PRESS RELEASE: Alex Salmond announces new support for international social enterprises based in Scotland

Today in Glasgow, at the world’s largest social enterprise event, Scotland’s First Minister announced new government support for two international social enterprise organisations headquartered in Scotland.

Glasgow-based INSP and Edinburgh-based Homeless World Cup will both benefit from the Scottish Government’s new fund, announced by Alex Salmond at the Social Enterprise Exchange event (#SocEntEx) at Glasgow’s SECC.

Salmond said “The announcement today of an annual programme to support global social enterprises to be headquartered in Scotland is a world first and a strong message of support for the Third Sector from Scottish Ministers. Scotland is already the global headquarters for the Homeless World Cup and the International Network of Street Papers. The provision of a grant to encourage other enterprises to come to Scotland is a demonstration of our strong support for the work that international social enterprises carry out, both in Scotland and around the world.”

INSP’s Executive Director Lisa MacLean said: "Today's announcement by the First Minister is testament to the amazing work of social enterprises in Scotland and worldwide. We are really proud that the INSP and the Homeless World Cup are leading the way in Scotland to enable the country to become a hub for international social enterprise activity. We hope that through this recognition, the issue of homelessness both at home and abroad will come more to the fore and enable us to become a greater force for change."

Mel Young, President and co-founder the Homeless World Cup said: "I think the notion of Scotland presenting itself open for social enterprise business and to have an aspiration to attract international headquarters in Scotland has to be great. I am extremely pleased that the government is supporting the Homeless World Cup and INSP and is seeing the value we have, and we look forward to working with them more to create more change."

Highlights from our news service

The shocking story of a child soldier
featured in The Big Issue in Zambia.

· While dumpster diving may sound like a bizarre new sport, a recent article by Hinz & Kunzt shed light on this new stand against food waste, which is growing popular amongst conscientious Germany consumers.

The story proved popular with other street papers in Germany and was republished by Bodo and FREIeBÜRGER. An English version of the story was also picked up by the American street papers Streetvibes (Cincinnati) and the Denver VOICE.

· A shocking interview with a former child soldier in Burundi engaged readers in Zambia. Six years after the civil war ended, many of the under-aged fighters are still haunted by their experiences. The Big Issue Zambia ran the feature, including powerful images, in its latest edition.

· Readers in Germany learned about a helpline for Japanese earthquake survivors through a story from colleague street paper The Big Issue Japan. Following the disaster that left over 20,000 people dead or missing, the grief of the tens of thousands of survivors often went unnoticed. Family members and relatives were left in an extremely vulnerable state, often feeling like they had to face the world alone.

The Big Issue Japan article features Life Link, a charity which runs a help line for suicide prevention, originally aimed at those who had experienced suicide in their families.

Ethiopia land grabbing report printed in Germany, Czech Republic and the United States

A report about land grabbing in Ethiopia was republished by street papers from Germany to Czech Republic and the USA.

German street paper BISS

The story 'Landgrabbing in Ethiopia: legal lease or stolen soil?' exposed how an Indian farmer hopes to earn millions by exporting food produced by child labour in Ethiopia. German street papers Strassenkreuzer and BISS, Czech paper Novy Prostor and American street paper Street Speech in Columbus republished the piece.

To see what the article looked like in BISS, click here.

Eine Reportage über die Praxis des "Land Grabbing" in Äthiopien wurde von Straßenzeitungen von Deutschland über die Tschechische Republik bis in die USA gedruckt.

Der Artikel "Land Grabbing in Äthiopien: Legale Pacht oder geraubter Boden?" deckte die Hoffnungen eines indischen Farmers auf, mit dem Export von Nahrungsmitteln, die in Äthiopien durch Kinderarbeit produziert werden, Millionen zu verdienen. Die deutschen Straßenzeitungen "Strassenkreuzer" und "BISS", die tschechische Zeitung "Novy Prostor" und die amerikanische Straßenzeitung "Street Speech" aus Columbus druckten den Artikel.

