On Wedsnesday July 5th the final Places-t event took place in La Vallée, Brussels. The title of the conference is examplanatory for the discussions and presentations during the multiplier event: ‘The Place, the work and the unexpected’. Below a grasp of the programme covered:

A collaborative and Creative Partnership

The project Places-t is a ‘collaborative, ceative learning entrepreneurship’ partnership. The final event was kicked off by Liliane Esnault (left), Pierre Pevee (stuck in the middle) and Claude Costechareyre (right), our moderator and host of the day: ‘The idea of the project was to better learn and have a good grasp of practice by doing with the 3rd places in the participating countries (Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands and Belgium).

During the morning session the first speakers were Barbara Stacher, DG Education, Arts and Culture and Marco Cecchinato from AEF Europe/EPALE, the adult learning network in Europe. Barbara explained some current programmes running in the EU, like a.o:

• Culture Moves Europe;
• KIC;
• Skills;
• S-T-A-R-T-S;
• CulturEU, and last but not least;
• Erasmus Plus.

She also told how you can fund your ideas!

Key success Factors for 3rd kind places

Good practice business models which were showcased by panel members Lluis Tudela, Andrea Ascari, Pieter van Schie, Sanjin Plakalo and Christina :

• Manu Village
• LaVallée
• FABLAB Eivissa
• AREA071
• PolyLab

From Idea to added Business Value and Happy Place

Pieter van Schie presented ‘From Idea to added Business Value & Happy Place’: AREA071 is such an entrepreneurial happy place! The Dutch 3rd place went from a small little hub to an amazing big 2500 square feet place. So, how can you create an AREA071 2.0?

Some of the pointers on slide 2 are a bit contradictory:

• Sometimes you don’t know ideas are possible and do able, either way start up: Go do
• Make sure your ideas are framed with an ‘institutionalised yes’. If people don’t think it’s a good idea, then they have to write a 2-page essay why it cannot be done. A little bit like the movia with Jim Carrey ‘Yes, Man’
• Start doing, practise by doing is the most important element for success and to get to new problems: You would not bump into these problems, if you weren’t started…
• Write a business plan in detail , but do not always stick to it: New ideas and new problems usually don’t fit in a detailed plan: ‘Some answers you have to find on the go’
• Sometimes the structure will limit your solutions on things!

Places-t Workshops and Afternoon Sessions

The workshops ‘Do you want a Place-3t?’; ‘Is your Place a 3-t?” and ‘How to Support current and future Places-3t?’ In the afternoon sessions more places of the 3rd kind examples were discussed… Below we will showcase a PicGrid with a segment of the deliverables generates during the workshops:

Click here for more news on Places-t

The Partnership PLACES-3T is up to speed and visited Manu Village in Lyon september 29th-30th 2022. The EU-project is all about 3rd type places for Collaborative Creative Learning and Entrepreneurship. Supported by Erasmus+, the Places-3T partnership is at the verge starting with their pilot actions, which aims to further develop and make sustainable places of the “third type”, i.e. physical, virtual and/or hybrid collaborative spaces that enable social, cultural and entrepreneurial innovation.

Accompaniment Process

The Places-3t path has brought us to Manu Village in Lyon, France. During the transnational project meeting we discussed the current stage of advancement. A lot of mini-COOL examples and scenarios were displayed, such as an animation version of how to set up a places-3t. This animation will soon go live! Also the partnership thinks it will be very interesting to do short Questions & Answers videos (e.g. like Linked Learning) .

