Social Entrepreneurship

lace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Vila das Canoas (São Conrado district). Address and contact: Eneida Santos, Tel: 9848-6737, email: interrogation_7@yahoo.com.br Characteristics: The idea is to offer lodging for tourists in the houses of inhabitants of Vila das Canoas community, to show another image of the shantytown, to generate income inside the community and to facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge, particularly in the area foreign languages learning. Function: This endeavor is community-based tourism initiative located in a shantytown. Summary of the initiative: The idea of lodging tourists in the houses of inhabitants of Vila das Canoas led the local community to organize themselves and mobilized them to carry out tourist activities with distinctive characteristics. The objective is to generate income for the community and, at the same time, to make possible the exchange of knowledge and the dialogue with the tourists (100% are foreign). Another goal is to enable the inhabitants to develop a new image of their home place (with an increase of self-esteem). Due to the place’s vicinity to natural attractions: Pedra da Gávea, Pepino beach and Tijuca Forest, this initiative also includes ecotourism activities. It thus helps to increase the community’s conscience about ecological issues. Main actors: The main actors are the inhabitants of Vila das Canoas, who offer room in their houses for the lodging of the tourists. A local group, led by Eneida Santos, organizes this receptive tourism initiative. This project receives support from the Afro-Brazilian Incubator (IA) and from the Gênesis Institute of PUC-RJ. It has also the support for advertising and divulgation from Rio de Janeiro municipal government. Creative community, why? Vila das Canoas community-based receptive tourism initiative fits in the Project for being an endeavor of the community itself that dared to consider to set in their home place a different activity (tourism and lodging in a shantytown). The consequences of the initiative brought benefits to the whole community. About the researchers Marcos Lins Langenbach (LTDS, COPPPE – UFRJ), e-mail: marcos@riocom.com.br Interview by telephone with Eneida Santos Interview done on the days 23 and 26 of April

Digital Pioneers consists of two projects. 1. Digital Pioneers Fund. This fund lends expertise and financial support to innovative Internet initiatives of small-scale social organisations. Starting in December 2002, the Fund has supported over 120 projects in eleven rounds. 2. Digital Pioneers Academy. The second project is the Digital Pioneers Academy, in which the project leaders of promising initiatives are supported by many (international) experts in writing a financial plan for their project. Digital Pioneer projects play an important role in the involvement of citizens in social developments in communities and in the participation in democracy. Since December 2002 more than 136 projects were selected out of 1000+ applications. The project started from various perspectives: * Independent produced content contributes to opinion making, information provision and participation and should exist next to traditional media and service providers (prosumers); * Lack of business models for civil society projects in public domain of the Internet; * No funding possibilities for grass-roots internet initiatives (public media policy); * Private initiatives can contribute to innovation in public domain (open innovation models). On our website you will find the results of some of the selected projects with their own unique scope, community and technical know-how. We hope that the examples and best practices inspire you to re-use the knowledge and experience of these Digital Pioneers. Stichting Nederland Kennisland has executed this program with financial support of the Ministry responsible for Media Policy in the Netherlands. For any additional information or comments you may contact us at info@digitalepioniers.nl