Good practice:

Social Entrepreneurship Ambassador Network

The main reason for the creation of the network was to involve communities in the regions of Latvia and bring awareness about social entrepreneurship. When the network was created, social entrepreneurship was not known and widely accepted. The involvement of local community leaders to promote social entrepreneurship as a practice has proved to be very successful. This network is unique - it unites social business ambassadors who are professionals in various fields and represent different professions (NGO, business incubators, education, sphere of law etc.). Ambassadors help people in all Latvia's regions to better understand the opportunities of social entrepreneurship. In many cases ambassadors have become local community leaders in the field of social entrepreneurship and they strongly cooperate with local municipalities and NGOs. Ambassadors organize events, give advice in social entrepreneurship, inform local media, form new partnerships etc. This active work of ambassadors has encouraged municipalities to get involved in social entrepreneurship. In addition, the work of social business ambassadors has raised awareness of social entrepreneurship in regions, but their advice to the local community has encouraged the creation of new social enterprises. This practice represents an interdisciplinary approach and proves that social entrepreneurship is a horizontal activity that can be implemented in different sectors.

The network has been established in cooperation with the British Council in Latvia, and it was created as part of the project “SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A TOOL FOR STRONGER COMMUNITIES IN LATVIA” (total budget for the project was EUR 38 040 yearly). The Network is still coordinated by the SEAL.

Over two years, an audience of more than 2 000 people was reached in person at various social entrepreneurship events. More than 60 000 people have been reached in distance communication. Key success factor to create a sustainable practice is to involve active, interested leaders from local communities, who are interested to bring their knowledge to wider public. Now more than 30 leaders from across Latvia are involved in this network.

It has been challenging to motivate and coordinate the network of volunteers and it has been time-consuming to involve ambassadors fully, as well as to cover diverse communities and ensure national coverage of volunteers, create awareness, and bring knowledge and skills to all of them.

Practice is easily transferable, as it consists of volunteer involvement in the form of “train the trainer”, also, many enterprises do create “ambassador networks” that bring a message of the brand to the wider public. This initiative promotes the development of social entrepreneurship in all regions of Latvia, strengthens the potential of local communities and helps to create new social enterprises that are able to creatively and effectively solve various societal challenges in regions. Ambassadors provide successful cooperation with different stakeholders in regions. The ambassadors’ network can be of interest for other European regions as well. Through activities organised by the local community, leaders have a greater understanding about social entrepreneurship as a tool for creating closer, stronger and more cohesive local communities in their area, also learning how social entrepreneurship can be used as a tool for participation, understanding and engagement.