On the occasion of the ten-year anniversary of the official founding of MetropolisNet, we have asked our network members to share the story of their collaboration with MetropolisNet over the past decade, as well as their hopes for the future:
Rinova Ltd. (London):
Rinova has been a member of Metropolisnet since 2014. However our link with Metropolisnet goes back a lot further than 5 years! Our Founder, Richard Parkes (widely known as Rick) first worked with Reiner Aster, the Director of Gsub and Metropolisnet, in the context of EU programmes as long ago as 1997! When Rick founded Rinova in 2010, the two got in touch to collaborate again successfully, and this led to Rinova becoming a member of Metropolisnet shortly afterwards.
Being based in such a global city as London, co-operation at the international level was built into our founding vision. We have always learned so much from our European colleagues and we have always believed in the importance of sharing our own experience with them.
Therefore our membership of Metropolisnet provides us with a unique network to do so, and has been a critical component of how we meet our purpose. Furthermore, Metropolisnet’s focus on urban development and the challenges that face large cities has always been of particular relevance to our work in London. At this time, when we are facing the challenges of Brexit, we believe more than ever that transnational cooperation on such matters is vital. Therefore we hope that both Rinova and Metropolisnet are successful in working together this way for many years to come!
” At this time, when we are facing the challenges of Brexit, we believe more than ever that transnational cooperation on such matters is vital. “
Ciofs-FP (Rome):
Ciofs-FP has surely benefited a lot from Met… otherwise we would not have stayed so long in this network! Coifs-FP has benefited and also invested in Met. MetropolisNet is really a unique organization, where very different organizations, in their geographic coverage, areas of work and ways to work have decided to realize a permanent platform of exchange and knowledge. This has always been an added value, even when there have been difficulties, as to find solutions and overcoming them was, as well, an important learning.The Projects we have experimented have been many and often innovative, precious and stimulating. MetropolisNet has been an excellent platform to grow up as professionals, and to enrich our staff training.
During the last 10 years, thanks to MetropolisNet, we realize that we don’t think only of our organization, but we think for the network. We have learnt to think European in the everyday life, very concretely, and Europe for us is not an abstract idea anymore. Our horizons have widened incredibly since its foundation.It is not only about travelling, knowing other people and cultures, but investing in long lasting friendships, where you learn always more, and more in depth, how your colleagues work in Berlin, what means founding a charity in Dublin that becomes one of the most reputed provider of social inclusion services across the city, how Finland is changing deeply its own system.
We would like to improve further the network’s visibility, to share its core mission and make it recognized, as it would deserve. We would also like to work on giving more value to the exchange, to the co-production of ideas. It would be very useful to plan even more moments of exchange, study and share of time together, besides the difficulty of finding times. We would also like that MetropolisNet consolidates more financially, in order to secure our cooperation and make some profit out of it. We have developed wonderful products across the years – let’s just think to our Guide experiences and platform! It would be worth to invest our time and resources to launch them and test it in the market.
Another wish for the next 10 years is to organize the possibility to exchange our staff in the different organizations. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if any of us could agree with one of the other members to work in their structures for some time?
As Met, we have become experts of what policy making, European cooperation, the courage of inventing new ways and new paths can mean. Maybe, dreaming, we could become role models for other European individuals and organizations having this strange idea to found a European Economic Interest Group! From BtoB to HtoH – business to business to Human to human.
” Another wish for the next 10 years is to organize the possibility to exchange our staff in the different organizations. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if any of us could agree with one of the other members to work in their structures for some time? “
ZSI – Centre for Social Innovation (Vienna):
ZSI has been affiliated to MetropolisNet since 2009 and collaborated on projects such as EP-Dem Labs, Jump@School, Guide+ and Guide!, Mistra, Age-Work-Balance and Local-LLL-Power. As a research partner, we conducted various empirical studies, comparisons of good practices, social experiments and evaluations in these projects.
We helped to improve the education, labour market prospects and social engagement of disadvantaged young people in Bologna, Cagliari, Sardinia, Valencia, London and Dublin; developed and tested training modules for vocational guidance in Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, Austria and the UK, supported the mutual learning of various European cities in the social inclusion of immigrants and in implementing Life-Long Learning, and explored good pactices in reintegrating older long-term unemployed people into the labour market in Berlin, Hamburg, Santander, Dublin and Graz.
This gave us ample opportunities to refine our methodological skills, get to know good practices and their contexts first-hand, and provide partners and stakeholders with evidence on the conditions for success of various initiatives. Local initiatives in Austria gained European visibility and input. The continuity of MetropolisNet allowed us to pursue ideas and conversations beyond individual projects – always with a sense of social and political relevance and usefulness. The experience, variety and community spirit of MetropolisNet made this exchange and mutual learning of practitioners, researchers, stakeholders and policymakers a pleasure.
During the decade of MetropolisNet’s work, labour markets are changing across Europe in various directions, not necessarily converging upwards. Where economic recovery and growth create jobs and even labour shortages, these developments do not always improve opportunities for the vulnerable. Digitalisation has uneven impacts but may create new frictions and vulnerabilities as well as opportunities. In many sectors, it is likely to challenge formerly secure jobs and conventional modes of training and learning. Gender, ethnicity and age continue to structure inequalities. New business models, social innovations and technological possibilities support new and flexible ways of working and learning, but some of these are precarious or poor quality.