Italian Pilot-action Goals

The Italian Places-3T perspective is two-fold: Starting from existing projects and starting from the Mini-COOLs. The Italian pilot-actions are focused on setting up helpdesks to accompany actors in places evolutions, around:

1. Italian Federation Therapetic Community. Create a Support Desk: To support young people in which way they consider themselves Places-3t and how they can act as a Places-3t hub, re-entering young people in the labour market
2. Regional office of Emelia-Romagna Youth Policies: Support a youth places-3t to be a real network: Add the EU dimension
3. Supporting professionals by learning how to support Places-3t traineeships: A marketplace for good practices
4. Implementing Mini-COOLs in private spaces and creating network links among them

Spanish Pilot-actions

The Spanish perspective is focused on the Fab Lab space in Ibiza, where the young people can create objects with a computer and develop innovative ideas. the main goal is to make the Fab lab space more dynamic for young students and young entrepreneurs. The period of the action is October 2022-February 2023. The City Council will help and promote their ideas, accompanied with the professors of the Universitities of the Bealearic Islands. Five activities are implemented during the pilot actions:

1. Recruitment of the young people and stakeholders to carry out the pilot-actons
2. Through a seminar is explained what objectives are and what we want to achieve
3. Training and learning through mini cools, as a self-learning practise
4. job orientation session on entrepreneurship, with counseling sessions and assessments
5. (Preperation of the) Reports

The personal assessments could be done through practice by doing and at the same time in a class structure. This is currently the rough framework around the Fab Lab spaces.

Pilot-actions Belgium: From mini-COOL to BIG-COOL

Since March 2022 Smart decided that La Vallee will be taken out the SMART structure and becoming independent. This means that SMART will accompany La Vallee for another 3 years but will let them go after this 3 years of accompaniment. This means La Valleen neeeds to subsitute a big loss of finances. There is a two-speed

• SMART is open for ideas how to run La Vallee on short term – How will it be run on short term?
• What will be the new La Vallee structure after 3 years?

This is a very challlenging adventure. How are we going to frame the pilot-action? Foreign examples can be a best practice to improve the current business and make it a profitable independent one.

Hybridasation of a Places-3T

Another pilot-action takes place around hybridisation: The process, actors, activities and resources must be going from online to hybride. So, how to create a real-community in person as well? It’s about networking from different places. An action plan will be made on short term.

Dutch Pilot-actions

The Dutch are focussing on 2 pilot-actions

• Setting up a new Entreneurial hub in the Hague – It’s initial stage has just begun and is very depending on the back up fo the municipality of The Hague and the University Leiden (Campus The Hague)
• Fine tuning the Care hub Sittard-Geleen, a 3rd place of ‘Care and Work’ and expand it to other Dutch municipalities

French pilot-actions

The French are developing the following pilot-action activities

• AFPA Venissieux: Meeting point early Octobre 2022
• AFPA Pont de Claix, currently creating a new 3rd place
• Special Focus on migrants accompaniment is also a very interesting 3rd place
• Formalise the intention of a 3rd place in deserted village: CCC – Elected in a small village in Drome with an issue of desertification (a lot of people leave the area). This project is financed on a national/European grants to develop the village from rural deserted place into a vibrantdynamic ‘village centres. So the project aims here to create a ‘scattered’ 3rd place in the village centre: Keeping what is already existing, regrooming some elementswith local antennas with different competences. To reanimate the village centres and keep the activities going…

AFEV – Des Espaces de Vie

The aim is to connect the Priority districts with the university, the AFEV students, to create solidarity. Students are offered co-living spaces, which they also share with the local community and the students need to support the local community with projects for their local community. The 3rd places are all different because of the different regions/districts, it’s a social public service which aim is that in the future it generates money and added value to the local social eco system. The AFEV-students are given housing in co-living spaces, which als include social services for the local community. The students usually stay in the community for a short period (1-2 years) and pay lower rent, because they are part of these social projects. The universities give credits for the work the students do. So the students gain work experience, earn credits and progress in their study and the local community (the priority district) profits from the social work the students do for the local community.

The students have freedom and are self-organised, they decide what they want to initiate for the local community. The 15 priority districts usually have a population with a migrant background. Through a natural process the co-living spaces involve the local population. This is also known as Solidarity Kaps: The activities are a.o: Supporting services for mental health, sustainabilliyty services (community gardens), supporting isolated old people, waste management solutions, introducing priority district youth to university life and introducing students to street life, etc…

Currently the perspective of the 3rd places (the so-called Solidarity Kaps) are two-fold:

• 3rd places in the university, to open the university for the priority districts
• 3rd places in the priority district, to open the district for the university

The Partnership PLACES-3T comes to Holland on April 28th-29th 2022. The EU-project is all about 3rd type places for Collaborative Creative Learning and Entrepreneurship. Supported by Erasmus+, the Places-3T aims to develop and make sustainable places of the “third type”, i.e. physical, virtual and/or hybrid collaborative spaces that enable social, cultural and entrepreneurial innovation.

