Road to Mannheim 2021, European Social Economy Summit

A fundamental step towards the construction of the EU Action Plan for the Social Economy. The path towards the summit involves thousands of public and private stakeholders, including Torino Social Impact with a leading role.

In the second half of 2021, a European Action Plan for the Social Economy will be approved. It is a key document of a new vision of the economic system and a key instrument to systematically integrate the social economy in the different socio-economic policies of the European Union, as well as in its actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDGs). A plan in which third sector and social impact can play a transformative role and strengthen the capacity to react to crises. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the strong contribution of the social economy to the well-being of the population, proving to be a fundamental part of the European safety net and thus a pillar of the socio-economic landscape of Europe. At the same time, however, the negative economic impact on businesses and social organizations has been strong and concrete. Therefore, actions are needed to safeguard this crucial part of the European entrepreneurial fabric, which must be considered as a pillar of a new economy that brings social and environmental value.

The work on the Plan starts from a proposal elaborated by Social Economy Europe and goes through the Digital Road to Mannheim 2021, a path consisting of eight online events in preparation for the European Social Economy Summit scheduled for 26-27 May in Mannheim. Each Roadmap event focuses on a specific topic and aims to connect different social economy actors in Europe in a highly interactive format, present best practices and use cases, and provide information in interactive sessions of changemakers across Europe. As a key milestone in the definition of the future Social Economy Action Plan, the Summit aims to promote the contribution of the social economy to economic development, inclusion, green and digital transitions.

To confirm its virtuous partnership model for strengthening the local ecosystem with social impact in Europe, Torino Social Impact was on of the keynote speakers at the event “New challenges, new innovations, new solidarities – Social Economy in the fight against COVID 19” on September 24th, the first of eight major digital conferences, and it was selected by the European Commission as the organizer of one of the panels at the last conference, scheduled for April 29th and entitled “Partnerships for maximizing social impact”.

The starting document of Social Economy Europe is based on three objectives: Recognising social economy as a cross-cutting actor in the European Union’s social and economic policies; Promoting convergence and coordination of the various public authorities involved in promoting the social economy by defining strategies and benchmarks at European level; Strengthening an ecosystem conducive to the growth of the social economy and enabling social enterprises to enjoy the full benefits of the European single market, EU funds and financial instruments. In line with these 3 objectives, the proposal sets out 20 policy measures and 64 actions structured in 7 pillars.

Digital Road to Mannheim: https://www.euses2020.eu/exchange-events/

To deepen the proposed Social Economy Europe Action Plan: https://www.socialeconomy.eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SEE-Action-Plan-for-Social-Economy.pdf