Social(i)Makers Project in Hungary

In the framework of the Social(i)Makers project, an international partnership of seven countries can create a Central European social innovation network whose members implement socially useful ideas.

In the framework of this project implemented as part of the Interreg Central Europe Program, local pilot programs have been carried out in all participating countries over the past nine months. In Hungary, these programs focused on the challenges of employing the disadvantaged.

The Social(i)Makers project is being implemented in partnership with the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK) and co-financed by the European Union and the Hungarian state under the Interreg Central Europe Program, with the aim of embracing socially useful ideas by transferring practical knowledge. As a result of the project, a comprehensive strategy supporting social innovation will be developed and a Central European social innovation network will be established, the members of which are committed to sustainable social development.

The international partnership of seven countries (Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) began in the summer of 2018. In Hungary, the project focused on the challenges of employing the disadvantaged.

The aim of the international project activities of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry is to promote the professional development of member companies and the strengthening of their competitiveness through the implementation of projects, thus contributing to the increasingly high level of performance of their public tasks.

In the last nine months, local pilot projects have been implemented in the countries concerned, i.e. social innovation initiatives have been tested at local level. In the Hungarian one, the focus was on strengthening the social innovation activities of 15 organizations supporting the employment of disadvantaged people. Based on the methodology developed by professionals, the organizations have been able to develop their employment-focused social impact measurement system and apply it in their daily operations.