Um den Artikel zu sehen, wie er in "BISS" erschienen ist, klicken Sie hier.

Hinz & Kunzt article on 'dumpster diving' reprinted across Germany and USA

FREIeBÜRGER, Germany

While dumpster diving may sound like a bizarre new sport, a recent article by Hinz and Kunzt shed light on this new stand against food waste, which is growing popular amongst conscientious Germany consumers.

The paper reported that in Germany alone, 20 million tonnes food are binned by major supermarkets despite being perfectly edible. Yet the 'dumpster divers' who seek to redress this imbalance by collecting waste food from supermarket rubbish skips are now being prosecuted for trespassing and theft.

Hinz & Kunzt, Germany

The story proved popular with other street papers in Germany and was republished by Bodo and FREIeBÜRGER. An English version of the story was also picked up by the American street papers Streetvibes (Cincinnati) and the Denver VOICE. See the English version here.

bodo, Germany

Containern mag sich für manche wie ein bizarrer neuer Sport anhören, aber ein kürzlich in " Hinz und Kunzt" erschienener Artikel wirft Licht auf diese neue Haltung gegen Lebensmittelverschwendung.
 
Die Zeitung berichtete, dass allein in Deutschland 20 Millionen Tonnen Lebensmittel von großen Supermarktketten auf den Müll geworfen werden, obwohl man sie noch essen könnte. Und doch werden die Menschen, die weggeworfene Lebensmittel aus den Mülltonnen der Supermärkte fischen, um diesem Missstand abzuhelfen, jetzt wegen Hausfriedensbruchs und Diebstahls angeklagt.

Der Artikel erwies sich unter anderen Straßenzeitungen in Deutschland als sehr populär und wurde auch von " Bodo" und FREIeBÜRGER gedruckt. Eine englische Version der Geschichte wurde von der amerikanischen Straßenzeitung "Streetvibes" (Cincinnati) und der "Denver Voice" aufgenommen. Diese englische Version finden Sie hier.

INSP offers empowering alternative to ‘Homeless Hotspots'

Whilst technology specialists, brand experts and journalists debate the controversial ‘Homeless Hotspots' initiative of a global ad agency, INSP's latest digital project proves that the street paper model is very much alive.

"We're fighting homelessness by reinventing Street Newspapers", tweeted global ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) enthusiastically last week. But then they explained the details of the ‘reinvention': 4G hotspots in the form of homeless people.

The idea did not go down well with many attendees of the SXSW music and technology conference in Austin, Texas, where the 'charitable experiment' was launched. Within minutes, it triggered a Twitter storm and by the time the global media caught up with the debate, BBH announced the end of the project on its website, saying "this is a test program that was always scheduled to end today."

Although there certainly is reason to question the morality of presenting homeless people as products (vendors wear t-shirts saying 'I am a 4G Hotspot'), an overlooked issue is that the initiative is charity, rather than self-help. BBH launched the Homeless Hotspots project by saying that they are "trying a bit of charitable innovation" by giving free 4G products to homeless vendors to sell them on.

Since the first street paper launched 20 years ago, the model has been based on working, not begging. INSP Executive Director, Lisa Maclean says of the initiative: 'BBH's interest in supporting homeless people is really commendable. But it misses a couple of crucial elements specific to the street paper model. Homeless vendors buy their copies for half the cover price, then sell them on and keep the profits. The buy and sell element is crucial in the process, as it is the transaction that makes the vendor a salesman, not the recipient of a donation".

She continued: "Street papers offer vendors not just an income, but a sense of self-respect and dignity. At the same time, they put a face on homelessness by offering quality, independent journalism."

Recognising the decline in print media, BHH hopes to "modernise the street paper model". Thankfully, street papers worldwide are not suffering from the decline in print sales to the extent mainstream outlets are. INSP research into global street paper circulation in 2010 showed a 10 per cent increase in street paper sales since 2009, and the movement continues to grow.

