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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: aija.tuna@sfl.lv