Social entrepreneurs may benefit from concessions from the state if they propose another legal mechanism for identifying and verifying social entities working in this field to the Ministry of Finance, said Constanta Popescu, ex-governmental advisor on economic matters, who took part in the International Festival CIVIC FEST that closed in Chisinau today, IPN reports.
Constanta Popescu said the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Labor support the granting of concessions to social entrepreneurs or at least does not block these processes. The problem resides in the dialogue with the Ministry of Finance, which has a reduced capacity for verifying and differentiating between the social entrepreneurs who really perform social activity from those who only intend to make abuse of certain concessions.
Tereza Jureckova, representative of the Czech Association Pragulic, said there is no common definition of social entrepreneurship. Every state and even organization decides by itself how to treat this method of work. In the Czech Republic, the conception of social entrepreneurship refers to the employment and involvement of the disadvantaged persons in certain activities rather than to the profits that this kind of activity can bring. In general, social entrepreneurship should generate incomes, but has also a charity mission, with important social impact.
Larisa Celan, deputy head of the Society of the Blind of Moldova, said the idea of admitting as many students with visual impairments as possible to education institutions won the approval of the Slovak Government. Thus, a support center for such students was opened under the State University of Moldova. It is also a center for social inclusion. Owing to this center, more than 50 blind students were able to study at universities in Moldova and abroad over the last few years.
The International Festival CIVIC FEST themed “Moldova for People” took place in Chisinau on October 29 - 31 and centers on three areas: culture and the mass media in Moldova; justice and the social transformations and how the NGOs can support the democratic and social changes, and social entrepreneurship – social inclusion and community development. The event is organized by the public association Synergetica Eur/Est with the support of East-Europe Foundation and the Governments of Sweden and Denmark.
