7th September 2015
In this episode we return to the Social Enterprise Summit and highlight the diversity of the organisations and businesses that were in attendance.
We spent some time talking to Irene McIntosh from Citizens Online, a Social Enterprise which puts the issue of digital inclusion at the forefront, and aims to get people who are uneasy or unsure about technology to become more confident in order that everyone feels the benefits of being online.
We also had a brief chat with Duncan Osler, the chair of Social Enterprise Scotland. Mr Osler provided a lot of useful information about the state of funding in Scotland, and the challenges that face social enterprises.
Finally we spoke with Ellidh Todd from the North Highland Initiative, a charity which aims to boost tourism across the North highlands, and who work across tourism, food and built environments.
These three interviews highlight the diversity that one can find in the social enterprise sector. We feature a social enterprise which aims to provide value and help others – a truly socially focussed business; we speak to a support organisation which helps its members to expand, lobby government and takes care of the concerns facing the sector; and we also sit down with a charity which works within the social enterprise sphere to help other businesses connect and work together.
Social enterprise is about more than just a series of different businesses all working with a social goal in mind. It is a collection of businesses, charities and support agencies with social aims at its heart, that seek to help one another to improve the sector’s fortunes whilst helping to create a fairer, more socially aware and empathic society.
In a sector so populated with a vibrant and diverse combination of individuals and businesses, all eager to share their stories and experiences, it’s important that events such as the Social Enterprise Summit take place, so that we may further our knowledge of what is happening around us in the social enterprise scene.
Links
Citizens Online
Social Enterprise Scotland
North Highland Initiative