HOW TO TALK ABOUT LATVIA INTERNATIONALLY?
To showcase and talk about examples of social entrepreneurship in Latvia on a broader scale, from September 24 to 26, the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia (SEAL) hosted foreign guests – the WAMA COOP Association for Social Entrepreneurship from Poland and the social enterprise KNOF from Slovenia – and introduced them to various Latvian social enterprises and organizations that incorporate adult and community education, as well as green living and sustainability into their work.
The represented fields included literature, music and performing arts, environmental adaptability, startups, green lifestyle, catering and event organizing, idea workshops, education, and more. We participated in visits, engaged in practical activities, and also held discussions, exchanging experiences with each other.
We introduced the guests not only to social entrepreneurs in Riga, but also visited the city of Jelgava, which is a great example of how a growth-promoting environment is being created not only in the capital.
And now, a little more about what we experienced:
DAY 1
In the morning of the first day of visit, representatives from three countries gathered in the cozy office of the Open Society Foundation “DOTS,” where we got to know each other a bit better. We also introduced our project partners with social entrepreneurship and the field of the social economy in Latvia, as well as the various focus areas of SEAL, one of which is education of a society.
Inga Muižniece, the founder of the social enterprise “Sonido,” shared her success story. “Sonido” is a call center for people who feel lonely and want someone to talk to. As representatives from KNOF and WAMA-COOP pointed out, neither Poland nor Slovenia has a similar phone line dedicated to people, who simply want to talk and to feel heard.
After Inga’s inspiring story, it was time to stretch our legs and to physically visit other SEAL members and explore their experiences in their actual working environments.
The first in-person visit was to the SEAL member, the non-governmental organization “Apeirons,” which actively educates the public on various issues related to improving the quality of life for people with different types of disabilities. Public education takes place in many forms – through social media and influencers, interviews in traditional media, and memorable advertising campaigns. We saw several of these campaigns in the “Apeirons” office and learned the stories behind their creation. “Apeirons” has also developed an innovative service called “Sensory Lunch,” where participants, during the meal, learn several sign language signs, gain insight into Braille, and learn about environmental accessibility.
After a lunch at the social enterprise café “Boršč in Old Town of Riga/Delicious with Ukrainian women”, which provides employment opportunities for people from Ukraine, we headed to the museum of SEAL member, the social enterprise “Invisible World.” This enterprise educates the public about vision impairments through an interactive experience. In the “Invisible World” museum, visitors, guided by a blind guide, walk through completely dark rooms and try to complete various tasks related to touch and movement. At the end of the activity, visitors have a chance to ask the blind guide various questions to better understand the daily life of a visually impaired person and the barriers they face every day.
DAY 2
On the second day of the visit, we traveled to Jelgava City, where we met the people making a difference in the city and its surrounding areas.
The day began musically with a visit to the social enterprise “BJMK Rock School” the only accredited music school offering a professional music education program in “Rock Music.” Here, not only children and young people, but also adults can fulfill their dream of learning rock music by playing rock instruments and mastering vocal skills. We saw this firsthand when one of the school’s teachers greeted us with a song and a virtuosic guitar performance.
By organizing various events, the rock school also contributes to the city’s cultural and community life, providing its students a platform to showcase their talent to a wider audience.
The city of Jelgava is actively creating an environment where social entrepreneurship and various citizen initiatives can thrive. One of the key contributors to this effort is “KOPRADE,” a special space for young people established by the Zemgale Business Center. Young people aged 13 to 25 from the Zemgale region come together here to enhance their entrepreneurial skills. The Zemgale Planning Region (ZPR) promotes not only traditional entrepreneurship, but also supports social entrepreneurs and creators of social innovation. SEAL collaborates with ZPR to promote social entrepreneurship and innovation in this region.
The Zemgale Regional Competence Development Center (ZRKAC) provides lifelong learning opportunities tailored to the needs of the Zemgale region’s residents, considering the wishes and needs of every individual. The center embraces various innovative methods and organizes a grant competition for social entrepreneurs called “Impulse.”
On the way back to Riga, we stopped by the social enterprise “Branku Brančotava,” a catering and event venue. It was established by the association “Tuvu,” which helps families in Latvia who are in need and lonely individuals. The organization also works with young people by organizing camps and events. Thanks to the profits from the charity shop “Tuvu” and the cultural venue “Branku Brančotava,” various charity projects are carried out.
