Social Economy Awards, ActSE2021 and FNAF: a look back at two days at the summit(s)

October was a busy month for the Social Good Accelerator team! Between presentations of new projects and participations in European events, our team and our members have been able to go to the four corners of Europe to participate in these important meetings. Let’s take a look back at these moments that led the association here and there.

Finalists of the Social Economy Awards with the team of Social Economy Europe, which took place in Ljubljana on 12th October 2021. More than 100 organisations entered the competition in three different categories, with only 9 finalists, including the Social Good Accelerator in the “Digitalisation and Skills” category.

Source: Social Economy Europe

Conference with Aésio Mutuelle and La MedNum in the FNAF 2021 in Paris, France.

Source: Aésio Mutuelle

The National Forum of Associations and Foundations, a key event for the French social economy sector

Two members of the Social Good Accelerator were invited to the National Forum of Associations, which was held on 13 October at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. Aésio Mutuelle and La MedNum participated in this event, which gathered more than 4,500 people.

In a conference entitled “Digitalisation in the social economy: current state, challenges and tools to engage the digital transition”, Samira Sameur and Caroline Span, representing respectively Aésio Mutuelle and La MedNum, were able to highlight several of the projects to which they have contributed closely for the association. Firstly, they highlighted the main findings of the study published last year by SOGA on the cooperation between the digital and social economy sectors. This allowed them to highlight the needs identified, in particular by MedNum, in its interactions with other organisations. Social economy was at the heart of Caroline’s presentation, in view of its pivotal role in digital mediation. Finally, in front of the audience, Samira and Caroline gave a demo of the Social Tech Atlas, after having presented the ambitions of this tool as well as its functionalities.

Exchanges were then quickly held with the rest of the audience as well as with the other speakers. Let’s recall that this panel was also composed of Frédéric Bardeau, president and co-founder of Simplon, Sébastien Darrigrand, general manager of the UDES as well as Denis Philippe, administrator in charge of the SSE at Aésio Mutuelle. In short, it was a great event that made us forget last year’s cancellation! See you in 2022!

ActSE 2021, for a fair, green and digital recovery
The day before the FNAF, the Social Good Accelerator was invited to the Ljubljana Social Economy Summit, called ActSE, in the framework of the Slovenian EU Presidency. Within a diverse panel, the different personalities invited were able to exchange views on digitalization and cooperative platforms. This intervention allowed SOGA to present its projects related to the development of people’s skills such as the Social Tech Atlas and the new ambitions of the Social Tech Academy.

The Vice-President of the association, Gabriela Martin, mentions the need to bring digital and social economy sectors closer together at the ActSE of Ljubljana on 12th October 2021

Source: YouTube channel of eCoopedu Info

The Slovenian Presidency’s choice to invite the association in the company of other structures with which the SOGA shares the same overall vision was doubly relevant. Firstly, this diverse panel made it possible to discover some of the most interesting initiatives from the four corners of Europe.

From a non-profit music platform based in Denmark to social economy networks, this meeting illustrated the vision of the association, which is to bring together the often distant sectors of the digital and social economy. But the common denominator of this meeting was the cooperative movement through digital. It is what the second part of our presentation was focused on. The experience of our Vice-President, Gabriela Martin, notably in the public affairs sector, allowed her to talk more in detail about what should really be done within the next years for social economy and digital. Perhaps the association will have the opportunity to talk about this subject again at the next European summit of the social economy in Strasbourg?

Bonus: the finals of the Social Economy Awards

The Social Good Accelerator has been selected for the final of the Social Economy Awards for its various projects that benefit the digitalisation and skills development of people. It is with Czechitas and Suara Coop that the association found itself in the final, while nearly a hundred organisations were candidates. SOGA is particularly honoured to receive this distinction from Social Economy Europe, and to have been able to participate in the awards ceremony, meeting inspiring people from all over Europe to present their initiatives for the common good. The association is particularly grateful to the Social Economy Europe team for their dedication, as well as to Mr. Chris Gordon, Master of Ceremonies, and Mr. Tadej Slapnik, President of the Slovenian Chapter of Catalyst 2030.