
These annual recurring EU conferences on the social economy bring together leading politicians, civil servants and entrepreneurs from different parts of Europe to promote the development of the social economy in Europe. We encourage everyone with an interest in creating better conditions for the social economy to take the opportunity to come and listen and participate in the conversations. This page gives you more information about speakers, workshops, topics and more. You may also follow us on social media for news and updates!
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Program overview
June 7th
Pre-launch
14:00-19:00
- Study visit at local cooperative
- General assembly Social Economy Europe (SSE)
June 8th
Main Conference
09:00-19:30
- Plenary session (interpretation provided)
- Parallel seminars & workshops (English and Swedish)
- Closing round table (plenary, interpretation provided)
- Mingle reception
June 9th
Rounding up
9:00-11:30
- European Policy Lab – Part II
- Stakeholders Corner (only for Swedish policymakers and public officials)
- General Assembly CECOP
12.00-14.30
- General Assembly REVES
June 7th: Pre-launch
Study visit at Vägen ut! co-operative (limited amount of participants, please register for the study visit when booking your ticket)
Vägen ut! is a co-operative that offers services and products. They create real jobs for persons far from the regular job market. Their enterprises have over 100 employees, most of which have gone from being on benefits to entrepreneurship. Read more about Vägen ut! here.
HUG is an ideal integration and peace association run by Ukrainians in Sweden with the vision of a equitableand sustainable world in peace, where people on the run can become active and integrated social actors. Today they run 3 support centers in Gothenburg for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Two of these are aimed at children and young people, while the third provides support for adults in Region Västra Götaland.
Number of participants: maximum 10, first come first serve.
Language: Swedish/English.
Meetingpoint: Orkestergatan 4
Sign up here!
General assembly Social Economy Europe (SEE) – to be held at YESBOX, Gamlestadsvägen 4, House, B13, 415 02 Gothenburg. (Only for members, on invitation by the organizers)
June 8th: Social Economy 2023 – Building a stronger and resilient Europe
- Introduction and opening of the conference – Gordon Hahn, Chairman of Coompanion Sweden, moderator for the day
- Welcome by Pam Fredman – Acting Director of the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development University of Gothenburg/Chalmers University of Technology
The State of Play of the Social Economy Action Plan
- Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit will give us his perspective.
Why it is important to continue supporting the development of social economy, panel discussion with:
- Patrizia Toia – MEP, co-chair of the social Economy Intergroup
- Alain Coheur – European Economic and Social Committee
- Juan-Antonio Pedreño – President of Social Economy Europe
- Víctor Meseguer Sánchez – Special Commissioner for the Social Economy, Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, Madrid
- Diana Ghinea – Head of Strategical Development at Coompanion Gothenburg
- Carl Forsberg – Chair of the Social Economy Council/Region Västra Götaland
Cities and regions at the core of social economy support – a local perspective:
- Ricardo Rio – Mayor of Braga
- Ana Umbelino – Deputy Mayor of Torres Vedras
- Torbjörn Ahlin – Councilor Örebro region
Social Economy – a priority of the upcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU
- Yolanda Diaz, Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy
The importance of building conducive ecosystems for the social economy
- Antonella Noya – OECD/Head of the Unit on Social Economy and Innovation at the Center for Entrepreneurship – SMEs, Regions and Cities.
- Gianluca Salvatori – EURICSE
- Ms. Birgitte Fellahi Bronaux – European Commission, DG EMPL
- M. Anna ATHANASOPOULOU – European Commission, DG GROW
- Ariane Rodert – European Economic and Social Committee
- Francesca Montalti, responsible for industrial sector, Legacoop Produzione e Servizi (IT)
- Susanne Westhausen – Director at Kooperationen and the president of Cooperatives Europe (TBC)
The role of social economy and Work Integration Social Enterprises in skill development and labour market (Hosted by: Ensie, Skoopi and Coompanion) Room: B22
Social economy enterprises and, in particular, work integration social enterprises (WISEs) play a major role in the provision of skills development, on the one hand by exploiting some specific factors of the sector (mission orientation, cultural openness…), on the other hand through on the job training towards vulnerable groups.