DAY 3
The visit to the second-hand clothing and goods store “Otrā Elpa” (Second Breath) was a fantastic opportunity to purchase beautiful and practical souvenirs as mementos of the trip. The company’s team introduced the guests to ways of caring for the environment by applying business methods. This meeting was especially valuable for the Slovenian company KNOF, as they, like “Otrā Elpa,” specialize in the reuse and resale of clothing and furniture. Both companies shared their experiences and exchanged ideas.
From saving the planet, we moved to literature. The social enterprise “Ziedoņa klase” (Ziedonis Class) introduced the Polish and Slovenian guests to Latvia’s outstanding poet and thinker Imants Ziedonis. The organization focuses heavily on educating and inspiring teachers, because only inspired and happy teachers can make their students feel the same way. They also offer activities for children – classes can sign up for a team-building game in a closed room inspired by Imants Ziedonis’ works, where students solve various puzzles.
The day continued in an artistic atmosphere as we arrived at the creative spaces of the social enterprise “Zvaigznājs,” where young performing artists express themselves musically and creatively using modern sound and visual techniques. The studio was created by the well-known Latvian singer Agnese Rakovska, who represented Latvia in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.
“Viskaļi” also offers workspace for creative and positively “crazy” people who want to develop their ideas, projects, or businesses while looking for a vibrant community to grow in. The large and empty former building of the Riga Technical University was given to the social enterprise “Free Riga,” which renamed the space “Viskaļi.” They’ve also been granted two other buildings in Riga, where new tenants are breathing life into these spaces.
At “Viskaļi,” the foreign guests, shared impressions, discoveries, and feelings from the past few days.
Here are a few quotes from the them:
“A great opportunity to meet like-minded people with similar life paths and challenges. After participating in such an event, I no longer feel so alone in my work. I feel positively ‘recharged.’”
“The visit program was very rich. I liked that we had the opportunity to meet representatives from various fields.”
“Great experience! I gained new ideas on how I can help develop new initiatives in NGOs in Poland.”
We extend our thanks to our members and social entrepreneurship support organizations that opened their doors to our guests and shared their stories: Sonido; Apeirons; NeredzamaPasaule.lv; BJMK; Zemgale Planning Region;, Zemgale Regional Competence Development Center; Branku Brančotava; Otrā Elpa; Ziedoņa klase; Zvaigznājs and Viskaļi.
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The trip took place as part of the project “Think globally, act locally – international partnership for effective social entrepreneurship education,” co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program.
Call for applications for the annual Social Entrepreneurship pitch competition
Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia in cooperation with Luminor bank keeps their tradition and organises the Social Entrepreneurship pitch or presentation competition ”Let the good ideas grow 2024”. The aim of the competition is to promote the development of existing social enterprises and new social entrepreneurship ideas, as well as to share the ideas across Latvia. This year, the total prize fund – funding to implement a social business idea or develop an organisation – is €8,000. The participation in the competition is free of charge and the application is open until 20 September: https://ej.uz/pičs_2024
The competition is open to existing and emerging social entrepreneurs from all over Latvia. They can be companies with or without social enterprise status, associations and foundations that need funding to implement a new idea or an existing project. In addition individuals who are still cherishing their social entrepreneurship idea and looking for start-up funding can also apply. The main aspect for eligibility is that an organisation or business idea fits the essence and definition of social entrepreneurship – producing goods or services to solve a social problem and benefit society.
“Year after year, we see that the prize money is an important boost for both existing and emerging social enterprises. And funding is not the only benefit – participants also gain good public visibility and recognition, learn how to present their idea professionally, and establish contacts and business partnerships with other social entrepreneurs. Every year we also introduce thematic accents – this year those top 10 participants whose product or service is a social innovation, or addresses sustainability issues, focuses on preserving nature and green course will receive special prizes,”
says Regita Zeiļa, director of Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia.
“The cooperation with the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia and the pitch competition for social entrepreneurs has become an annual tradition. Every year it is inspiring to see new ideas and commitment to something that is relevant, topical and even unaddressed for society. We are glad that social entrepreneurs keep their finger on the pulse of society’s needs, thus also raising a need and finding solutions for it,” says Kerli Vares, Head of Luminor banka Latvia.