Dutch Foundation hosts at Area071

The Dutch Foundation of Innovation Welfare 2 Work (DFW2W) host the Places-3T partnership at Area071, In Leiderdorp, Zuid-Holland. Area071 is an excellent 3rd Place, a Dutch entrepreneurial hub full of potential, start-ups and young entrepreneurs. On the agenda a presentation by Bart Hoenen on the 28th, accompanied by a tour. On the 29th we will also attend the Comon Market of young marketeers and entrepreneurs offering their services to businesses in the region Leiden/Leiderdorp (the 071-region).

Dutch Places-3T Agenda

The EU-Partnership Places-3t visited Molenbeek (Brussels, Belgium). The transnational project Meeting days in Brussels, Belgium were very interesting days with a good balance between working on outputs and (study)visiting happy workplaces at La Vallée, Circularium and La Maison des Cultures.

A Molenbeek Testimonial

Carla de Vreij, chairwoman of the Dutch Foundation of Innovation Welfare 2 Work (DFW2W) finds Molenbeek remarkable: ,,Molenbeek is separated from the other districts by a canal. There was a great economic and social difference between the neighbourhood on one side of the canal and the other side of the canal. The difference that struck me is the origin of the residents. The so-called immigrants. Over the years this gap has narrowed as real estate on one side of the canal became more expensive and people in the Molenbeek area started looking for houses. This created a natural integration, which was not conceived but originated. This made a big impression on me.”

Carla continued: ,, I also noticed that you don’t see any gardens, I haven’t seen any outdoor play areas for children and there is remarkably little ‘Green’. Where something is not there, there is a place for innovation and creativity. The ‘examples of good practice’ were very inspiring and are characterized by innovative thinking, creativity, positivity and commitment to the local community and increase the sense of well-being.”

,,It is truly wonderful to see how the mind of human is stimulated to express itself in all kinds of expressions. Where the language may not be a common denominator, the culture and religion may be different and where the circumstances are not always favourable, enormous effort and benevolence has been shown here to bring people together in all kinds of activities, from daytime activities, participation in individual activities and/ or entrepreneurship.”

Study Visits Brussels

The Partnership made 3 study visits:

1. La Vallée

2. Circularium

3. La Maison des Cultures

La Vallee

La Vallée is a place where entrepreneurs can rent a space to work and they create places to meet and exchange experiences. Everyone gets a chance, it’s accessible.  Good atmosphere, lots of space, inspiring, connected to the community, diverse and an opportunity to do business in collaboration with others. The location of the building is in the middle of the neighborhood, which increases accessibility. Good example of a Places-3T.

Circularium – Circular Econoomy is waiting for you

Circularium is a ”Well thought-out project”, conceived from the perspective of sustainability. Impressive how they have linked the environment to entrepreneurial thinking. A typical example of a Places-3T. Filling an empty building, with infrastructure connected to a major social problem, picked up from collaboration and executed in a unique, innovative way. Where circulation and regulation are central. This place raises awareness by the community. Carla:,,I have experienced it as a very inspiring place, which activated my creative mind.”

La Maison des Cultures

This is not Places-3T but very nice to see. Beautiful building, in the middle of the neighbourhood. Accessible to everyone. Focused on entertainment, daytime activities, education and training. Very impressed with the wall full of photos, beautifully done.

Desiree van der heydt was also impressed about the 3rd places in Brussels: ,,I have learned a lot and I am very grateful for that.” Carla adds:,,These were very instructive days. I feel very privileged to have visited these places. A Great source of inspiration!!!!!”

Places-3t Going Dutch

The next Places-3t meeting will be on April 28th-29th 2022 in The Netherlands. This will be held at the entrepreneurial hub, Area071 in Leiden/Leiderdorp, Zuid-Holland.