This of course does not mean that there is no need for innovation. In order to retain audiences and find new readers in the future, street papers, like other print media, need to keep producing quality journalism as well as adapt to technology changes. However, in doing so, they face a unique problem: unlike mainstream press who can sell pure digital access via online payments, it is essential for street papers to retain the vendor transaction where customers buy a physical product from a seller on the street.

INSP will soon launch an innovative project to address this issue: INSP Digital. It enables street vendors to offer their customers two options - print and digital - priced identically. The digital version is sold on a card, each one carrying a unique QR code which can be scanned on compatible devices. Readers can then read their digital edition on their smartphone, tablet or computer.

The launch of the world's first digital street paper pilot is scheduled for July this year in the UK. If successful, the digital model could support many more street papers around the world. With a global street paper readership already in excess of 6 million, the concept has scope to become one of the world's largest paid digital media platforms.

As an umbrella organisation for 122 street papers on six continents, INSP doesn't just help the homeless - it helps the homeless to help themselves. Since 1994, over 200,000 vendors have earned a living and changed their lives through selling street papers. By adapting the street paper model to changing technologies, it aims to provide this opportunity for many more people who will need a hand up in the years to come.

BHH and INSP are now in contact about the possibility of working together to innovate the street paper model. INSP Director Lisa Maclean says: "We have been encouraged by BBH's response to our communication with them about this and look forward to a constructive and positive conversation, moving forward."

To find out more about INSP digital and how you can support this project, please click here.

German readers learn about Japanese earthquake survivor support charity

Readers in Germany learned about a helpline for Japanese earthquake survivors through a story from colleague street paper The Big Issue Japan.

BISS, Mün­chen-based German street paper

Following the disaster that left over 20,000 people dead or missing, the grief of the tens of thousands of survivors often went unnoticed. Family members and relatives were left in an extremely vulnerable state, often feeling like they had to face the world alone.

The Big Issue Japan article features Life Link, a charity which runs a help line for suicide prevention, originally aimed at those who had experienced suicide in their families. You can read the original story in English, German and Japanese.

To see the republication in Munich street paper BISS, click here.

Deutsche Leser erfuhren durch einen Artikel ihrer Kollegen von der Straßenzeitung "The Big Issue Japan" von einer Notruf-Hotline für Überlebende des schweren Erdbebens in Japan.

Nach der Katastrophe, nach der mehr als 20 000 Menschen ihr Leben gelassen hatten oder als vermisst galten, waren Zehntausende von Überlebenden oft allein mit ihrem Kummer. Familienangehörige und Verwandte wurden in ihrem extrem verletzlichen Zustand oft allein gelassen und fühlten sich, als müssten sie mit ihren Problemen ganz allein fertig werden.

Der Artikel des "Big Issue Japan" berichtet über "Life Link", eine Wohltätigkeitsorganisation, die eine Hotline für Selbstmordgefährdete betreibt. Sie wurde ursprünglich für Menschen eingerichtet, die einen Selbstmord innerhalb ihrer Familie erleben mussten. Sie können den Originalartikel auf Englisch, Deutsch und Japanisch lesen.

Den Artikel, wie er in der Münchner "Straßenzeitung" BISS veröffentlicht wurde, sehen Sie hier.

The Big Issue Zambia prints shocking child soldier interview

The Big Issue Zambia

A shocking interview with a former child soldier in Burundi engaged readers in Zambia. Six years after the civil war ended, many of the under-aged fighters are still haunted by their experiences. The Big Issue Zambia ran the feature, including powerful images, in its latest edition. See the clipping here.

Ein schockierendes Interview mit einem ehemaligen Kindersoldaten aus Burundi berührte viele Leser in Sambia. Sechs Jahre nach dem Ende des Bürgerkriegs werden viele der minderjährigen Kämpfer immer noch von ihren Erinnerungen verfolgt. "The Big Issue Zambia" brachte die Reportage, begleitet von aussagekräftigen Bildern, in seiner neuesten Ausgabe. Den Ausschnitt sehen Sie hier.

Put Domoi in Russia's design top 100!

Congratulations to Russian street paper Put Domoi who have made it into Russia's design top 100! Read more. View the full top 100 here.