Onnistamo is an annual meeting for people interested in social entrepreneurship. The event is organised for the second time at Hub Helsinki 17-18 February, 2012.

Onnistamo is a forum for social entrepreneurs, public sector representatives, funders, experts and anyone interested in the subject. It is organised by Hub Helsinki and SYY ry (Social entrepreneurs’ association in Finland) and the British Council is proud to support the event.

Onnistamo 2012 will be a two-day event: during the first day the participants will have the chance to be inspired by experienced and successful movers and shakers like Kate Bull (CEO, People’s Supermarket, UK). The second day is (un)organised in the form of an unconference.

More information on the event and the programme can be found here.

To mark the birthday of Dickens the library at Rikhardinkatu will present Frank Lloyd’s magnificent Oliver Twist film from 1922 starting at 18.00. Free entry!

http://www.lib.hel.fi/Tapahtumat/Tapahtuma.aspx?ID=ee7d7111-fba3-43af-af60-71ecc37d8257

Who wants to go to school in the summer? That sounds quite peculiar, doesn’t it? The type of summer schools I am talking about here used to run in many, almost all, UK Universities.

The initiative was started by an educational charity called the Sutton Trust. The purpose of summer schools was to attract young people just about to take A-level exams (roughly equivalent to Baccalaureat and such) to come to University for a week and sample Higher Education. During the week they were taught various subjects, just like undergraduate students, they engaged in sports activities, had a nice dinner and a summer schools disco.

Summer Schools were great fun and very popular but they also helped to attract young people from less privileged backgrounds to apply to Universities. Few years after the Sutton Trust had been running their summer schools the UK government launched their own summer schools programme under the Aimhigher initiative.

Summer Schools were simply amazing. People who attended had a great time and one could really see the confidence towards education growing in them. Bristol University, where I used work in this initiative, recently published a research on the impact of Summer Schools and proved their value in helping young people to Universities.

The awards help nurture enterprise across seven categories – design, music, fashion, screen (film, TV and animation), interactive (software, entertainment, games and social media platforms), performing arts (theatre, dance and “live” art) and publishing. It aims to inspire and facilitate the sharing of best practices in building skills and access to resources, professional development, markets, mentoring and resources to increase business opportunities between India, UK and internationally.

YCE 2011 -Designs
YCE 2011 award was very special because unlike other awards it did not end on stage with trophy, but it actually started on the stage. YCE opened a new stage for us and offered an amazing journey , which even if you pay millions you would not get. As a part of YCE winner, British council planned a visit to UK for almost ten days, with events packaged for us with interaction, exposure, fun and learning. I was looking forward to meet other 23 winners from over 19 countries, truly once in a lifetime opportunity.

London
London is awesome for many things but I specially like sweet smell in the air and seasonal day ( there are seasons in a year, but in London you might get all of them in a day ! ). It is fun to walk all around in London, and nothing like exploring the city on bicycle, thanks to awesome support system created for hiring , returning bicycling ..

Truly International
23 winners from 19 countries, I couldn’t even imagine what it will be like to meet and spend time with such a diversed set of talented people. In my wildest dream I wouldn’t have imagined that I would know so much about design and life in Estonia, Poland, Syria Turkey, Vietnam , Mexico and more. Each one of us had a very unique style of work and cultural values, but there was one thing in common; entrepreneurial energy. Everyone was on the same path of exploring their dream but on different stages of evolution and experiences. It was nice to see how each one has his/her own way to manage their own context and create magic with their work. Thanks to British Council for putting all of together, it was decade worth experience condensed in a week.

London Design Festival
London Design Festival and London Fashion Week happens at same time of the year, and i guess , it is not a coincidence, it is planned to pack as many design activities to promote London as creative hub of the world. Other interesting fact, all these events are privately run organizations. In context to Indian scenario, whole lot of us were hoping that Indian Design council, NID, or CII will run such activities, but I am convinced that it is not sustainable. We also need entrepreneurs initiating such activities here, and I think IDC, CII or Govt will happily support.

100% Design
100 % Design is been great platform for designers to showcase their talent in home products, furnishings, and lighting. Visitor ranging from buyers, stores, distributors, and general people make the show very special. it has become launch pad for many upcoming designers to show case their talent.

100% Design is very keen to have India pavilion in 2012 show and we have initiated the discussion amongst IDC and NID to explore this further. I will be personally pleased if we could take part in next edition of 100% Design and share new and notable with rest of the world.

Investing in Indian Creative Industry
One of the key program of YCE award was to connect all designers to investors and see how design could play larger role in creative industry economy. There is great deal of interest from investors in Indian creative industry , especially in Design. This was the really the key outcome of YCE award, and this program includes mentorship to the Indian design firms to make them investor friendly and bring investment and partnerships which will impact the overall economic contribution in big way. It will also open up opportunities for many international collaborations with Indian design firms.

I would like to thank British council for creating such wonderful launch pad for all of us, especially BC teams from India and London for making our experience memorable and enriching . Beyond all the business rewards from the program, there is one more thing I value the most; friendships with people from so many countries, truly a treasure.

Post by – © Abhijit Bansod

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There are loads of films about Xmas. There are few films about the New Year’s Eve. Here is my favourite one, reviewed by one of my favourite film critics.

This film has all the likeable characteristics of a good independent cinema. It feels real, full of idiosyncratic characters, plenty of witty dialogue. What I liked about it most is that it starts with this preconceived idea that New Year’s Eve is about future and starting new things etc. and then turns it all upside down. In other words it shows that one needs to sort out all the old stuff first and prepare oneself for new things. The film is funny, romantic and enjoyable.  Oh, and the lonely hearts advert ‘Misanthrope seeks a Misanthrope’ is a great touch.

What that film gets me thinking is that it is a reminder what life is about. Life is constantly about new things, about opportunities and challenges and exciting stuff.  It’s great that we have New Year’s eve when we can go through the old because life brings us so much new and exciting things that we wouldn’t have time otherwise!

Oh, and spot a famous tune at the end, known also as a whistle.