Village SOS roadshow spreads the word

The Village SOS roadshow took place at Talgarth Mill yesterday.  Talgarth Mill was featured on the BBC Village SOS series earlier this year, after successfully being awarded lottery funding.  The Village SOS programme is all about inspiring community action and empowering people to come together to make a difference in their communities.

If you missed the roadshow, but have an enterprising idea, or are looking for inspiration go to:
www.villagesos.org.uk or go to #villagesos on twitter.

The website has got some really interesting videos on it, and your community can sign up to be a member.  there a re also forums which you can participate in.  So have a look today, let us know what you think.

Baker Boys are back

The BBC Wales drama following a group of employees who buy out their bakery when their parent company tries to close it returns for a second series on Thursday 24^th November.

The original series followed the trials and tribulations of the bakery staff as they formed a buy-out team and raised the finances to take over the company. The series examined the issues a real buy out team would face – distrust, initial reluctance, the fear of investing redundancy payments and the effects that the process can have on relationships with family and friends.

During the screening of the next series, Wales Co-operative Centre will be publishing a series of short blogs about key themes that are raised in the show.

To find out more, follow @WalesCoOp and the hashtags #bakerboys and #walescooperative and check the blog http://walescooperative.wordpress.com/ for regular updates.

(Source:  Wales Co-operative Centre)

Social Enterprise Wales Conference 2011

I attended the Wales Co-operative Centre Social Enterprise Wales Conference this week.  It was great to hear from those who had been through the process, and had come out the other side.  Some really inspiring speakers including Brian Popsys of Beacons Creatives in Brecon , and Liam Black, formerly of Fifteen.  the overwhelming message was to get on and do it, and not to be scared of profit - profit is good!

On the Wales Co-operative Centre website you will soon be able to view the presentations made at the conference.  For more information go to:  http://live.walescooperative.org/

VILLAGE SOS ROADSHOW COMES TO TALGARTH MILL

Rural communities across South Wales are being urged to attend a free event in Talgarth that will see business experts and rural specialists descend on the town to help struggling communities revive their villages.

Talgarth has been announced in the UK-wide events series as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS campaign, which is supporting communities across the UK to start up new enterprises - from shops and food projects to broadband schemes - that will help to rejuvenate their areas and meet the needs of local people.

The event, organised by rural communities charity Plunkett Foundation with DTA Wales, takes place on Monday 28^th November at Talgarth Mill

For more information about the events series or the advice line, contact the Advice Team on 0845 434 9123 or visit www.villagesos.org.uk. 


(Source:  Big Lottery)

Global Entrepreneurship Week UK 14th - 20th November 2011

Next week, sees the Global Entrepreneurship Week UK taking place.  This is a national celebration of business enterprise with thousands of events and activities taking place all over the country.

The Global Entrepreneurship Week website, has a wealth of information on it.  Here you can find out what's going on in Wales - there are loads of events that you can take part in.  The website says that they:
 "..want to create a national conversation about entrepreneurship which will help to connect people, share ideas and address regional issues to drive the next generation of business owners."




For more information go to:  http://www.gew.org.uk/home

Confused by definitions?

Following on from the you tube clip previously posted, I thought it may be useful to have a definition of social enterprise on the blog - this was no mean feat!  During my research I found several definitions, but think that this one explains it succinctly, and is easy to understand:
"Social enterprises are trading business with social or environmental goals at their core.  Unlike private businesses social enterprises are not driven by profit, they balance the need to run a competitive busineess with their equally important social and environmental aims.  Any profit generated (often referred to as social profit) is reinvested to help achieve those aims."
(Wales Co-operative Centre)

This definition encompasses the many different sectors in which social enterprises flourish.

Growing Social Enterprise movement holds opportunities for Volunteers

Interesting article - what do you think?:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2011/nov/04/social-enterprise-movement-volunteer-opportunity

One Show Highlights Social Enterprise

Did you see the One Show on BBC1, on Tuesday 2nd November?

There was an interesting report from Alston in Cumbria, where there are no less than 15 community social enterprises in place.  Between them they provide 90 jobs, and a combined annual turnover of £2.5 million.  There is a diverse range of enterprises including the local bakery, wholefood shop and internet / broadband provider, Cybermoor.  At the local cottage hospital, Cybermoor have provided a video link so that patients can be assessed via video, which is especially useful in the winter months, when Alston is often cut off.  The community are so resourceful they even have their own snow plough.

If you want to take a look, the One Show can be found on the BBCi player.