On the 12 and 13 February the Social Economy Conference “Social Economy at the core of Transitions” took place in Liege, Belgium. The event aimed at bringing together the main social economy stakeholders and policymakers to discuss innovative, resilient and inspiring economic models for a more social and sustainable Europe.

The Conference was organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council, and has been set in the wake of the Strasbourg, Gothenburg and San Sebastian conferences. CECOP attended both days of discussions. The panel discussions and plenary sessions proposed a diverse array of social economy actors presenting their activity, highlighting their experience and good practices. These two days of discussion included plenary sessions, workshops, roundtables, and a Social Economy Village during which CECOP had also the chance to liaise with its members (Smart, Diesis, Coompanion) and with other stakeholders from the European social economy family.

During the conference, 19 European Member States representatives signed the Liege roadmap and called for ambitious objectives for the Social Economy in the EU. This roadmap contains 25 commitments and is a follow-up to the San Sebastián declaration, and the Monitoring Committee of the Luxembourg Declaration of 2015. It aims to encourage the development of the social economy in the EU and to keep the positive momentum for social economy in Europe for the next European Commission.

You can read the full roadmap here.