European Social Innovation Competition: ‘Integrated Futures’ Selects 10 Finalists

The finalists of the 2016 European Social Innovation Competition have been selected from a shortlist of 30 and a total of more than 1000 applicants from 36 countries.

This year’s theme ‘Integrated Futures’ sought ideas with the potential to address the reception and integration of refugees and migrants in Europe, enabling them to contribute to the social, economic, cultural and political life of their host countries.

The following finalists have been selected, representing their respective country and field :

• Capital Digital (Belgium) – Education and Skills Development
• Cucula (Germany) – Education and Skills Development
• Financial Democratisation for Refugees and Migrants (Ireland) – Employment and Entrepreneurship
• Ichhelfe.jetzt (Germany) – Appropriate Housing and Health Services
• New Neighbours in Arnsberg (Germany) – Cohesion and Cultural Diversity
• Project Virtuous Triangle (Turkey) – Education and Skills Development
• Safe housing for LGBT refugees (UK) – Safety and human rights
• Solidarity Salt (Greece) – Employment and Entrepreneurship
• The Bike Project (UK) – Education and Skills Development
• The Machine To Be Another (Spain) – Cohesion and Cultural Diversity

They proved that so much can be done to help refugees feel welcomed and thrive in Europe that benefit host communities all at the same time.

 

Josephine Goube, COO of Techfugees and member of the 2016 jury commented:

“I was thrilled by the diversity and the large scope of shortlisted projects this year. They proved that so much can be done to help refugees feel welcomed and thrive in Europe that benefit host communities all at the same time. The 10 finalists give a good insight into what some European citizens have been helping with on the ground instead of waiting on government to take action. I hope they not only will inspire others to put their own ideas into action but also get a well needed support from governments to scale and be sustainable solutions.”

The 30 semi-finalists attended a mentoring academy in Berlin in July where they worked with experts in social innovation to refine their business plan before pitching their idea to a jury made up of successful social innovators with particular expertise in working with refugees and migrants. The jury have now critically evaluated the strength of each organisation’s business plan and have selected the 10 strongest entries, also giving attention to projects started by or developed in conjunction with refugees and migrants themselves.

Three winners will be selected from the 10 finalists and each successful project will be awarded with a prize of €50,000 at the awards ceremony to take place in Brussels on 27 October.

Free tickets to the awards ceremony are available via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/awards-ceremony-european-social-innovation-competition-2016-tickets-27143873055

For full details of the competition please visit: bit.ly/2016diogochallenge

Follow us on Twitter: @EUSocialInnov #diogochallenge