Română 
The event took place in Iasi, Romania and brought together European leaders in the social economy, representatives of the European Commission and OECD, the Romanian Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, social entrepreneurs, traditional entrepreneurs and private sector representatives, national and local authorities, highlighting the most important issues in this sector.
The third edition of the European Social Economy Conference “Enterprising for Tomorrow”, organised by the ADV Romania, enjoyed a record attendance this year. Nearly 1,000 people took part in the event, both physically and online. The conference took place over a full day and included several side events: Buy Social Expo, Award Gala, a Business Matching Event and the conference itself, including five panel discussions.
36 speakes at the Enterprising for Tomorrow 2024
The five panels of the conference brought together speakers from all over Europe, leading names in the social economy. The opening address was given by Nicholas Schmit, the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights.
“The momentum we have started with our Social Economy Action Plan in December ’21 continues to this day. The Action Plan consists of an ambitious set of 60 concrete initiatives covering all aspects of the ecosystem. In June ’23 the Commission adopted a proposal for Council recommendation on developing social economy Frameworks to which the council gave its green light in November 2023. Member states must now create strategies with the political commitment and resources needed for the social economy to thrive.”
Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights
During the panel discussions, topics such as European trends and the European Social Economy Action Plan, the role of European and national networks in the development of the sector, digitisation and human resource development in the social economy sector and social financing solutions were touched upon.
“We are glad that, for the third time, we have managed to bring together in Iasi the most important national and European leaders of the social economy sector and put this field in the spotlight. As an organisation that has been active in this sector for over 23 years, we can say that the social economy has become increasingly visible, but new policies and instruments to support the social economy need to be developed to accelerate its development. We are very pleased that Minister Simona Bucura – Oprescu, present at the event, has committed herself to support this sector and we take it as a promise that we will support with our own practical expertise, so that this sector develops in line with market needs.”
Angela Achiței, president of ADV Romania & RISE Romania
During this edition of the Enterprising for Tomorrow Conference, a new edition of the Romanian Social Economy Barometer was launched, a document developed and presented for the first time in Iasi by Ancuța Vameșu, vice-president of RISE Romania, containing updated data on the current situation of the social economy sector in Romania.
Over 220 participants attended in person the event in Iasi, Romania
| Business sector representatives, social entrepreneurs and social enterprises employees, representatives of public, academic and civic sectors from Romania, Rep. of Moldova, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Poland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Finland, the UK, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Ireland and Norway attended the event in-person. |
The event was live streamed on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube, gathering over 770 unique viewers.
A unique upcycled fashion project designed by Irina Schrotter was launched at the event
The event was also the occasion for the launch of the OPYA Fashion collection by fashion designer Irina Schrotter. It is a collection of clothes made from recycled materials such as bags from the OPYA coffee roastery, a collection that bears the signature of the renowned fashion designer from Iași.
Social Entrepreneurs Fair – Buy Social Expo
Discussions on public policies developed at national and European level were complemented by ideas and challenges shared by the social entrepreneurs present at the conference, who were able to present and sell their products at the Buy Social Expo.
Social Enterprise Accelerator Award Gala and Business Matchmaking Event
The evening was dedicated to networking and celebrating the organisations in the social economy sector. 18 entities were awarded at the Social Enterprise Accelerator Gala, following the counting of over 13,700 online votes. The conference concluded with a networking session at the Business Matching Event.
More than 60 national and European partners joined the European social economy event
The most important European networks based in Brussels, which develop the social economy ecosystem at European level partnered with ADV Romania for this event: ENSIE, EASPD, Social Economy Europe, Diesis Network.
Networks in Romania developing programmes and tools for social economy organisations: Ambasada Sustenabilității în România, RISE – Rețeaua Română a Economiei Sociale, FONSS, FDSC.
The most important organization in Moldova that develops social entrepreneurship in Moldova: Est-European Foundation.
Project partners: Camera de Comerț și Industrie Iași, Diak, Ateliere Fără Frontiere, Mondragon University, Unikum AS, AFIN IFN SA, Social Finance Association (SFA), Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini.
Strategic parteners: European Investement Fund, Asociația Marilor Rețele Comercial din România, Irina Schrotter, Agenția Națională pentru Achiziții Publice, CCI France Roumanie, Primăria Municipiului Iași, Consiliul Județean Iași, ADR Nord-Est, Squeeze It – Unitate Protejată, AJOFM Iași, FabLab Iași.
Media partners: TVR Iași, PIN Magazine, Evenimentul, Sustenabilitate.biz, WINK Public Multimedia, COOP News, Business Age.
Sponsors: Opya, Mastercard, UtilDeco, JobDirect, WISE.travel, BCR, Ophori Handmade Cosmetics, Editura Gama, Portretica, Bricked, 2BE, AER, Fundația Inimă de Copil, Muzeul Amintirilor din Comunism, Clinica Tia Dent, ImpaktEU, Strunga Winery, vitamin aqua, Migdalin Iași.
Event phots were generously provided Portretica social enterprise.
The conference was organized by ADV Romania Foundation, within the framework of five projects co-financed by the European Union:
- Buy Social B2B – Buy social Future of Social Economy!
- B-WISE – Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills in Work Integration Social Enterprises
- SocialTech4EU – SocialTech for Europe for Resilient and Responsible Ecosystems
- baSE – Blueprint for advanced skills & trainings in the social economy
- ESIC – Alliance Fostering Skills Development for Social Economy – European Social Innovation Campus
The Resolution of the conference
ADV Romania, the Romanian Social Economy Network – RISE Romania and the Social Enterprise Accelerator Cluster adopted the Resolution of the European Conference “Enterprising for Tomorrow” which includes a series of priorities and actions to be included in the National Government Programme and in Local Strategies.