The winter holidays are around the corner so we wanted to remind you of the January 9, 2017 submission deadline for papers for the next EMES international conference on the theme "Social enterprise for sustainable societies". 

We are enthusiastically working to put together a top-notch program that combines thorough scientific reflection, fruitful networking and an enduring social program. EMES is organizing this event in partnership with the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Work, State and Society (CIRTES, Université catholique de Louvain) and the Social Enterprise Belgian Interuniversity Attraction Pole (IAP).

The Conference will take place on 3-6 July 2017 at the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium).

Event hashtag: #6EMESconf

We begin our "#6EMESmeetscicom" campaign with Janelle A. Kerlin who is an Associate Professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. She holds an M.S. in social work from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in political science from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
 

“I accepted the invitation to join the EMES conference scientific committee because it gives me the opportunity to interact with researchers with similar interests as well as support the development of social enterprise research and the field. The EMES conference is unique because it brings together the largest international group of social enterprise researchers of any other conference.  It therefore provides an exceptional opportunity to learn about new research in the field, receive feedback on your own research, and network with like-minded scholars.”

Thank you, Janelle and we look forward to seeing you at the #6EMESconf!

Campaign hashtag: #6EMESmeetscicom

We are two weeks away from the first Conference jointly organized by EMES and RILESS under the title "Solidarity economy and social enterprises". As the program is being finalized, we also wanted to share with you the fact that ICSEM researchers from Latin America will be meeting in Brazil as well to discuss the progress of this project in the various Latin American countries included in this international research. This will be the second Latin American ICSEM Symposium after the first one held in Chile.

Event hashtag: #1RILESSEMEScon; #ICSEMprojectLA and ICSEM Twitter (@ICSEMproject).

 

The issue of improving the visibility of the third sector emerged as the key demand and challenge at the TSI’s final conference in Brussels last 9 November. Visibility has a number of elements that stem from a variety of stakeholders – researchers, policy makers, statistical agencies, the media – who must all contribute to shine a light on the distinctive impact and contribution of citizens towards common good, shared values, democracy, well-being and social equality in Europe.

This event was an opportunity to bring many of these relevant stakeholders together to reflect on ways forward for third sector development. As concluded by EMES' member and TSI Coordinator Bernard Enjolras, fundamental to this end is the capacity of the third sector itself to articulate its own counter-narrative, that centres the public debate on the distinctive traits and values of the sector, based on the participation, self-expression and self-organization of citizens. Some of the steps identified during the event include:
    Step 1: Defining the nature of the third sector
    Step 2: Collect data, evidence and testimonies
    Step 3: Use data, evidence and testimony to get political attention

You can read the full conference report here and watch the video we created to summarize the findings here.

Project Twitter (@TSI_EU) and Facebook page.

 

The follow-up the “Mapping study on social enterprise eco-systems” in Europe commissioned to EMES and Euricse has just been launched. As already announced last April, this project aimed at updating and completing seven of the 28 national reports in EU countries and Switzerland published by the EC in 2014. EMES and Euricse have coordinated a network of national researchers both from within and outside their communities to ensure the deep knowledge and connection to the field given the complex historical, socioeconomic, political and cultural backgrounds existing in each of the countries.

The seven countries and the researchers mobilized are in each of them are:

The European report includes an overview across the seven countries as well as some reflections on future trends. 

Project hashtag: #socentmapping; #EUsocentmapping

We are pleased to announce yet another release of an important contribution by EMES members to the advacement of knowledge on social entrepreneurship. The book “Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprises. Nordic Perspectives” by Linda Lundgaard Andersen, Malin Gawell, and Roger Spear (eds.), published by Routledge in 2016 as the first volume of the Routledge Studies in Social Enterprise & Social Innovation, focuses on the transformative power of social enterprise and might indicate how social enterprises have the potential to make a difference for people and societies characterised by institutional arrangements specific to Scandinavia.

As the Nordic welfare states grew “civil society organizations and co-operatives lost ground, to a certain extent. But in recent decades, the welfare state has been restructured and, simultaneously, the concepts social entrepreneurship and social enterprises have gained attention. The Nordic context, with extensive public welfare structures and a high degree of citizens’ participation in public affairs, might affect the emergence of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises”. Read more.

Hashtag: #SENordicPerspectives

The EMES Junior Experts Blog (EJEB), which aims to feature the ongoing work of students from the EMES PhD Network, has recently decided to enlarge its scope. Indeed, the EJEB will continue to publish ongoing work by PhD students as well as some reflections from recent PhD graduates who are moving on with their career, whether as researchers or beyond the academy. The first contribution in this new activity is Frédéric Dufays'  abstract of his recently defended thesis, entitled "Mix and Match: Essays on collective dynamics in nascent social entrepreneurship". Moreover, he shares with EJEB readers some thoughts on how his PhD research will have a repercussion on his professional life. Thank you very much for your collaboration and for remaining a member of EMES in your new endeavor, Frédéric!
  
Hashtag: #EJEBpost

      After a full year of intensive work, the
      European Commission “Expert Group on
      Social Entrepreneurship” (GECES) has
      published the final document called “Social
      enterprises and the social economy going
      forward – A call for action from the GECES”
      which will be presented in the social
      economy conference to be held in Slovakia
      this week. Read more