What makes one financial institution ethical and how did Banca Etica manage to transform itself in just 15 years from a financial cooperative into a regular bank which management is based on inclusion and transparency with almost 40 000 members?

The concept of Fair Trade meets various reactions around Eastern Europe and it’s quite understandable.

The movement started in the 70s as a reaction to the trade agreements which strip the developing countries of the right to earn their living with dignity and labour, making them dependent on international funds. Nowadays Fair Trade movement is facing many critics about the fact that poor European regions such as the Balkans doesn’t have the right to be producers even though the countries there also deal with labour exploitation – in the tailoring sheds for example. Therefore we need one more holistic Fair Trade concept which recognizes our right to sustainable local production of goods that are not only from the developing countries (like coffee, cocoa, bananas etc). If we manage to obtain the wish our potatoes, tomatoes and fruits to be homegrown and of good quality, a world of wonder is on the horizon… :)

This time Ideas Factory challenges you with photography! And it’s not any kind of photography, but the so called “Participatory photography” or “Photo voice”. This is a method used mainly in the field of social development, education and health protection.

This kind of photography unites photography with social activity. The chosen participants will have to present their own community and to express their viewpoint on it through photos and discussions as well as creating stories on the basis of the taken shots.

On the 28th and 29th of May at Ideas Factory Kallina Brailsford – one of the founders of Human Camera – will show us how this method is being used as a tool from people in inequal communities to express the way they understand their living circumstances and their hopes for the future.

Date: 28-29th of May
10.00 – 18.00 h (1h lunch break)
Place: Ideas Factory, Prof. N. Mihailov 12 Str.

What does it fight back at, you ask?! Well, our strict jury was in the eye of a storm full of ideas and creative solutions which were the result of Social Change Challenge which took place between 12th and 14th of April and included 29 teams (more than 100 people) from all over the country. Now’s the time for the jury to say its final word. This will happen on the 15th of May at betahaus. We will gather all the participants there to find out the jury’s opinion on each of them, because if it’s up to us – they were all great! The most important thing is that this is the first step towards the next part of Changeis.bg – Changemaker’s Academy – in which some of the participants will become a part of. You can come and see for yourself who are the next changemakers.

If you think that we haven’t prepared an interesting mixture of people this time, you should get to know us better.

We will gather together Vera Petkanchin (Junior Achievement Bulgaria), Luybomir Popyordanov (Stenata shops, Green days, Days of the challenges), Nadezhda Savova (Bread Houses), Yordan Nedev (Bianor), Nevena Tsaneva (Trust for Social Achievements), Alexander Mihaylov (betahaus), Yanina Taneva (Ideas Factory). One real jury for Social Innovation Challenge 2014!

These people will have the significant task to look through all presentations and to say their hard but just word about it.
You can keep up with the news about the teams at facebook and at www.changeis.bg

Dear Fabricants, don’t get distracted – there’re only 6 days left to register in the spring adventure, which Ideas Factory created alongside tens of friends and partners. The challenges for social change are about to take over Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Varna and Bourgas between 11th and 15th of April. As a part of the Factory community you have the opportunity to join the challenge in one of the following roles: as a part of a team, as an “Angel” (for the ones who have participated in our previous programmes) or it just may be the first step to awaken your changemaking nature.

Find the initiative at facebook – Changeis.bg

Register a team and keep track of what’s coming here.

See what motivates us to do what we do.