Intensive Study Programme Bucharest 2019
Bucharest Community Innovation Lab: Towards a Circular Economy for Romania's Capital City
Key dates of the Bucharest Intensive Study Programme
- Time frame: Monday, May 6 to Monday, May 13, 2019
- Host: The Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE) and Atelier Merci Charity
- Focus Challenge: Waste Management and Circular Economy
- Workshop Location: Bucharest, Romania
- Participants: students and staff members from the Community Learning for Local Change ERASMUS partnership
Why waste is a challenge for Bucharest
- There is a serious lack of an action-driven waste management system for individual consumers
- What do we do now with the used clothing items, paper, glass, the oil used in cooking, batteries, printers, used tires, plastic (bottles)?
- What could we do differently (better) for the environment?
- Too few companies are using circular economy in their business model
- How do we convince more companies to integrate circular economy principles of reduce, reuse, recycle?
- Serious lack of education for adults on waste management (at home, at work)
- How do we convince consumers to reduce, reuse, recycle various items?
The Bucharest Ecosystem of Circular Economy
Focus Topics and Activities
- Exploring Bucharest‘s ecosystem for circular economy
- Focus: Recycling, waste management and circular economy
- Cooperation with social businesses already active in the field of waste management:
- SOMARO: social supermarket
- RECICLETA (Viitor Plus association): Management of paper, cardboard, PET, aluminum.
- GOOD BOUTIQUE, Red Cross Romania: Management of textiles through recycling and reusing
- The Canvas Workshop - Atelierul de Panza: Management of textiles through recycling and reusing
- Core question: How to strengthen the capacity of social enterprises based in Bucharest?
- This will start by addressing concrete challenges the social businesses are currently facing
Mission of the Bucharest Community Innovation Lab
- A space (online and onsite) promoting a new approach to promote creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and skills for designing innovation in close cooperation with the communities in which the University is embedded. Hosted by the Bucharest University of Economic studies.
- A learning tool to achieve the main goal of the project: to develop, establish and maintain a new framework for linking University to its local communities.
- A starting point for co-creation and co-founding of local entrepreneurial solutions to local problems.
- A voice for the local challenges and the change makers (social entrepreneurs, businesses interested in implementing circular economy principles, etc).
The CLLC Workshop Group at ASE Bucharest in May 2019
The Process of the Intensive Study Programme in May 2019
Impressions
After the first field visit to the social enterprise the teams worked on their Theory of Change.
The Somaro group is discussing with the manager of the social supermarket
Teams present their theory of change to the plenary.....
...and collect instant feedback from their peers
interim presentation....
...and preparing for the final presentation
Final presentation with the local social enterprise community
After-work party in the courtyard of Atelier Merci
Debriefing of staff members
Outcomes
Bine Boutique: Group work with Bianca Drăghici, Ana Petcu, Raquel Mego Arellan, Saul Michielsen, Sanja Spindler-Milicevic and Bine Boutique in Bucharest
Recicleta: Group work with Georgiana Isabella Micu, Tiberiu Mihai Mihăilescu, Andreea Nedelea, Syed Iqbal, Shaurav Paul and Recicleta in Bucharest
Somaro Social Supermarket Group work with Alexandru Crișan, Boniface Awuor, Karly Briffa, Dirk-Jan Verder and Somaro Bucharest and Somaro Bucharest
The Canvas Workshop Group work with Nicolae Marius Vavură, Monica Lupescu, Alexandra Riza, Sebastiaan Farouzan Fard, Göksen Ezgi Boz and the Canvas Workshop in Bucharest