We would like to address and explore these changes with the network, build on the joint experience, and develop and implement new ideas. More specifically, expanding our membership base and outreach, and also our funding sources would be quite essential.
” The continuity of MetropolisNet allowed us to pursue ideas and conversations beyond individual projects – always with a sense of social and political relevance and usefulness. “
Ballymun Job Centre (Dublin):
The Ballymun Job Centre Co-op Society Limited (BJC) is a community-based non-profit charity, which provides employment services to local job seeker in a community located in the Dublin, Ireland. The BJC was established in 1987 by the local community. The BJC has become a model for local community based labour market services that responds to the needs of local disadvantaged job seekers. The overall objective of the BJC is to provide individuals with greater labour market choice and the opportunity to improve their employability, increase their earnings and reduce their vulnerability to poverty.
The BJC has a strong belief in the need to remain innovative and to try new ideas to address identified issues arising from the experience of clients. The BJC aims to identify and bridge gaps in services and labour market supports for disadvantaged job seekers. Over the years the BJC has made applications to EU funds in order to access the financial resources to test new ideas and ways of working.
The BJC joined Met Net in 2012 as a means of expending our links with other organisations across the EU. Our membership of Met Net enables us to build partnerships with other strong and committed organisations who share our values. There is a high degree of transfer of learning from the projects and many positive relationships have been developed and sustained through our involvement on Met Net projects and with our associated member organisations in Met Net.
As an organisation the BJC have grown because of our experience and involvement in Met Net. Our participation in projects involving the partner from Met Net facilitates a transfer of learning between the partners and the BJC and this is a two way process. Our involvement in Met Net provides the BJC with the opportunity to test out new approaches and to be innovative in collaboration with our partner organisations.
The BJC has made determined efforts to ensure the lessons and work of the various projects we are/were involved in as a partner in Met Net improves the delivery of our services and the way we work with clients. For example the NQCA, EpDemLabs, and Guide Projects to name but a few. The involvement of our staff in the development of these projects has improved their knowledge, expertise and understanding. This in turned transferred in a positive way into their day to day work with clients and their relationship with their colleagues.
We will continue our involvement in Met Net and we are looking forward to working with our partners to develop the network. We would like Met Net to expand its membership so that we can benefit from the involvement of other organisations and they can learn and grow in the same way that we have.
Over the years a wide range of lessons and good practices have emerged from the Met Net Projects. These can play a part in addressing the economic and social challenges facing the citizens of Europe. The Met Net members will continue to advocate and promote the lessons we have gained from our consortium with the intension of influencing the direction of EU policy and practice.
Our membership has proven to be a very positive experience built on partnership, learning and participation. Our experience of working with our partners in Met Net has demonstrated to us that we all face similar and common challenges across the EU. As a result we realised we are not alone but there are other likeminded organisations working to improve the quality of life of their communities. Together we will continue to work with our partners in Met Net to achieve this goal.
” The Met Net members will continue to advocate and promote the lessons we have gained from our consortium with the intension of influencing the direction of EU policy and practice. “
Eurocircle (Marseille):
10 reasons Eurocircle officially joined MetropolisNet in December 2018:
1 – Together we are stronger! The Metropolis Network brings together different European organization working on similar topics to improve employment, social cohesion & urban development: a good opportunity to unite our strength on common goals.
2 – Local development through European cooperation! We are disseminated around Europe, we work on different projects with different methods and tools, but yet we face the same problems: social inequalities, unemployment and discrimination that tends to divide our societies. Thus, cooperation is the key to get the most out of each other’s approaches!
3 – Improving ourselves! The projects we have been involved in brought us a lot in terms of methodology such as using case studies as a tool to facilitate common reflection on a given situation during focus groups & training sessions: we are real fans! We all have our strengths and weaknesses: as a youth & mobility expert, Eurocircle benefited a lot from GOOD GUIDANCE STORIES+ project where we found many complementarities with other experts in professional integration. Always for the sake of our target groups!
4 – Bridging the gap! Continuous professional development and competences development for staff and professionals in our local network are essential in order to build solid bridges between young people from multicultural areas, NEETs and professionals who support them and help them to become independent young adults.
5 – Sharing our expertise! We use mobility and volunteering as a tool to help young people to build step by step a professional project. Believe it or not: it actually works! We’re very proud about it, we need to tell the world about it, and we hope to share this culture among the network to implement new exchanges of trainees and volunteers!
6 – A launchpad to bigger projects! It’s a network of relevant and reliable partners: a good starting point to upscale our projects to be always more impactful on our local societies!
7 – Modern problems require modern solutions! We love our old-fashioned pens, paperboards and printed toolkits. But a certain time has arrived where we need to put them back in our drawer to focus on what’s trendy out there: digital content. We are very pleased to work on projects such as GUIDE 2.0 that develop online content: accessible anywhere, anytime, our reach has no limit!
8 – Reaching the big players! We know we have some keys to face societal challenges, but trying to lobby and advocate our positions to policy-makers is, yet, another story. Well, maybe – and hopefully – as a network of experts, our voices will be heard further and higher!
9 – Friendship: it is always a pleasure to meet, work and share unforgettable moments with our friends all over Europe! It is a nice way to celebrate European friendship and cooperation!
10- Ten year- anniversary: and eventually this is the cherry on top, because we all want a piece of cake and a glass of champagne – Cheers !
