Ευρωπαϊκή Οικονομική και Κοινωνική Επιτροπή
The EESC held the fourth of its Going Local meetings on the live-in care sector in the EU, this time in Poland. The country provides much of the sector's workforce in western EU Member States, but has itself started to face a serious shortage of qualified carers in recent years
During the 2ndEuropean day of Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) at the EESC, over 130 social economy representatives called on policy-makers to scale-up their efforts to enable the development of the Social Economy. In his opening speech, Michael Smyth, EESC Vice-President, said: Social Economy Enterprises have become crucial, not only because they contribute to social integration, territorial cohesion and new economic models, but also because they play a role in shaping the future of Europe
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The EESC organised its 4th edition of the European Day of Social Economy Enterprises in Strasbourg, on 27 November. The event which was coorganised by the City of Strasbourg and the Eurometropole, and the French Ministry for an ecological and solidary transition was entitled ''The Social Economy: mobilising cities, regions and civil society. Pact for Impact for the European Union''. The aim of the event was to review the progress made in setting up an ecosystem for social enterprises and to see what are the next steps for this model of enterprise model to be recognized and more widely disseminated.
In the framework of its own initiative opinion on "Blockchain and distributed ledger technology as an ideal infrastructure for Social Economy", the EESC organizes on 29 May 2019 a public hearing on "Blockchain: technology for the social economy 4.0".
The objective of the hearing will be to give the floor to experts in the field, but also to present case studies aiming at showing how Social Economy can benefit from this new technology.
The Social Economy Enterprise (SEE) model offers a framework for mobilising and enhancing newcomers' skills. SEEs facilitate the settlement and integration process for immigrants by providing them with employment or training and helping them with practical settlement support. Although they operate in different ways in different national contexts, Social Economy Enterprises have managed to define common principles of action – inclusive, subsidiary protection of the most disadvantaged people – taking a proactive approach to receiving migrants. In this way they have mobilised the relevant communities, activated networks and partnerships, and cooperated with central and local administrations to organise reception and integration processes.
The European Commission and the EESC co-organize, on the sidelines of the Summit, an event on the role of the social economy in the future of work.
The objective is twofold: on the one hand, to review the progress made in building an ecosystem for social enterprises and, on the other hand, to see what the next steps are for this enterprise model to be recognized and more widely disseminated. The European Day of Social Economy Enterprises is also an excellent opportunity to give the floor to the actors in the field by bringing together the EESC's institutional partners and a number of sector representatives as well as several stakeholders in order to have a comprehensive view of the situation, create synergies and discuss how to proceed from the creation of an ecosystem to a systemic change at European level.
The European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee held a joint workshop on "the impact of digitalisation and new technologies on social economy". The workshop was was be organized around 4 panels. This joint event's purpose was to contribute to the work of the permanent study group on "Social Economy Enterprises", but also to strengthen synergies between the EESC and the Commission in promoting the social economy agenda.
The first European Day of Social Economy Enterprises brought together the EESC's institutional partners, as well as several stakeholders in order to have a comprehensive view of the situation, create synergies and discuss next meaures and actions to be taken in order to fully unleash the potential of the sector. The event entailed three workshops to allow participants to have their say.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has been actively involved in the European social enterprise and social economy agenda for more than 10 years and supports social enterprise growth and development as a key element of the European social model.
