building sustainable communities: how schools and businesses can cooperate
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Aija Tuna, Director of the Initiative "Change Opportunities for Schools" Soros Foundation - LatviaTRANSCRIPT
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Building Sustainable Communities: How schools and businesses can cooperate
Aija Tuna, Director of the Initiative "Change Opportunities for Schools"
Soros Foundation – Latvia
Seminar Strategic Social Investment: a win-win approach November 9, 2011
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Serving Children - Supporting Families - Revitalizing Communities:
the Change opportunities for Schools initiative (2009 – 2010/2011)
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Change Opportunities for Schools: Development of multifunctional community centers
53 projects across the country
Initiative of Soros Foundation – Latvia
In partnership with Ministry of Education and Science, Latvian Rural Forum and more partners later
Funded by Emergency Fund of Open Society Institute
(1 388 000 EUR)
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Main issues for consideration
How a school can
• Extend its scope of activities
• To become a multifunctional community center
• Address needs of the local community
• Act as a resource center for people across the generations
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The goal of the initiative:
to prevent threatening social disintegration brought by economic crisis by supporting revival of small schools in economically and socially depressed
areas and development of multifunctional community centers
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SFL approach to the Initiative within the larger framework
Holistic approach to education and
development where activities are closely linked and support each other towards greater
• Social cohesion,
• Economic activity/employability,
• Cultural diversity and sensitivity,
• Environmental awareness,
• Wellbeing of individuals and communities
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Methodology of intervention
Following ways were chosen to achieve the goal:
• to provide funding for schools/communities committed to re-profiling into multifunctional learning community centers
• to build capacity of local change agents: providing/offering know-how to support the re-profiling of schools
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Main areas of activities
• Maintaining and expanding “ typical” functions of schools
• Adult education activities
• Specific services for young children
• Increasing potential for employability
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What could be the role for the businesses
To help
• unleash creative potential in the community, at the grassroots level
• see and appreciate value of what people already know and are able to do (Druviena, Vípe, mittens, origami etc.)
• provide technical assistance, missing link (Beverína etc.)
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Main tasks in the next steps
• To build understanding on how NEEDS and SKILLS are/could/should be related for
– New jobs
– New services
– Getting away from “business as usual”
• To build capacity at the local level
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What kind of support is needed
• Money – but this is only part of the solution • Advice on working partnerships to develop skills to
– Design – Produce – Market and promote – Sell – Re-invest, keep good things going – Etc.
• Mentoring, encouragement, helping to build self-esteem
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“We gained renewed blood circulation of
our community.”
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What next?
November 24, 2011 first showing of the documentary
“The Second Bell” – you are kindly invited
For more information
Visit www.parmainuskolas.lv
Contact: [email protected]