An interview with Slawomir Tokarski, Director of Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing, DG GROW Since its launch in 2012, the European Social Innovation Competition has served as a beacon for social innovators. Each year the competition takes on a different challenge facing Europe, employing a proven methodology for supporting early-stage ideas, while facilitating a network of […]

Lisa-Maria Sommer is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the 2019 European Social Innovation Competition Impact Prize Winner, MTOP. Speaking at this year’s Awards Ceremony, she explained how the 2018 Competition has helped her company to double the output of its training programmes for refugees. A bit more than 3 and a half years ago, Nina […]

Italy’s ‘RecilaGaMe’ talks about turning plastic waste into silk, their innovative idea and their tiny larva business partners. Can you imagine transforming a plastic bag into an elegant silk tie? Or into a silk-shirt? Though it seems strange or even impossible, this is the concept of RecilaGaMe, our innovative plastic waste disposal idea. Our idea […]

Giuseppe Fasano, designer and co-founder at LUFT PARCEL, talks us though his inspiration, project and process through his participation in The European Social Innovation Completion.  My background is in design and I have been involved in packaging design for several years. Through my work, I noticed that the demand for sustainable packaging was increasing and […]

VEnvirotec Biotechnology‘s Patricia Ayma, co-founder and CTO, talks to NESTA about their inspiration and process and the experience of having participated in The European Social Innovation Award. How were you inspired to challenge plastic waste? ‘I got inspired to challenge plastic waste while studying the Environmental Engineering Master. At first, I discovered plastic pollution at […]

MIWA’s account manager Nikola Stiskalkova, talks to NESTA about their inspiration and participation in The European Social Innovation Award. How were you inspired to challenge plastic waste? ‘In MIWA, we all share the vision of a simple, straight-forward, packaging free shopping experience. For a long time, we have all been trying to figure out a […]

Norway’s Wilhelm Myrer shares how he met his business partner, their idea for Empower, and how they are taking Norway’s already successful recycling system and merging it with competitive technology, and making it available around the world… I was working with a startup, developing blockchain technology to disrupt the banks, when I coincidentally met my […]

Thoughts and motivations from Cedric Solms, CEO and co-founder of Apaga, finalist in The European Social Innovation Competition. In 2017 Misha and I, as UWC Dilijan graduates, joined forces around an idea of ​​improving Armenia’s environmental situation. Haven fallen in love with Armenia, its people and its nature, we were heartbroken to see the state […]

Renata Alessio is the co-founder of RIS Cosmetics, and a finalist in this year’s European Social Innovation Competition, creating innovative solutions to tackle the issue of plastic waste. During our masters programme in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, we needed to do an entrepreneurial project. We started out as 3 friends from different 3 different continents; America, […]

The Finalists of the 2019 European Social Innovation Competition are announced Launched in memory of social innovation pioneer Diogo Vasconcelos, the European Social Innovation Competition is a challenge prize run by the European Commission across all EU Member States and Horizon 2020 associated countries. Now in its 7th year, the Competition acts as a beacon […]