Man must work with his fellows. Everyone should have some trade, or art or profession, be he rich or poor, and with this he must serve humanity. This service is acceptable as the highest form of worship.
Today marked the bi-annual 'brocante' in our neighbourhood - sort of a collective, community garage sale. Organised by the local council, interested members of the community can reserve a stand and come sell off any goods no longer needed - everything from shoes they've only worn once, to old VHS that the odd person can still play, to dinner sets and - in particular abundance - children's toys and books. As usual, the event attracts a steady crowd throughout the day. Held only a few blocks from where we live, we love to go to see who we might run into as much as (or more than) the actual items for sale.
Today's little wander got me thinking about what a great initiative this event is - a far cry from the 'garage sales' that we organised back home in Australia, alone, putting some cardboard signs up on neighbouring streets in the hope of attracting some passers-by. Needless to say, they were few and far between! It made me realise the impact local government can play to support and facilitate local initiatives. Granted, this was just to sell off peoples' things (in itself great because it does encourage less waste and supports a sense of a local economy, of neighbours getting together and exchanging goods for reasonable prices - even if just for a day!)
But it got me thinking. What if these same kinds of initiatives also became platforms for the exchange of locally produced goods? I know that local markets are not a new concept, but those which exist in France tend to be dominated by centralised merchants who tour different markets on different days selling their produce. It doesn't actually facilitate much local exchange, nor serve as a portal for burgeoning young talents to access local markets - it really only brings outside products closer to home.
The reason these questions were floating around in my mind has to do with some reading and thinking I've been doing about social entrepreneurship. I attended a round-table discussion on this issue last week as part of the OECD Forum 2012, and listening to those around the table, it became clear that though once seen as an alternative career path for some innovative, 'risk-taking' individuals, entrepreneurship is now being considered as a more viable employment option, particularly for youth as the labour markets continue to shrink and traditional employment opportunities narrow further. Part of this shift entails a questioning of the current employment model - from an approach where we receive a specialised training to go out and look for a ready-made slot in the 'job market' to one where individuals can themselves start initiatives, based on responding to perceived needs, often in one's own locale.
I remarked how, having worked with many youth closely as part of our community building efforts in our neighbourhood, the extent and diversity of their talents is evident. Yet job opportunities here are few and far between, even before the effects of the 'crisis' set in. What deprivation, then, for these youth (as well as any others), if these talents and capacities are not expressed through a meaningful activity, by which they can earn their livelihood? In addition to these capacities, many of these youth also have networks locally - their families and friends, their community, a crucial ingredient in local trading schemes. What kind of education, I wondered, would help such youth build the skills they needed to embark on such endeavours? What kind of accompaniment and support structures would enable them to believe this route is viable - whether as a career or even as a part-time job to support them through their studies? What kind of access to finance would be required?
A second layer of questioning also involved the model of entrepreneurship that could be pursued - i.e. whether this would be a more traditional 'profit maximisation' approach or whether we can rethink the role of local enterprises as being embedded in some kind of community development framework.
These issues are explored in a little more detail in a publication produced by the OECD's Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) programme. The book contains analyses of social enterprises already in existence, largely in Europe and the US.
Though there is not yet a common understanding of the term 'social enterprise', or 'social entrepreneurship', in Europe these endeavours tend to be conceived as a "different way" of doing business ('entreprendre autrement' in French). The main objective of social enterprise is not profit maximisation, but rather to meet relevant social needs in an economically sustainable way. According to LEED, typical characteristics include the continuous production of goods and services; autonomy; economic risk; an explicit aim to benefit the community; a decision making power not based on capital ownership; a limited profit distribution; and often a democratic governance structure with multi-stakeholder participation.
