Social Innovation Village
The first Social Innovation Village was unveiled in 2018.
For two days, Cerdeira, a village of schist houses in the Lousã mountain range, was transformed into a hub for dozens of innovative projects that took over its streets, houses, courtyards and outdoor areas.
An additional 50 organisations engaged in social innovation in Portugal joined the initiative, including social organisations, incubators, consulting companies, foundations, city and town councils and public and private social investors. Six conference-debates, eight pitch sessions for social innovation and social entrepreneurship initiatives, eight themed workshops, several artistic interludes and a social entrepreneurship bootcamp were held, all part of a call for innovative ideas on forest prevention and to breathe new life into the regions ravaged by forest fires, such as those that caused devastation across the Central region in 2017.
This initiative was promoted by Portugal Social Innovation to take stock of the first 2 years since opening its first call under the first programme in Europe to support innovative projects focused on addressing social problems in Portugal.
Exhibition
Following the Social Innovation Village initiative, posters about backed projects that were on display in the streets and homes of the village, as well as other materials from the event, were used to hold the A Glimpse into the Future at the Social Innovation Village: Portugal Social Innovation’s 2 years of projects. This exhibition has been held in Lisbon, at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and in Évora, at CCDR Alentejo’s Gallery.