Over the last 10 years, social enterprises and social entrepreneurship have become a central topic in policy-making in Europe and beyond. Social enterprises are the focus of recent specific legislation in Italy and Finland, and of specific public policies in the UK and Sweden.

They have been discussed in seminars, conferences and publications across Europe, East and West. They have been the object of an important research project supported by the European Commission in the late 1990s, giving birth to EMES (emergence of social enterprises in Europe), a thematic academic network grouping research centres and individual researchers from 13 European countries. Social enterprises have also been discussed in depth in international arenas such as the OECD or the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation coordinated by the ILO.

What are social enterprises? How can they be defined? What is their aim and potential? What could be the link in terms of corporate governance between social enterprises and the type of democratic management practiced in worker and social cooperatives? To what extent does the new public policy space opened by social enterprises represent an opportunity for worker and social cooperatives in the field of social inclusion? Those are some of the questions that we will try to address in this CECOP seminar.

 

DRAFT PROGRAMME:

Manchester, 9 November 2006, 14:00-18:00

1) Introduction _ by Felice Scalvini, President of CECOP

2) General concepts:
The phenomenology of social enterprise in Europe
by Roger Spear, The Open University
The main governance characteristics of worker cooperatives
by Jean Gautier, general secretary, CGSCOP

3) National case studies:
Discussants: Jean Gautier & Roger Spear
Case study: Italy
by Vilma Mazzocco, spokesperson of the 3rd sector forum, Italy
Case study: Sweden
By Eva Johanssen, Nutek Coffee break
Case study: Finland
By Pekka Pattiniämi, Coopfinland and Helsinki University,
Case study: UK
By Bob Cannell, Co-operatives UK Conclusions by the discussants

4) Ongoing debates on social enterprises in international and supranational institutions by Bruno Roelants, general secretary, CECOP and CICOPA

5) Debate

6) Conclusions by Mervyn Wilson, Principal of the Cooperative College UK

USEFUL INFORMATION:

Venue: 
New Century House 
Corporation Street 
UK - Manchester M60 4ES For accommodation booking, please see registration form to the seminar (www.cecop.coop or by request at CECOP Secretariat cecop@cecop.coop).

Registration fees: From the 25 EU countries and EFTA states: 120 € From United Kingdom: 90 € From other countries: 65 € Working languages: English and French (active languages).
You will have the possibility to express yourself in both Italian and Spanish (passive languages).
NB: We will possibly add more languages (active and passive) according to the delegations. 

CONTACT:
Olivier Biron
CECOP aisbl 
Tel. + 32 2 543 10 33 
Fax + 32 2 543 10 37 
cecop@cecop.coop

 This seminar is organised within the framework of the ICA-Europe and CCACE regional assembly, 9-11 November, Manchester.

For more information on assembly: 
www.coopseurope.coop

Contact: Antonina GUARRELLA -
Tel. + 32 2 280 16 09 -
office@coopseurope.coop