The competition is organised in three rounds, to apply please read the REGULATIONS (in Latvian) of the competition and fill in the APPLICATION FORM (in Latvian). The 25 strongest ideas will be shortlisted for the second round of the competition, where the participants will receive training on how to best pitch their ideas. The finale of the contest will take place on 17 October in Riga, where the ten finalists will present their ideas on the stage with a five minute pitch to the jury and a live audience across Latvia. The live broadcast of the competition will be available on “Delfi.lv”. Viewers will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite.
Two social entrepreneurs or authors of social entrepreneurship ideas each will receive a cash prize of €4000 to develop their business or idea. The winners are determined by a jury and a live vote of the audience.
The pitch competition “Let the good ideas grow” will take place for the fifth year. Last year, 99 participants entered the competition, and the final winner was the social entrepreneurship initiative “Is it easy to put on trousers?” by Zane Bērziņa from Ogre, which produces specialised clothing for people with reduced mobility, with the aim of making their everyday life easier and helping them to integrate into society. The second winner was “BJMK Rokskola”, a social enterprise from Jelgava offering alternative music education in a supportive environment.
“Winning the pitch competition has given us the opportunity to turn a dream and an idea into reality – we have established a company that has already been granted the status of a social enterprise, created a website – online shop vilbers.com, purchased materials, created production patterns and prototypes. After the publicity of the competition, I have been contacted by countless people through social networks who are very much looking forward to this garment and are happy that finally there will be such a product on the Latvian market, and someone is thinking about the needs of these people,” says Zane Bērziņa, founder of the social enterprise “Vilbers”, after winning the 2023 competition.
The competition “Let the good ideas grow” is organised by the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia in cooperation with Luminor bank for the fifth year with the aim to promote the development of existing social enterprises and new social entrepreneurship ideas, as well as to raise awareness about social entrepreneurship ideas and initiatives. The competition is supported by the Charity shop “Otrā elpa”, news portal Delfi.lv and the Development Finance Institution “Altum”, co-financed by the European Union (ESF project number 4.3.3.3/1/24/I/001 “Support for Social Entrepreneurship”).
Social Tourism Development in Latvia
Social tourism is inclusive for different groups of people and accessible to everyone. Since 2014, the discussions on the concept of social tourism have started and there were several attempts to introduce it in Latvia. Social entrepreneurs seem to be the most suitable to implement the concept of social tourism, however social entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality sector has only recently emerged.
Social entrepreneurship is a type of business where the main objective is not to make a profit for business owners, but to solve a social problem or to create a benefit for society and to reduce the negative impact on the environment and disadvantaged communities. Social entrepreneurship is also increasingly developing in the regions of Latvia, and tourism is an area that has great potential for financial diversification of organisations, which is often one of the biggest challenges for businesses in the regions.
Tourism trends after Covid-19
The tourism industry is based on directing the flow of travellers and regulating their presence in specific places – tourist destinations. Tourism products are very diverse, both services and goods – they are unlimited in time and space. Business thrives where opportunities and an enabling environment are created. COVID 19 pandemic has had a major impact on the tourism industry and has changed the habits of tourists. Local tourism has been boosted, tourism services are becoming more specific and varied, and businesses are diversifying their products. This summer’s campaign “Visit Latvia’s Castles and Manors 2022” that was organised by the Latvian Association of Castles and Manors in cooperation with LIAA, shows that at the moment the most frequent travellers are families, couples and small groups of friends. International tourism has seen a decline in the share of group trips and in the markets generating tourists. In general, an increase of interest has been observed in nature tourism, individual experiences, including catering in non-traditional settings such as ‘Home Café Days’ or dinner on the lake. More and more people are thinking about health and health prevention measures. There is also a demand for masterclasses offering activities related to art, gastronomy, sports, spending time with loved ones and pets. There are many successful examples of animal therapy, allowing people to interact with trained dogs, horses and other pets.
