This year, Scotland is the place to be for charities, social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven businesses. The INSP Talks, an event at The Lighthouse as part of the INSP Global Street Paper Summit, hosted in Glasgow this week, will be dedicated to the country’s social business scene, as well as showcase social enterprises run by street papers. In addition, the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF), an international gathering for people involved in social enterprises across the planet to come together, share ideas and learn from each other about the future of their sector, is being hosted in Edinburgh in September. As a media partner for the SEWF, INSP is bringing you a series of conversations conducted with the folks behind some of the brightest social businesses involved in the event. David Duke has first-hand experience of what it’s like to be homeless and a lack of purpose, he says, can keep a person from finding their way out of a desperate situation. His organisation, Street Soccer Scotland, gives them an opportunity to find that purpose.

As the final round of group games comes to a close, street papers across our international network are still in the grip of World Cup fever. Down under, The Big Issue Australia’s Anastasia Safioleas writes about their Community Street Soccer Program, further proving the transformative power of the beautiful game.

As Russia prepares this week to welcome legions of soccer fans to the country for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, editor of St Petersburg street paper Put Domoi, Arkady Tyurin, reflects on the life of a street paper in Russia, its vendors, the homeless population, and how the international tournament will affect them.

Scottish Homeless World Cup star Stephanie has beaten addiction & homelessness to play for her country. She’s competed in front of thousands of fans, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

In the midst of the tournament, we learn how The Big Issue Australia helped seven players bring the infectious “Aussie team spirit” to the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow. The experience has already rendered goalkeeper Shannon “speechless”.

Northern Irish football fan Stephen Collins raised more than £3,000 to help Street Soccer NI compete in this year’s Homeless World Cup – by cycling to his home squad’s fixtures at Euro 2016.