Clearly some of these elements make this approach well-suited for integration into a community development model. Indeed, some positive outcomes of this model when applied in the local context were found to include a reduction in legal costs due to the establishment of trust with customers; the spread of beneficial effects to the community at large; the creation of local employment; and greater sustainability in the long term since production objectives are entrenched locally and adapted to local needs. The LEED publication highlights this point:
Since most groups of stakeholders are embedded at the local level, social enterprises mainly meet localised needs. This way, they are able to increase social welfare provision at the local level through action which increases income and employment, and promotes redistributive activities. Because of the embeddedness of personal linkages, the satisfaction of localised needs and of the asset lock, the activities undertaken by social enterprises are often relatively immobile. Hence they represent a more rooted and permanent source of development, which are less at risk of delocalisation compared to traditional manufacturing activities for instance.
In this way, social enterprises can help develop local resources and promote an endogenously driven model of local development.
LEED analysis also finds that social enterprises have generally produced positive results by creating local wealth and increasing individual and collective well-being. The book notes that an increasing trend towards such models will partly be due to the effects of the economic crisis, "which has showed the world the negative consequences of reckless speculation and, more generally of an economy overly based on the financial sector." But the book notes that over and above this, the values promoted by social entrepreneurship are likely to become increasingly shared: the centrality of the human being in economic undertakings; a sense of responsibility towards society; and the realisation of collective well-being as an objective (and not as a 'positive externality').
The analysis goes on to explore the ways various governments have tweaked the national policy framework to support these emerging entities. While this level of detail is beyond the scope of this post, it is nevertheless useful, from my perspective, to think about the role of government in supporting such local initiatives.
During the roundtable discussion, some elements that were mentioned as issues to address to help facilitate youth entrepreneurship included ensuring youth had access to relevant education. This could imply rethinking our education models, which many perceived as training youth to get accepted into university courses, and not necessarily preparing them to embark on a path of developing their talents and putting them to use for the benefit of themselves and society. Others mentioned the need for access to finance, as well as creating the right enabling conditions - getting rid of the cumbersome red tape that surrounds start-ups in places like France, and moving towards what many felt was a more inviting model - that of the US, where tax incentives encourage entrepreneurship.
The brocante today also made me think how, quite simply, at the local level, the council could also supply a place, and publicity - much like it does for the brocante - to entrench this type of local exchange within the culture of the neighbourhood. At the very least this approach could serve as a launching pad for motivated youth, complemented by national policies that enable people to easily formalise such endeavours. This could encourage youth to try things with little risk, and take away the burden of them having to find a market straight up, and finding ways then to reach this market. Granted the approach might seem old-fashioned, and even limiting, next to the world we can connect to via the internet. But today's visit reminded me that such local exchange still works (and evidently the different approaches don't need to be mutually exclusive).
The market, then, is a place of meeting that underpins community. The brocante brought people together from all different parts of the neighbourhood. It made me realise the way that exchange always has, and always will, bring people together. When embedded locally, this serves even to reinforce the bonds between neighbours. And, if used in more innovative ways, all that talent left untapped can find a way to be put to use, to reach others. Such spaces can also be used for service to the community, including through fundraiser endeavours (often youth who participate in our community building efforts come up with great fundraising ideas but lack a place to execute them without violating a law!)
The extent of society's responsibility to ensure the provision of adequate employment becomes evident when we contemplate the importance of having a profession. In the Baha'i teachings, work is seen not only as a means to earn a livelihood, and not only as a means to contribute to the betterment of society, but also as a means of worshipping God. What a tragedy then we are faced with as youth unemployment continues to escalate, as those who desire to embark on a meaningful path of service through their professions, find no space in which to fulfill this goal. An excerpt from the Baha'i writings reminds us of the need for better support structures to facilitate these burgeoning new models, which may just provide hopeful alternatives.
It is the duty of those who are in charge of the organization of society to give every individual the opportunity of acquiring the necessary talent in some kind of profession, and also the means of utilizing such a talent, both for its own sake and for the sake of earning the means of his livelihood... for work, especially when performed in the spirit of service, is according to Bahá’u’lláh a form of worship. It has not only a utilitarian purpose, but has a value in itself, because it draws us nearer to God, and enables us to better grasp His purpose for us in this world.
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