks to our support in first period of this Project two new social coopertives were established. We helped them to gain resources for business start-up.
However principal objective of Centre of Social Cooperative Support were financial support for social cooperative. Our innovative elements of this grants fund was also beside financial support of business activities was also supporting social activities. This kind of decision was made because most of existing social cooperatives had got financial support in past from other sources. Our experience showed us that social and vocational reintegration (social cooperative act duty) is one of the most difficult. Problems appear because shortage of clear and uniform law regulations and still low turnover of social cooperatives.
Assocation for Social Cooperatives directly supported 10 social cooperatives. However many more social cooperatives used our assistance in all over country. Our support was mainly based on registration, searching for financial source, business activities field and building of friendly environment for these initiatives amid local community. Thanks to our activity the entire local community understood essence of cooperativeness and rules of whole environment functioning. Development of third sector is tremendously dependent by those factors. Across our experience social cooperative is an institution as last phase of reintegration. Members of social cooperatives need thorough education which has to be provided by specially appointed units like Centres of Social Integration or Centres of Social Economy. High social ideas is not enough, they need to be self sustainable. When we fulfill this basic need we can then talk about full reintegration. Being aware of prior personal problems of social cooperative members this legal entity is able to fulfill also social needs.
Last year the board of the Association decided to move some project’s means to organize educational and integration meetings trips for representatives of existing social cooperatives or people interested to establish their own social cooperatives. The intention of those events was simple:
- Integration of the whole social cooperative environment of wielkopolska voivodship
- experience exchange
- common activities of social cooperatives stimulations for social entrepreneurship development.
These events were received very good and helped us to elaborate new common conceptions of social cooperativeness development.
We always try to make people aware and promote sustainable development ideas through supporting of social entrepreneurship and social integration as one of many possibilities of economy development, which is able to integrate all social groups. Starting from raising living standards and safety of all society is the first step to achieve that goal.
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