Events

Events, Field work, In the beginning

Women’s Market

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At the initiative of Nikola Venkov (one of the first “fabricators” that came from the factory’s conveyor and who studies the market for his dissertation in cultural anthropology) dozens of us are already involved in various initiatives related to changing the market’s image and people’s stereotypes about it, and also aiming to “empower” those of its people that remain unheard. We believe this is a place that brings together “the various” and the challenges to the city and to our country, and that it is a great blank canvas ready to be filled with new solutions. We would like this painting to be painted with the participation of the people from the market.We started working with 13th School situated near the market and with the children at the end of 2011 and our first initiative was held on 22.12.2011 when over 20 volunteers, 80 children, clowns, jugglers, a monocycle, face painting, old games like gunny sack race, relay races and movie screenings turned the school into something different from the institution that the children were familiar with. Before the closing of the school in the summer of 2012 by the Sofia’s Capital Inspectorate, more than 12 volunteers regularly attended the lessons with non-formal and fun education in order to attract children in class. https://mostbet-games.net/kw/

Now, after it has become clear that our favorite spot will be reconstructed without broad public discussion, the project continues with new strength through the regular meetings and work of interdisciplinary group of sociologists, cultural anthropologists, architects, urban planners, journalists and others. In this process they build on each other’s ideas and solutions to the market challenges.

We are recruiting more volunteers and funds for our future activities there. If you are willing to help through human or monetary resources, please contact us.

WHEN: From 12.2011 onwards

WHERE: Women’s Market, 13th School, Sofia

TEAM: Nikola Venkov and “Women’s Market” group

Events, In the beginning

Volatile Mandritsa

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People from the “Association for the Revival of the Village of Mandritsa” come up with great ideas to enliven their favorite native village. Willing to please and attract mostly youngsters – the potential future residents of the village and with the support of Ivaylovgrad Municipality, they had organized an Easter celebration for children. They invited us to create the festival’s program with factory’s charge together with our friends from Cumbo Circus. And this is what we came up with – a gunny sack race, “Mandritsa golf” (knocking down a matchbox with a potato on a thread) egg-and-spoon race, tug of war with a rope made from recycled materials and other games.

One of the major attractions was the “Treasure Hunt” – a real quest-game to explore Mandritsa. Children were walking around the village with different missions, interrogating the grandmothers and learning many things while trying to find the hidden treasure – a pot of gold coins … made from chocolate!

Most fanciful of all was the enchanting performance under the tent of Cumbo Circus. At sunset dozens of DIY kites flew in the sky. And finally there was a real mask carnival in which the participants’ fantasy made the Cumbo-jury’s decision maximally difficult.

The good thing is that the festival had a second edition in 2012 and will probably become a permanent event. We wish them the same excitement in the village all year round!

TEAM: “Association For the Revival of the Village of Mandritsa” in partnership with the municipality of Ivaylovgrad, a team from the Factory and friends, Cumbo Circus

WHEN: 01.05.2011

WHERE: the village of Mandritsa

Events, In the beginning

Meet for change/Creative drink

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MEET 4 CHANGE / CREATIVE DRINK is a brand new format that has been invented and implemented by Ideas Factory since 2012. This is our series of Networking events to create a space for mixing and interaction between groups that usually don’t get to meet each other. Thus people who are crazy about facts (scientists, researchers, activists) meet people crazy about communication and various forms of expression (designers, journalists, artists, marketing specialists, directors, animators) and together they create unique public campaigns, social innovations, they change something or they just meet and have a chat over a glass of wine! For our first experiment we gathered animators and activists in the summer of 2012, this was followed by a second Creative Wine on 28.11.2012 in Beta Cafe. The initiative has already conceived its first results, which you’ll soon learn about!

In its Meet for Change variation, the initiative brought together young activists and civic groups in non-hierarchical dialogue with local authorities and representatives of local decision-making institutions in order to catalyze dialogue and facilitate the joint development of innovative strategies through an integrated approach that involves young people. In 2012 such meetings were already held in Vidin and Burgas. Brace yourselves Ruse and Plovdiv!

