November newsletter
When I came into this sector over a decade ago, it was both joy and relief to find people who put purpose first. I met them in enterprises - at the heart of our field - and in the surrounding ecosystem.
I’m proud of what we’ve created together, and with so much generosity and kindness.
There have been a lot of changes in our sector recently. Change can be unsettling. Sometimes it also comes with misinterpretation and misinformation, which is unhelpful.
Tensions flared publicly in the sector this week, and in ways that promoted division rather than fostering the constructive dialogue needed to build an economy in which all people, places and the planet thrive.
This has overwhelmingly not been my experience of our field.
There are important and meaningful discussions to be had. Views in our sector are diverse, and that's a very good thing. My sincere hope and ask is that we don't collectively lose sight of why we do this work, and find ways to use this tension productively.
If you ever have questions about anything Social Enterprise Australia is leading or doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly.
... I couldn't think of a better time for this week's open learning event on First Nations principles.
First Nations learning for social enterprises
An incredible line-up of guest speakers has been announced for this Friday’s open learning event: First Nations Principles for Social Enterprise Development.
Shifting Ground co-founders, Dr Lilly Brown and Genevieve Grieves will be joined by agents of social change representing a cross-section of First Nations social enterprises and businesses.
They are:
Rona Glynn-McDonald, Kaytetye, Co-founder and Director of First Nations Futures, Founder of Common Ground
Dr Blaze Kwaymullina, Palyku, Chairman of Emu Nest investment group
Professor Deen Sanders OAM, Worimi, Lead Partner Deloitte Integrity
This interactive webinaris for anyone interested in social enterprise as a way of doing good for people, place and planet and will explore the principle: "If you can get right what you do in relation to First Nations people, your work with all people and communities will benefit".
Event details
Title: First Nations Principles for Social Enterprise Development
Date and time: Friday, 29 November 2024, 12pm AEDT
Duration: 90 minutes
Location: Online via a Zoom link.
This free event is the first in a series of open learning events hosted by Social Enterprise Australia and funded under the Australian Government’s Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI). We can’t wait to see you there!
Integrated membership for social enterprise
As shared in our last newsletter, Social Enterprise Australia (SEA) is discussing with state and territory social enterprise peak bodies the potential for simple, integrated membership, following our recent governance survey which included findings that many people want to see this.
When asked if they had any additional comments about who SEA’s members should be, 21% of people who responded to this question in the survey expressed a desire for a membership model that allows joining both a state or territory peak and SEA together.
In considering integrated membership that allows social enterprises to join both a state or territory peak together, there is no proposal for a single national membership. Social enterprise bodies are essential in every state, territory and nationally to help the sector identify and work towards shared goals. We need a strong fabric of networks driving challenge-led shifts across different jurisdictions and impact areas. The survey findings reinforced this, noting ‘respondents across categories recognised the need for the distinct and complementary roles of SEA and the state and territory peak bodies.’
We don’t yet know what an integrated membership model may look like, it’s an open question being discussed in current and upcoming consultations. State and territory peaks are consulting on this at different times and in different ways. Decisions by the group of state and territory peaks and SEA are made collaboratively and democratically, with each having an equal vote on matters related to the group's direction, decisions and communications, ensuring stakeholder input is fully represented.
For those who missed it, the SEA governance survey findings are here:
If you have input, ideas or questions on membership or anything else, we’d love to hear from you.
When social enterprises join together to grow and innovate…
On World Social Enterprise Day (21 November) we celebrated the incredible work and impact of all social enterprises - transforming lives, rebuilding communities, ensuring no harm to the planet and creating an economy for all. We love this story that shows what's possible when social enterprises join together to grow and innovate...
More than 100 Victorian social enterprises have now been part of the Purpose Precinct, an Australian-first initiative that brings together social enterprises across multiple spaces at Melbourne’s iconic Queen Victoria Market and beyond. The precinct nurtures ideas and innovation, providing opportunity for social enterprises to retail on site, launch new products, kickstart new businesses, or take part in state-wide incubation and enterprise development.
Alongside multiple retail and activation spaces, and a cafe by social enterprise STREAT, the precinct includes the Moving Feast Kitchen, bringing innovation to solving the problem of food waste. The kitchen works with market stallholders to divert overripe or undersold produce for resale as long shelf-life products, with a 98% success rate.
Moving Feast Eco-Chefs Chris Locke and Fernando Minervini experiment with discarded bread to come up with two solutions - high-quality ‘bread-waste pasta’ with eggs and flour added, and traditional Armenian lavosh crackers. In other innovations, overripe mangoes become mango hot sauce and kombucha. Old sweet potatoes are transformed into sweet potato miso and shoyu, sold in the precinct and served at the STREAT cafe.
“There’s a beautiful simplicity in re-diverting food that doesn’t have to go into the ground,” says STREAT Deputy CEO Elise Bennetts who works in the kitchen.
“There are so many issues in our food systems and so much food insecurity. Farmers struggle to grow food, only to see it go back into the ground. We can’t feed the whole state but we can solve small problems in different ways, and pilot something that can potentially be scaled. There is huge potential here.”
Launched in late 2022 by Good Cycles and STREAT with support from Social Enterprise Network Victoria and funded through the Victorian Government’s Social Enterprise Strategy, the Purpose Precinct has a dual focus on the circular economy and providing on and off-site employment and training pathways for disadvantaged jobseekers facing multiple barriers to finding work. You can read more about the Purpose Precinct here.
Cheers,
Jess Moore
