Local Action: Global Goals. The Festival for people who are #DoingBusinessDifferently

It’s the time of year when social enterprises in Plymouth and the surrounding areas raise their flags and get together to celebrate and share, and after the past year oh boy do they deserve to celebrate!

You may be wondering what social enterprise is, and simply put – social enterprise is doing business in a way that makes the world a better place. Social enterprises give back to the community and causes that are important; working for a purpose not just a profit.

Plymouth Social Enterprise Network has hosted a festival highlighting and celebrating these amazing businesses for the past 12 years. What started as a half-day event in 2010 is now one of the UK’s leading celebrations of ethical business with speakers and workshop leaders from across the UK. Plymouth was the flagship Social Enterprise City awarded by Social Enterprise UK 8 years ago and is very proud to continue being a leader in a kinder, fairer, greener economy.

In Other Starry Night Ball

The festival this year is bigger than ever before, with more than 20 events spread over two weeks in November. Each event will take a look at one of the SDGs and work out how we can all take Local Action for the Global Goals. We’ll be offering free workshops to help upskill and plan for the future to support your business to make real impact in the changing economy. We will also be creating free sessions for you to meet new people, form connections and strengthen your community and your business. But it’s not all business; there will be a wide range of events for all kinds of people. So there is something for you whether you’re running a business, you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, or you’d just like to learn more about how you can spend your money with businesses that make a difference to the world.

Supporting and following on from the important work of COP26, the festival events this year are focussed on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are in the Decade of Action – acknowledging that we have a finite time to rise to the challenge of meeting these (literally life saving) goals. The UK ambition is to make these changes by 2030, and if we’re going to make this work then all businesses need to work together to create the future we all deserve.

There are workshops hosted by international organisations such as The SDG Monitor, Crowdfunder, Expert Impact and School for Social Entrepreneurs. We’ll also have some incredible local impact sessions from local changemakers like Low Carbon Devon, PCC, Food Plymouth, Millfields Trust and so many others!

Zero Carbon Conference and Workshop

You can book your place at any of the free events, learn about running a social enterprise or host your own event for the festival on the website at https://plymsocent.org.uk/social-enterprise-city-festival-2021/

The festival this year is being sponsored by leaders in Plymouth. City Bus as part of Go Southwest, Audax Security, Plymouth City Council, and One You Plymouth.

Jan Potter, Head of Wellbeing at Livewell Southwest, said: “We are proud to have been established as a social enterprise for 10 years.  Livewell provides integrated physical and mental health and social care services to a population of about 270,000 across South Hams, West Devon and Plymouth, with additional responsibilities for delivering specialist services to people living in parts of Cornwall and Devon.”

A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said: ‘Plymouth City Council is delighted to sponsor the Social Enterprise Festival this year in recognition of the contribution that social enterprises have made to driving growth in the City over the last decade and acknowledging their future significant role post-Covid in resetting the local economy to address structural inequalities in our city and place a fairer and greener future at the heart of our recovery.’

We’re also pleased to say that Real Ideas, Plymouth Energy Community, Dogs Creative, and PFK Francis Clark. Our Plymouth, Social Enterprise Mark, Low Carbon Devon and Iridescent ideas have also added their support to the biggest ever social enterprise festival in the UK.

Social Enterprise Fair at Moments Cafe

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of a movement that is changing the way Plymouth works from the ground up!

Get in touch to find out more about the network, the work they do, and how they can help you make real change in your community. Hello@plymsocent.org.uk