Meetings to achieve understanding, meeting with open endings

OBJECTIVE: To catalyze and create conditions for the quality communication of important topics by full-blooded and unique networking.

WHEN: Creative Drink Vol.1 – June 15, 2012 in Art-Space in front of NDK in Sofia, Vol.2 – 28.11.2012; Meet for change Vol. 1 – May 2012 Sea Casino in Burgas, Vol. 2 – July 2012, the Regional Government of Vidin. Follow this site and our FB- page, to learn about the next editions of the initiative in 2013;

Events, In the beginning

Th13teen Arts

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The first day of July turned into an unforgettable experience for the participants in the competition for business ideas in the field ofcreative industries Th13teen Arts. “Ideas Factory” and Art “Na tamno” zone are the partners of the Ministry of Economy and Energy in the national phase of the global competition Creative Business Cup.

Winner of this year’s competition is Vanya Ivanova and her Vanilla Kitchen. Her idea of a network of pastry shops in which the client creates his own product sends her directly to the final of the Creative Business Cup in Denmark.

The event included presentations of another twelve very interesting business ideas from almost all areas of the creative industries. Second and third place after Vanilla Kitchen deserve diKollect, whose idea is to connect the authors of works of art with their potential buyers and WIshi – a platform that aims to bring together people with the same desires.

The winner will represent Bulgaria in the international finals in Denmark in November. He will have the opportunity to compete for prizes totaling of $ 100,000 and to present his idea to the largest companies and investors in the world and together with them to find a way to implement it.

Events, In the beginning, International

PRICE

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We can’t wait to tell you what the Ideas Factory was involved in…
We are proud to be partners with the leading organization COPADE on the project “PRICE” – Promoting Responsible Investment and Commerce in Europe.
PRICE is a project about the interaction between Ethical financing and Fair trade. The project is encouraging the Fair Trade movement and the ethical finance institutions to work together – on one handthe Fair trade to use the ethical finance services in their everyday financial needs, and on the other to stimulate the ethical financial institutions to invest in organizations engaged in fair trade. PRICE launched in 2013 and involves 10 partners from 9 countries – AGICES, Equação, Fair Trade Hellas, The Cultural Foundation for Ethical Responsability (FCRE), KoperattivaKummerċĠust, PFTA, Protect the Future, The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and Ideas Factory.
The aimis to connect the ethical financing with the fair trade on a European level and to introduce them in Bulgaria so we can learn more about these topics and find out how to apply them.

A fine example of this model is Banca Popolare Etica – http://www.bancaetica.it/, the first ever bank in Europe that seeks real change, creating and implementing models of ethical finance and fair trade in Europe, Central America, Asia and Africa. The Bank’s policy is determined by its 37,000 members who decide how to use the finances of the bank (their savings and investments) in order to have a positive impact on the society as a whole – social entrepreneurial initiatives, green and cultural start-ups, urban cooperatives, etc., that usually other “normal” banks wouldn’t pay any attention to.

Ideas Factory organized the first event in Bulgaria aiming to create alternative ethical funding mechanisms, independent from the existing financial institutions.

On the 16th of June webrought together visionaries and practitioners from Bulgaria and Europe, social and green entrepreneurs, consumers, food and parental co-operatives, activists, financiers and economists interested in the possibility of creating an ethical financial instrument in Bulgaria.
Together we started the debate on the need to launch the instruments of ethical finance in the context of the need to raise interest in Fair & Domestic Trade in Bulgaria.

BancaEticais a unique example of a started as a grassroots initiative bank, as a result of the efforts to avoid the corrupt Italian banking system. Today the bank has 37 000 members – all of them gather at an annual General meeting and decide the direction of development of the bank. They make Banca Etica a unique example of civic participation, responsibility and an instrument giving independence of small projects in the community’s favor.