Visit our website: https://www.places3t.eu/

Why this trend for third places? We spoke about about this during our OnLine meeting on May 25th. During the Places-3T Workshop on June 3rd we will talk more in-depth about the many factors influencing this trend. Among others: those linked to the “delocalisation of tertiary and/or managerial work or including customer relations, for example, which was thought to be dependent on “face-to-face” meetings, or those linked to the flexibilisation of the workforce – and therefore of the necessary square meters … But beyond these simple considerations of the profitability of physical locations, it seems interesting to “reverse” the proposal and to take advantage of it to open up new ideas, which make it possible to combine severa new approaches: the creation of value, well-being at work, the spirit of entrepreneurship, the sharing of values, welcoming and inclusive environments, social and technological innovation, culture and artistic enrichment, etc.

Spring School Workshops June 3rd 2021

On June 3 2021 the Spring School 2021 of the International Network of Cités des Métiers will be organised. If you haven’t had the time to reserve your spot yet, don’t delay to do it and register here. One of the workshops is about the Erasmus+ Places-3T project which explores new 3rd places ideas and the key factors for success, by drawing on existing examples and developing support for creators and facilitators. Most of the sessions will be in French or English but the discussions can take place in multiple languages. PIERRE PEVÉE, Manager of LaVallée, a creative place developed by SMart, SANJIN PLAKALO, Senior project manager – Pour la Solidarité – Brussels and LILIANE ESNAULT Responsible of Project Development at FREREF- Lyon are giving a workshop. They are delighted to exchange their ideas in the most participative way as possible.

Places-3T OnLine Meeting May 20th 2021

On May 20th we had a full day OnLine Places-3T meeting. FUEIB and CEIS presented their collected practices. This allowed us to make a first identification of the key success factors of the good practices.

Context of the Successful Place
It’s important to know that there are several types of spaces:
* Spaces to promote and support the initiatives of great economic and social impact.
* Center for creative entrepreneurs (artists) to develop cultural and social events.
* Space for meeting, exchange and production of artists of musical scenes.
* Floating cultural centre to present artistic events (concerts, exhibitions…)
* Local innovation and circular production center dedicated to the city.
* Third place for the meeting and exchange of different audiences (public and private institutions) with the aim to promote social initiatives.
* Community place for the development of activities that improve life in a neighborhood.
* Third educational place that brings together educational actors to innovate together and to strengthen academic success, orientation and digital inclusion.

The Partnership PLACES-3T is all about 3rd type places for Collaborative Creative Learning and Entrepreneurship. Supported by Erasmus+, the European project Places-3T aims to develop and make sustainable places of the “third type”, i.e. physical, virtual and/or hybrid collaborative spaces that enable social, cultural and entrepreneurial innovation.

Create your own Journey

The economic, social, environmental structures, employment, training, insertion, guidance in a constantly and rapidly evolving universe, lead to imagine new routes so that every person may create their own place into the ecosystem. The current development of working modalities implies more and more to reflect upon, and be able to implement successfully, the possibility of working in a hybrid way, partly on site and partly at distance.

Out of Institutional systems, various experiments have evidenced the desire and the possibility to develop spaces and places that enable people to find themselves, create their own journey, though cooperation, co-creation, co-learning.
The PLACES-3T Spaces are special, anchored in their territorial, social, cultural context. They support people in developing new ways of learning, creating value, based on new success criteria: trust building – trust in yourself, in others, in the future; respect of the persons and of the planet; valorisation of abilities acquired previously, and developed in cooperation and collaboration; value of the creative thinking (“flip thinking”).

The Partnership PLACES-3T will develop

• a repository of successful innovative European practices;
• a set of key success factors that may be re-appropriated in new contexts;
• elements of sustainable business models that may be re-appropriated in new contexts;
• elements to support the decision in process of hybridizing the spaces;
• a methodology to accompany actors in creating, and animating “PLACES-3T Places”;
• pilot actions to experiment real life field implementations;
• recommendations towards the decision and policy makers, who have the levers to enable the creation, support the development and sustain the life of these spaces.

