“Social innovations for local sustainable development” conference held in Rijeka
On March 17, 2023, a conference “Social Innovation for Local Sustainable Development” was held in Rijeka. The event was organized as a part of the SUSTINEO project, in cooperation with the Association for the Development of Civil Society SMART from Rijeka, the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb and the association CERANEO.
The meeting discussed how social innovations are created in the field of sustainable development, how social innovations create effects on sustainable development and how to develop and strengthen the ecosystem of social innovations with introductory presentations by Danijel Baturina and Jelena Matančević from the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb and Ana Zadelj Kovač from CERANEO – Center for the Development of Non-Profit Organizations.
Two examples of good practice of social innovation from Rijeka were also presented at the meeting. Danijela Matejčić Miletić from the Municipal Society Čistoća presented the project „Riperaj“, while Sandra Grozdanov from the Center for Culture of Dialogue presented the inclusion program for socially disadvantaged children „My place under the sun“.
Riperaj is a project of KD Čistoća and is a place where citizens can repair defective small household appliances, broken and damaged furniture, clothes, toys and similar for free with the help of craftsmen who possess the necessary knowledge and skills. Riperaj is the first such project in the Republic of Croatia. The main goal of starting Riperaj is to reduce the amount of waste in such a way that damaged or defective items for everyday use can be further used, i.e. reused, with minor repairs. In addition, the whole concept enables the active involvement of interested experts of various profiles who possess the necessary knowledge and skills, with the added value of immediate socializing of interested users over coffee or tea.
My place under the sun is a social inclusion program intended for children and parents from families living in bad social and economic conditions. The program provides systematic development support in the acquisition of knowledge and skills and enables participation in activities that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Thus, children receive individual help in learning all school subjects, throughout the school year, various extracurricular activities are organized for them, such as socializing, excursions, visits to museums, cinemas, theaters, going to matches, in cooperation with various organizations they are enabled free content and services.
Social innovations are a partly neglected and unrecognized topic in the Croatian context, but they have a transformative potential for broader changes in systems and institutions in various spheres of society and local communities. The research „Social innovations in the field of sustainable development in Croatia: potentials and challenges“ and five exploratory case studies were presented as a basis and stimulus for the discussion at the meeting, and special attention will be devoted to reflection and shaping of guidelines for the development of the ecosystem of social innovations.
The meeting was held as part of the project „SUSTINEO – Cooperation, participation, research and education for sustainability“, which aims to connect and network associations, local self-government and higher education institutions and strengthen the capacity for joint action in the implementation of sustainable development. The project was co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund.
More about the project read HERE.
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