Barcellona Social Business Tour
The First Prize at the Social Business Event – 1st Edition
A journey to discover the social enterprises of Barcelona
The 1st edition of the project called “Promoting Social Business in high-schools across Emilia Romagna” ended with a competition between the most original social business ideas.
The L-MAST group from Liceo Laura Bassi in Bologna composed by Sara Angelico, Martina Angiolini, Tommaso Franceschelli, Martina Marrese, Linda Petrucci and Carolina Serrantoni got first place and had the opportunity to go on a study trip to get to know some social businesses in Barcelona, accompanied by Professor Giulia Quattrone.
The Social Business designed by the students is called “Homelette: a “poor cuisine” restaurant that employs homeless people to provide its services and to manage its activity. It is a business that fulfils two social functions: on one hand, it gives the homeless an opportunity to challenge themselves in a work environment, while on the other it provides them with an accommodation. The study trip took place between the 2nd and 5th of February 2016.
The first stop was the Estoc, a company that designs, produces and sells furniture by recycling unused objects. The aim is to improve the living conditions of people with psychiatric disorders.
Next, the students were delighted with food prepared by the managers of the restaurant annexed to the D’Ins cooking school, which aims at re-qualifying and integrating in society and on a workplace people coming from discomforting situations.
The first day ended with a visit to the Formaciò i Treball Foundation, which operates in the area of training and work-placement for people in need. The person in charge of the foundation illustrated to the group the multiple ongoing projects: the collection, recovery and redistribution of several objects such as clothes, shoes, toys and furniture; a counselling service; the launch of professional training courses.
The second day started with the Hidden City Tour. The guide, telling her story, accompanied the group through the areas of Barcelona designed to fight poverty, marginalization and social degradation.
The students then had lunch at Mescladìs, a restaurant where you can taste some excellent ethnic food in a unique environment. Mescladìs was born to favour inclusion in society and on the workplace of young outcasts and it is a place where many people and different cultures come together.
The visit to the social businesses in Barcelona ended at Donna Kolors, a non-profit organization that creates job opportunities for vulnerable women, who produce clothes, bags, fans and other objects.
The prize trip was made possible thanks to the precious contribution of Prisma Tech.
