By Mette Østergaard Nielsen,
Project Manager in the Department of Social Affairs, Kolding Municipality.

The SEEING project made ​​it possible to put extra resources into the development and the work with social enterprises. The project has provided space to reflect on the former activities – what worked and what didn’t work. And to day we have a clear plan and strategy for where we are heading.

The SEEING project has furthermore provided us with a great network on both national and international plan. On a national plan the project has resulted in a lot of attention and new contacts. Today we have a number of new contacts within various Municipalities in Denmark. We have a great cooperation with our national partner on this project; the financial institution Merkur. Furthermore we have gained new contacts to people with special knowledge in legal affairs and counseling of social entrepreneurs. And last but not least a number of exciting social enterprises from other Danish cities has shown interest in starting subsidiaries in Kolding – so the future looks bright.

Regarding the international aspect it has been a great reward to work together with other European partners. The project has given us a large network and provided inspiration to new activities that we consider adapting in Denmark. For example it is clear that the UK has a lot to offer when it comes to teaching materials and training of social entrepreneurs within the educational system. Furthermore the international cooperation has provided us with an understanding of the differences and similarities between the countries. Facing different welfare models enables you to see your own reality in a different and renew light.

In February 2014 we had our final conference in Kolding and it was a great success. The theme of the conference was: “social economy and job creation for disadvantaged citizens”. We had around 160 participants from the whole Region of Southern Denmark – including representatives from various municipalities, social economic enterprises, volunteer organizations, private businesses and local politicians. The fact that a great number of local politicians participated has already now resulted in a renewed and intensified focus on the importance of social economic enterprises in Kolding. As we speak new ideas and strategies are in the making waiting for political adoption. With out the possibility of joining the SEEING project we would neither have had the knowledge and resources to get this far.