International conference discusses the development of social economy

Opportunities for the development of the social economy discussed partisipants on the first day of the International conference “Social economy - for an economically sustainable and socially inclusive EU i”, which took place on 16-17 April 2018 in Sofia.

The two-day event gathered politicians from EU and candidate countries, representatives of international organisations, social partners and civil society organisations. The conference participants discussed the role of the social economy in addressing some of the major challenges Europe is facing in terms of creating sustainable and decent jobs, improving social justice for all and reducing inequalities.

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said Biser Petkov, Bulgaria’s Minister of Labour and Social Policy, at the opening of the conference.

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The social economy complements the broad spectrum of social policies by integrating entrepreneurship, boosting solidarity and bringing measurable social effects, Mr Petkov said. Governments and stakeholders should take targeted actions to build a fully-fledged environment for the development of the social economy, the Minister added.

The conference discussions focused on measures that promote the social and labour market integration of the disadvantaged. The panellists also debated ways to improve social inclusion, develop the silver economy and promote the role of women in the social economy.

The 7th European Social Entrepreneurship Forum, which brought together more than 100 social enterprises from Bulgaria and abroad, took place in the framework of the conference.