Language: English
Room: B22
Participants:
- Patrizia Bussi – director, Ensie
- Martina Paterniti – Projects Officer Ensie
- Anders Bro – Region Örebro County and author of the SALAR handbook on social enterprises
- Maria Norbäck – Associate professor and Director of the Work and Employment Research Centre, University of Gothenburg
- Lena Lago – Vice chairman of Skoopi
- Ebba Westerberg – Coompanion Gothenburg and project coordinator Bunkern Bokar
- Emma Persson, manager – Fabrikörerna
- Oscar Isidorsson Albino – manager, Vägen ut! Aspektra
- Peter Johansson – manager, Villa Vägen ut! Solberg
- Angelica Lindblad – social franchise manager, Vägen ut! kooperativen
- Mari Odenbjörk – manager, Social trade
- Camilla Carlsson – CEO Coompanion, Östergötland
Social economy as driving force for green and digital transition (Hosted by: Social Economy Europe and CECOP) Room: B24
No one can deny that green and digital transition is essential or even vital for European enterprises. But what would be the social economy uniqueness in those processes? How can social economy make the best of the twin transition in order to create a more sustainable, inclusive, fair, and democratic society? How can that be compatible with community engagement and quality work conditions? The session will look at the best practices and innovative management models, and address necessary support measures social economy actors need in their role as facilitators of the twin transition.
Language: English
Room: B24
Participants:
- Gianluca Pastorelli – Executive President, Diesis Network
- Hanna Surmatz – Head of Policy, Philea
- Lorenzo Giornelli – Marketing & Sales Director, Ceramiche Noi Cooperative
- Petter Joelson – co-founder, Digidem Lab Cooperative and Collective Tools Cooperative
- Sybille Reichert – Executive Director, the International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM)
How do we improve the financial market for social economy?, (Hosted by: Mikrofonden, Ekobanken and GIVA Sverige Room: B21
The Action Plan for Social Economy stress the importance to opportunities for social economy organizations to start up and scale up as well as that social economy entities should benefit from business development support to start up and develop, as well as to reskill and upskill their workers. A crucial part of start-up and scale-up opportunities is access to finance. Access to finance for social economy actors looks very different around Europe and in some countries we face a total lack of adapted finance for the social economy. The workshop will find answers on how do we make the social economy grow in “difficult times”? How may we support a resilient social economy through the mobilization of development capital, through charity, through grants, through partnerships and collaborations as well as impact investments?
Language: English
Room: B21
Participants:
Helen Curry – Mikrofonden
Gloria-Karin Lopez – Mötesplats Social Innovation
Kristoffer Lüthi – Ekobanken
Espen Daae – Ferd Social Entrepreneurs
Charlotte Rydh – Giva
Legal Framework & public procurement – how to support social economy progress through public purchase (Hosted by: Fremia/Coompanion) Room: B32
Creating the right conditions for the social economy to thrive, especially through improvement of good practice on socially responsible public procurement, is one important part of the EU’s Action Plan for Social Economy. There are several examples around Europe on how to promote the public purchase of social economy, through partnerships and procurement. This session aims at lifting the most challenging questions, discussing succesfull strategies and sharing best examples for public authorities to support and promote the social economy.
Language: English
Room: B32
Participants:
Patrick Schroder – Civil society coordinator, Fremia
Karin Pleijel – City Councilor, Leader of the Swedish Green Party
Patrik Zapata – professor in Public Administration, University of Gothenburg
Gordon Hahn – Chairman of Coompanion Sweden
European policy lab – Part I: social economy at the core of local circular economy development plans (Hosted by: REVES) – limited number of places – need to register.
Room: Malmstenvåningen (Dean’s Office): A, 6th floor
The RESPONDET initiative brings together regions, cities and social economy organisations to better equip local and regional policy-makers, public administration, social economy and civil society for the joint development of green transition-related (policy) initiatives. In the framework of this Policy Lab, RESPONDET partner cities and regions would like to: – share experiences they made whilst drafting – in a participatory way – local action plans promoting the role of the social economy in green transition (with a specific focus on circular economy and community energy initiatives) and – discuss possible solutions to challenges they have come across in this process or that they perceive for the implementation of planned actions. The Policy Lab addresses local, regional, but also European policy-makers, civil servants, social economy, academics and civil society organisations. It is organised with the support of the SMP-COSME programme of the European Union. Working language: English
Language: English
Room: Malmstenvåningen (Dean’s Office): A, 6th floor
Only for pre-registrants (list complete)
Participants:
Sergio Pérez García, Director General for External Action, Region of Navarra
Valeria Vacchiano, City of Turin
Paula Santaren, Chair of the Sector Group Proximity & Social Economy of the Enterprise Europe Network
Anna Athanasopoulou, Head of Unit – Proximity, Social Economy and Creative Industries, DG Grow, European Commission
Diana Ghinea – Chair of the board/Gothenburg City Leasing (public company in charge for Gothenburg’s strategy for circular economy)
Katarina Kuzmanovic – Regional politician, Region of Västra Götaland/Swedish Green Party and REVES board member
Ricardo Rio – Mayor of Braga and Member of the Committee of the Regions of the EU
Grassroots initiatives and the Social and Solidarity Economy (Hosted by: School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg) Room: B33
This session brings together representatives from citizen-driven initiatives, public officers, politicians, researchers and other stakeholders to discuss the contribution of grassroots initiatives to the Social and Solidarity Economy. The session discusses the relevance of these innovations from below for a green and just transition, as well as the challenges and opportunities to scale them up in terms of visibility, networks, space and inclusivity.