Latvian social enterprises in tourism
Armands Muižnieks, a professional guide, lecturer at Turiba University and RSU, says that in one of the international conferences it was mentioned that the traveler society is changing from an information society to a dreamer society. Travelers are fascinated by sensations and adventures and less interested in information that is available to everyone. Latvian social enterprises such as “Emociju laboratorija” and “Glass Point ” offer previously mentioned masterclasses in the arts. The social enterprise “Brīvupes” in the municipality of Balvi offers animal therapy – canister therapy with dogs. The social enterprise “Nature horses” in Ķekava municipality offers experience with horses and promotes their welfare. This is also a time of opportunity for entrepreneurs from small tourist destinations in the regions, towns and countryside to create an offer that may not be their main source of income, but that can help to diversify and stabilize their income. Sometimes ideas are born by chance, adapting observations or examples seen on trips abroad. This year, a new social enterprise, “Kultūras tūrisms”, has started their activity, Indulis Bērziņš, the founder says:
“What I do is nothing new. The first Glemping came about a long time ago, when rich people brought luxury tents to sleep in the middle of nowhere in the desert. However, our niche is to be able to stay in places in Latvia where it hasn’t been possible before, and to be at the heart of great cultural places and people who are already successfully welcoming guests, just without overnight accommodation. This is a new offer in Latvia and possibly in the world.”
Current tourism trends also mean a distinctive tourism product targeted at a specific market segment – one that is not a mass tourism product. There is therefore great potential for tailor-made tourism services, such as a floating raft in a Finnish lake with facilities for wheelchair users to fish through holes drilled in the floor – just like ice fishing, with safety precautions. Muižnieks also mentions the example of how he and a wheelchair-using student from SIVA College thought about creating high beds for growing vegetables and spices so that wheelchair users could sow, plant, weed and harvest their own crops. Another successful Latvian example is the social enterprise “Visi var” in Sigulda, which both produces its own design and household goods, involving people with disabilities, and also sells the goods it produces. These include various themed candles, crockery, clothing and accessories, and could certainly be souvenirs of various tourist destinations if production is expanded.
Accessibility
Accessible environment in general is of great importance – for example, in Liepāja, a blind guide Artūrs Līvmanis offers guided tours. As he says in an interview, “Liepaja has a good system of traffic lights and sound, as well as a public transport loudspeaker that announces the number and destination of the bus at each stop, so you can hear it outside.” Accessibility and universal design are issues that should be on the agenda of every tourism service. For tourism to thrive, there must be tourist attractions (man-made or natural), accessible environment (including easy-to-use transport systems) and adequate tourism infrastructure. This is an issue for many tourism destinations in different regions of Latvia and needs to be addressed. Once this is sorted out, operators will find ways to provide services. For example, the social enterprise “Difftravel” is already exploring accessibility and offering tours for people with mobility, visual or hearing impairments to appropriate locations in the Baltic States and plans to develop further destinations for trips abroad.
Social entrepreneurs have a much better understanding of social issues and where to develop tourism and hospitality services for different groups in society. For example, the social enterprise “Neredzmā pasaule” offers guided tours in the dark led by blind guides. Such specific services are one way of promoting public awareness and integration of people with disabilities. The most important aspect of such offers is that the service must comply with the principles of social entrepreneurship. The service must be safe, of good quality and accessible; it cannot be only a marketing slogan. Often entrepreneurs get carried away with the idea and forget that the interests of the client are the most important aspect of successfully selling the service. Competition in the tourism industry is high, so the quality of the service is important. The recipient of a service will not choose a service or product just because it is offered by a social enterprise. At the same time, it is important to explain to the general public why the results and impact of the work of social entrepreneurs is important, and sometimes the prices of the service may be higher – it is not profit for the owner, it has a higher added value.
Muižnieks also points out that on average it takes three years for a company to conquer a market and feel stable. It takes time and human resources to prepare and prioritise a tourism product, find partners, find sales channels, attract customers through social media, etc. Once a clear offer has been defined, it is necessary to involve sector or industry associations to find partners who can advise on marketing activities or implementation. In the tourism and hospitality sectors, cooperation plays an important role. In the tourism sector, help is available at national level from the LIAA Tourism Department, regional tourism associations, tourist information offices and centres, professional associations and business incubators.
This article was written in the framework of the project “Social Entrepreneurs for Tourism”, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia.
