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SEN#49March 2026
Raising the Profile of the Social Economy
Chloé Vandendriesche, Senior Data Scientist at King Baudouin Foundation
In our societies, certain realities immediately stand out: large companies, financial markets, economic indicators. But other forces, although essential to social cohesion, often remain in the shadows. Across Belgium — as elsewhere in Europe — thousands of organisations work every day at the heart of the social fabric. They support people without housing, create spaces for solidarity in neighbourhoods, and innovate in care, education and social inclusion. Associations, foundations, cooperatives and social enterprises form a dense and vital ecosystem, meeting needs that neither the market nor the State can fully address on their own.
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Call for papers for the 35th CIRIEC International Congress – Montreal, 5 to 8 October 2026
CIRIEC-Canada and CIRIEC International announce a call for papers for the 35th CIRIEC International Congress on Public, Social and Cooperative Economy, which will take place in Montreal from 5 to 8 October 2026. The call, now open, is addressed to the academic community in order to promote exchanges with practitioners. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is next 29 March.
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The social economy takes centre stage at the European Civil Society Week organised by the EESC
This year’s edition took place in a context marked by increasing pressure on democratic values, both globally and within the EU itself. In this context, the involvement of civil society — and especially the social economy — was identified as crucial to strengthening resilience and citizen participation.
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Social Economy Europe calls on the European Commission to strengthen human resources in the Directorate-General for Employment to implement the Social Economy Action Plan
In a letter sent on 16 March to the Secretary-General of the European Commission, Ilze Juhansone; the Director-General for Human Resources (DG HR), Stephen Quest; and the Director-General for Budget (DG BUDG), Stéphanie Riso, the President of SEE, Juan Antonio Pedreño, along with 55 additional signatory organisations, underline that the Action Plan was conceived as a long-term strategic framework precisely due to the complexity of the changes it aims to drive.
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The EUFunds4Social coalition publishes a joint statement calling for a European budget focused on people and territories
Its main concern is the proposal to merge the European Social Fund (ESF+), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and other funds, which, it argues, could weaken the social and territorial impact of each of them. The statement asserts that a strong social budget is essential to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth in Europe, and that maintaining specific and well-funded instruments will make it possible to better respond to current and future social challenges.
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Moshi Cooperative University, in Tanzania, the first African host of the ICA International Forum on Cooperative Law
The event was jointly organised by MoCU, the Ius Cooperative Association and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) through its Global Committee on Cooperative Law, under the theme “Cooperative law and sustainable development: past, present and future”. It was led by Alphonce Mbuya and Mathias Nkuhi, PhD holders from MoCU, in collaboration with members of ICA’s global and regional law networks, including Professor Hagen Henry, Chair of the ICA Committee on Cooperative Law.
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CIRIEC-International invites participation in a new research working group on Gender and Social Economy
The new working group represents an opportunity to advance research and public policies in the field of the social economy through a gender-sensitive perspective. The project invites academics and experts to contribute to the working group, for which proposals can be submitted until 15 April 2026 in English, French or Spanish.
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Extension of the Call for Papers: ICA CCR Europe Research Conference 2026 – Valencia, November 3–6, 2026
Abstracts and session proposals must be submitted via the platform available on the conference website. The conference language is strictly English, although simultaneous interpretation into Spanish will be provided during the plenary sessions and some of the parallel sessions. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 10 April.
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ILO highlights the growing role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in Asia, and the need to support it with appropriate public policies
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has recently published a series of reports mapping and analyzing the landscape of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan, highlighting the importance of this economic approach as a driver for decent work, social inclusion, and sustainable development. The reports are part of the ILO’s broader effort to strengthen understanding and public policy design for SSE.
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The European social economy insists on a reform of public procurement to avoid 'the race to the bottom' that comes from contracting the cheapest offer
In a letter addressed to the European Commission, specifically to the Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for the Internal Market, Stéphane Séjourné, and the Head of Unit for Public Procurement, Henning Ehrenstein, the signatory entities — integrated within the network for sustainable development in public procurement — highlight that public spending represents approximately 16 % of the EU’s GDP. Therefore, they consider that the way these resources are invested has a decisive impact on the social, economic and environmental fabric of the continent.
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Social Economy Europe and Fundación ONCE publish the guide “From Principle to Action – best practices on Disability Inclusion”
This guide, through eleven initiatives from seven countries, provides practical information and transferable solutions showing how the social economy drives meaningful inclusion. It also demonstrates how, through models such as cooperatives, foundations, associations, or sheltered employment centres, the inclusion of persons with disabilities is a tangible reality when economic structures place people at the centre.
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Cooperatives, one of the most dynamic sector of Moroccan Economy
The video explains that there are tens of thousands of active cooperatives and hundreds of thousands of people involved—over 40,000 cooperatives and more than 600,000 members according to official 2020 data. The Moroccan cooperative model stands out today for its ability to generate employment, territorial cohesion, and economic opportunities in rural areas.
Read moreSocial Economy Schedule
Online webinar sessions – Democracy at Work: Social Economy actors bringing EU values to citizens, 9th, 16th, and 23rd of April 2026
“Democracy in Action: Social Economy Actors Bringing EU Values Closer to Citizens” is an online event organized under the auspices of the 2026 Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU. It consists of three sessions and will take place on April 9, 16, and 23, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. These sessions aim to demonstrate how the social economy (SE) promotes European values, active citizenship, and a resilient, people-centered economy.
+infoLast chance to take part in the 11th Iberian Colloquium on the Social Economy – 27–29 May in Lisbon and Caldas da Rainha (Portugal)
The Portuguese and Spanish sections of CIRIEC are jointly organising the 11th Iberian Colloquium on the Social Economy, which will take place from 27 to 29 May 2026 in Caldas da Rainha (Portugal) under the theme ‘Social Economy and Territorial Cohesion – The role of regional and local government’. CIRIEC invites you to participate in the colloquium, whose program is already available, as well as the registration and accommodation form.
+infoREVES Days 2026, and conference “Social economy – an indispensable partner for strategic public policies fostering resilience throughout Europe”
The Swedish City of Östersund, in cooperation with the Region of Jämtland Härjedalen, will host the REVES Days 2026 which will also be an occasion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the network. The events will bring together local and regional governments, social economy actors, civil society and academics from Sweden and other EU Member States, but also representatives of international and EU institutions or consultative bodies such as OECD, the European Commission, the Committee of Regions, or the EESC. The programme includes different thematic itineraries of field visits, panel discussions, speed-dating sessions, focus groups, cultural highlights and much more.
+infoCall for papers for the Third CIRIEC-España Legal Congress, 22 and 23 October in Pamplona
The Third CIRIEC-España Legal Congress will be held on 22 and 23 October 2026 at the Navarre Institute of Public Administration in Pamplona, organised in collaboration with the Public University of Navarre, through its Chair in Social Economy and Cooperativism, and ANEL, the Association of Social Economy Enterprises of Navarre. The overall theme of this Congress is “The legal impetus of the Social Economy: the individual as the central pillar”, and the call for papers will remain open until 30 June.
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