Social Entrepreneurs

Strasbourg (Palais des congrès) 16-17 January 2013

 

The European Commission organised a 2-day event in Strasbourg on January the 16 and the 17^th 2014 on “Social entrepreneurs have your say. Empowering social entrepreneurs for innovation, inclusive growth and jobs” (Read the full agenda).

The event took stock of the Social Business Initiative impact and developments of social economy in Europe; identified the future priorities for action and where the EU could add value and support the scaling-up of social entrepreneurship; strengthened stakeholder's network(s) to support the emergence and scaling-up of initiatives and practices and would create more awareness, ownership and collaboration among institutional actors.

In the framework of this event, building on the ongoing cooperation with the European Commission in the fields of social economy and social entrepreneurship, the LEED Programme organised with the DG Employment of the European Commission a workshop on Potential of social enterprises for job creation and green economy: how to stimulate their start and development?

This workshop aimed to create an interactive learning environment for participants in order to exchange knowledge and good practices regarding the role of social enterprises in job creation. The results of a recent OECD study on job creation by the social enterprises and the social economy organisations in many economic sectors allowed a debate on the barriers and opportunities for social enterprises to create decent and sustainable jobs. A special focus were put on the role of social enterprises in the green economy. The topic introduced by speakers and stakeholders came from different perspectives, fields of expertise and geographical areas, who shared their views and replied to the questions of the public.

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Agenda

Introduction – Antonella Noya, OECD

Heather Buckingam, Third Sector Research Center, University of Birmingham

Presentation of OECD Study: survey on job creation through the social economy and social entrepreneurship

Panel discussion on social enterprises in the green economy and their potential for job creation

Moderator: Antonella Noya

• Antonio Marzano, President of the National Council of Economy and Labour, Italy

• Margaret Mendell, Professor and Interim Principal of the School of Community and Public Affairs, Graduate Program Director Concordia University, Canada

• Ancuta Vamesu, Social Economy Institute, Romania

• Jérôme Faure, Head of the Innovation, Social Experimentation and Social Economy Mission, French Ministry of Solidarity and Social Cohesion, France (TBC)

• Sepp Eisenriegler, CEO of Repair and Service Center R.U.S.Z, Austria

• Radoslaw Owczarzak, Policy Officer, DG EMPL, European Commission

Closure – Antonella Noya, OECD

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Contact

For further information, please contact Antonella Noya, senior Policy analyst and manager of the Forum on social innovations.