After three online events that focused on broadening the practical knowledge of our benenficiairies, the fourth Training Hotspot, organized by Social Impact Ireland live from Limerick, gave a different spin to the training sessions. Striving for Viability in CCIs – Towards Sustainable Working Models explored the expertise that already exists within each beneficiary, by fousing on their social impact and by letting them build their own tailor-made solutions that put the audience on the spotlight.
During this three-day event, in fact, Field A beneficiaries, and those from Field B interested in the topic, had not only the opportunity to dive deeper into their core values, undertanding how connected they are to each other and their publics, but also the chance to act as the expert, giving advice to three guest speakers on how to build their own working model.
On the first day, Eamon Ryan from Social Impact Ireland led the conversation by providing the beneficiaries with useful notions on organizational purpose, value network and impact. These three elements are strictly linked together, because establishing a clear organizational purpose means approaching a certain value network and having a specific impact on the community around us. Seeing the connection between the three means being a step closer towards a strategic direction that is meaningful to the organization and its audience. And this was exactly the focus of DAY 1.
The aim of the second day was to put the first day’s theory straight into practice, with the help of three external guests. Jessica Bonenfont Coogan, American director and choreographer and cofounder of Greywood Arts, Sinead Hope, Director of University Concert Hall, and Bernadette Tuite, Chair of Cork Craft and Design, met the participants to brainstorm innovative solutions to their daily struggles linked to socially sustainable practices in the cultural and creative sector. This exercise has been very well received by the beneficiaries, who enjoyed the practical “problem-solving” focus and the great networking opportunity that evolved from it.
In line with the networking atmosphere of the previous day, the third day further embraced a community feeling. In fact, after a morning of interesting examples on how to create and stimulate change, an afternoon talk with Arts Professionals from Limerick took place. The conversation was moderated by Richard Lynch from WWW.ILOVELIMERICK.COM and included personalities like Angie Smalis, Artistic Director of Limerick Youth Theatre, Gillian Fenton, Marketing Manager of The Lime Tree Theatre, the actor, director and playwright Myles Breen, and Jayne Foley from Fresh International Film Festival. They brought to the table all their unique expertise. Needless to say, this last bit concluded the three days in an epiphany of observations that offered meaningful food for thought for our benenficiaries.
In fact, more than anything else, the Limerick Training Hotspot connected the participants through empathy. The expertise of Social Impact Ireland in linking organizations to people and thinking with the mind of the community has been a great addition to the cultural background provided by the first three Training Hotspots.
Next we are going to Bilbao, Spain! The last online Training Hotspot is about to come soon.
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If you’d like to catch up on the training, you can listen to the podcast Striving for Viability in CCIs on TRAINART’s Spreaker channel! Check it out.