What’s a Partnership? Go to the Basque Countries to Learn

Dear Gorka,

The first time we met I didn’t know anything about the Basques but they are terrorist secessionists. When I went to Bilbao for the first time I was expecting a small dull provincial town populated by only old people in funny traditional outfits.

The first time we met you didn’t waste time but started making jokes about Basque nationalism, Spanish PM . The bleak image  media fabricated in my mind turned into what I experienced Basques are: hard workers, trustworthy friends and great fun. What other partner would like in business?

My first encounter was with Carlos and Janxu when they still were at MIK the Social Innovation Center at Mondragon. I attended the first Social Innovation Summer School in San Sebastian and the last night I ended up in the Basque table.  you know your fellows always gang up together.

I guess they welcome me with no probelms because I always make jokes about sex. the Basque coutries are known are a land sutaible for chastity. At least I give the inhabitants the opportunity to talk about it.

We kept in touch fopr the following year but nothing concrete happened. At teh following summer school a year later i discovered that Carlos and Juanxu hadd moved out form Mondragon and started a new coop, Denokinn, and luanched the Social Innovaiton Park in Bilbao. A new adveture had started.

You were sent to me as the Abassador of the Park to make a partnership with the European network. It wasn’t easy but look at what we have done together.

We organised our joint conference in Madrid last year defeatign all the old school social economy networks. We convinced the European Commission to run its first social innovation competition to let emerge social innovators form across Europe, and this week we run the first workshop on scaling up social innovaiton with the 10 winners of the competition.

I should also mentioned that you helped me when I was in trouble and found a concsultancy contract for me, as I did when I helped you bringing the Park in Brussels when you needed brading at the beginning.

What else will we do togehter. I fell nobody can stop us when we are together.

What I really like working with you is simple. I can trust you and all your colleagues. Contracts are useful to remind us our agreement but trust is the cement which keeps us all toghether.

Whoever has never expericed such shoudl come to visit the Social Innovation Park in Bilbao. Trust is the best social innovation ever invented.