Language: English
Room: B33
Participants:
Agnes Faxén – moderator, Science Journalist and communicator GRI/University of Gothenburg Tove Lund – Strategy Lead Sustainable Living Gothenburg
Jonas Svensson- Vice Chair, The Committee for Democracy and Citizens Service at the City of Gothenburg
Anna Zjac – Majorna Community Assosiation & Toys Library
Bruno Chies – Solidarity Fridge
María José Zapata Campos – researcher, School of Business Economics and Law
Democratizing social entrepreneurship – become a part of the solution (Hosted by: Reach for Change) Room: C34
Research shows that social entrepreneurs from socioeconomically underserved areas, as well as female founders and people with foreign backgrounds, are underrepresented when it comes to both starting social enterprises as well as having access to capital. Oftentimes the people who are closest to the problems have the best solutions. They have a unique understanding and knowledge of the issue as well as of the target group. To not support them means that society is missing out on social innovations with the potential to create real change.
What do we mean when we say there is a need to democratize social entrepreneurship and what can be done to make it happen? We invite you to be a part of the solution. Join our engaging workshop to co-create for a stronger and more sustainable society for all, and to hear directly from a diverse range of Swedish social entrepreneurs who have beaten the odds and established themselves as change leaders in their local communities.
Language: Swedish
Room: C34
Participants:
Andréa Råsberg – Head of Reach for Change Sweden
Holly Langham – Partnership and Fundraising Manager
Muna Idow – founder Mermaid Swimming school
Katja Blagodyr – founder HUG -Help Ukraine Gothenburg
Fatima Grönblad – founder The World is Here
Ester Barinaga – Professor in Social entrepreneurship Lund University – TBC
Lessons and legacies for the future, closing roundtable with:
- Gordon Hahn – Coompanion Sweden (moderator)
- Giuseppe Guerini – President of CECOP, Spokesperson of the Social Economy Category in the EESC
- Patrizia Bussi – Vice-President of Social Economy Europe
- Ana Umbelino – President of REVES
- Margita Lukkarinen – representing the founders of the social economy movement
- Susanne Westhausen – the president of Cooperatives Europe (TBC)
Welcome to attend the reception mingle on the School of Business, Economics and Law‘s beautiful terrace. Together we have a snack, mingle, network and celebrate the social economy!
June 9th: Rounding up
Room: Malmstenvåningen (Dean’s Office): A, 6th floor
The RESPONDET initiative brings together regions, cities and social economy organisations to better equip local and regional policy-makers, public administration, social economy and civil society for the joint development of green transition-related (policy) initiatives.
In the framework of this Policy Lab, RESPONDET partner cities and regions would like to: – share experiences they made whilst drafting – in a participatory way – local action plans promoting the role of the social economy in green transition (with a specific focus on circular economy and community energy initiatives) and – discuss possible solutions to challenges they have come across in this process or that they perceive for the implantation of planned actions.
The Policy Lab addresses local, regional, but also European policy-makers, civil servants, social economy, academics and civil society organisations.
Only for pre-registrants (list complete)
Participants:
Roser Hernandez, Region of Catalonia/Elena Bernet, Confederation of Cooperatives of Catalonia
Raffaella Scalisi, Torino Chamber of Commerce/Torino Social Impact
Werner Pirnay, Wallonia Region/Bénédicte Sohet, CONCERTES
Ulrik Boe Kjeldsen, Kooperationen
Katarina Kuzmanovic, Regional politician, Region of Västra Götaland/Swedish Green Party and REVES board member
Ana Umbelino, REVES President
The stakeholders corner is only for the Swedish policymakers and public officials. It is an arena for discussion around local and regional strategies/programs directed to the social and solidarity economy.
General Assembly CECOP – to be held at YESBOX, Gamlestadsvägen 4, House, B13, 415 02 Gothenburg. (Only for members, on invitation by the organizers)
Room: C34
General Assembly REVES. (Only for members, on invitation by the organizers)
Room: Malmstenvåningen (Dean’s Office): A, 6th floor