Places-3T Partner Organisations

Below a short introduction of the Places-3T partner organisations involved. All partners will be properly introduced and disseminated through our Places-3T Social Media accounts and added in this article asap (untill the introduction of all partners is complete. In the framework of an Erasmus+ strategic partnership, this project brings together 7 structures with specific and complementary fields of expertise spread over 5 regions in 5 European countries:

• Smart (Belgium) (leader)

Smart kis the leader of the Places-3T partnership and was set up in Belgium in 1998 as a not-for profit organisation by Pierre Burnotte and Julek Jurowicz, the Société Mutuelle pour artistes (SMart) (Mutual Company for Artists) converted into a Société Coopérative à Responsabilité Limitée et à Finalité Sociale (SCRLFS) (Limited Liability Cooperative Society with A Social Purpose) in 2017. More recently, it decided to drop its acronym, retaining only the resulting name. This change of identity highlights the cooperative’s willingness to reflect the diversity of the profiles of all the workers, women and men, who call on its services, regardless of the line of work they are in.

Smart is there for anyone who needs us. Regardless of the profile of its users (service providers, artists, VSBs/SMEs, associations, etc.), whether they are working for a day or working to develop their activities on a sustainable full-time basis, whether they are planning to employ staff, looking to make substantial investments or simply need to bill a one-off service provided, Smart has the right solution for them. Smart is a European group that operates in nine countries, with sites in close to 40 towns and cities. Smart manages, either by itself or in partnership, around ten third places across Europe: LaVallée in Molenbeek and the Bazaar St-S

http://www.smart.coop

• FREREF (France) (co-coordinator): The Forum of European Regions for Research, Education and Training (FREREF[2]), is a non-profit international association (AISBL) founded in 1991 at the initiative of Catalonia, Lombardy and Rhône-Alpes, quickly joined by Baden-Württemberg, the French community of Wallonia-Brussels, Genova canton, Luxembourg and the Baleares region. FREREF is acting to put Lifelong Learning into practice and into politics and is aimed to be the instrument of European Regions in the field of education and training to set up a platform for dialogue and cooperation. FREREF is currently providing support for about 20 European regions in their initiatives for Lifelong Learning.
• AFPA (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France)
• CEIS (Emilia Romagna, Italy)
• FUEIB (Islas Baleares, Spain)

• DFOIW2W (Netherlands): The Dutch Foundation of Innovation Welfare 2 Work (DFW2W) is an independent, non-profit organisation, based in the ‘Dream Bigger Do Bigger’ Rotterdam Region (Holland), which supports professionals (e.g. European institutes, municipalities, councils, provinces, governments, employment agencies, training providers, youth work organisations, non-profit organisations) and young people (aged 14-35) to reach their full potential in the fields of (youth) employment, traineeship, education, social innovation, social inclusion and (young) entrepreneurship. You can follow DFW2W on twitter (@DFOIW2W), Instagram (@DFW2W) and Facebook (@DutchFoundationOfInnovationWelfare2Work).

• POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ – PLS (Belgium) : PLS were founded in 2002 and based in Brussels, Belgium, POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ – PLS is an independent think & do tank committed to promoting solidarity and sustainability in Europe. PLS is mobilising to defend and consolidate the European social model, which is made up of the subtle balance between economic development and social justice. PLS focuses all its activities on five thematic areas: social economy, social affairs, corporate social responsibility and diversity, sustainable development and citizen participation. For the Places-3T project, PLS brings its expertise in both the development and sustainability of innovative tools for various types of third-place stakeholders, its network of European players and structures operating in the related field, as well as its expertise in research and analysis. PLS is notably in charge of coordinating project’s policy recommendations: capitalising on how to maximise the impacts and ensure the sustainability of project tools. PLS also has recently published an article: Read here

Social media Accounts and Website Places-3T

Currently the Partnership Places-3T is active on the following social media accounts:

Facebook: @Places3T

Twitter: @3tPlaces

Website: https://www.places3t.eu/