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SEWF22 Brisbane Participant Spotlight: Aimee Spence, InspirAlba

This year, CEIS via the International Social Enterprise Observatory (ISEO) is supporting Scottish social enterprise representatives to participate in SEWF 22 in-person in Brisbane.

ISEO is a Scottish Government funded project aimed at supporting enterprises who currently trade or have ambitions to trade internationally, to highlight Scotland as a social enterprise destination, increase social enterprise engagement internationally and promote Scotland as a social enterprise leader.

In the lead up to this year’s event in Brisbane, Australia, we wanted to chat to some of those in receipt of bursaries to get a sense of what they are expecting to get from the event.

In this week’s blog we sat down with Aimee Spence, Rural Social Enterprise Coordinator for InspirAlba. Inspiralba was established in 2009 as a charitable enterprise. Over the past 14 years they have developed their services providing business support, learning and employability opportunities, with a focus on rural social enterprise.

Why did you apply for a bursary to attend SEWF 22?

I applied for a bursary to attend SEWF 22 because I thought that it looked like a fantastic opportunity to explore the topic of social enterprise from the context of another country. I also loved the idea of building connections with others who work in the same field and learning from each other. I would not have been able to attend the event without the help of a bursary, so I am extremely thankful to be given this opportunity.

The aim of ISEO is to support Scottish organisations who have ambitions to, or currently trade internationally? What are you hoping to achieve from this trip on a personal and organisational level?

As mentioned above, it is our hope that we will be able to with other social enterprises from around the world in the hopes of collaborating on materials/resources at a later date. We think it would be beneficial for our networks to include social enterprises from countries other than Scotland and the UK, and this opportunity will provide the chance to build those connections and create better-informed resources for those living all over the World.

Our original focus was on rural Scotland, but we have expanded on this now to include all of Scotland and the UK. We have started looking at social enterprise from an international level now and are looking to include more examples of learning from countries further-afield.

What opportunities are you hoping this will create e.g. in-person business meetings you are able to participate in, new networks etc?

It would be wonderful if this experience will create new opportunities such as being added to various networks and/or finding others to add to our growing list of contacts.

What are you most looking forward to?

I have been asked to speak at a session on day 2 of the SEWF 22 and I am both excited and nervous about this! I am really looking forward to taking part in this wonderful event and learning as much as I can about social enterprise.

We’d like to thank Aimee for taking the time to answer our questions.

Aimee forms part of the wider delegation that will be attending this year’s SEWF, co-ordinated by our Marketing and Events Manager Jo Seagrave. CEO Martin Avila will be part of the group contributing to a panel on climate change.

To find out more about the Social Enterprise World Forum, this year’s conference and how you can attend, please visit their website.