International Interdisciplinary Conference on Cooperativism in the 21^st Century Europe

December 4-6, 2014, Bratislava, Slovakia

 

The conference programme

 

Organizers: International Visegrad Fund project "Inclusive Local Economies through Cooperatives Development" (INECON) in conjunction with the project "Cooperative business and innovative rural development: Synergies between commercial and academic partners" (C-BIRD), European Alternatives and International Young Professionals Foundation

 

The Aim and Purpose of the Conference

The conference was intended for anyone interested in cooperatives and social and solidarity economy, in local and regional economic and social development, and in issues related to economic democracy - from academics to practitioners. Both presenters and non-presenters were welcome to attend.

The aim of the conference was to address issues related to the status and role of cooperatives and social enterprises in social and economic development in the V4 countries – Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland within a broader European context (South-Eastern and Western Europe) both from the point of view of a historical and theoretical reflection and from practical perspectives.

 

Although in the Visegrad countries cooperatives in the past played a significant role in socio-economic development especially at the local or sub-regional level, at present they are on the margins of interest despite the fact that they could encourage economic activities in the territories and economic sectors which are not within the scope of interest of strong economic actors. In the times of the economic crisis, cooperatives and other forms of social and solidarity economy may provide a model that secures sustainable employment and ensure more equitable future for those communities in which they operate or to whom they serve.

 

The Conference aimed to:

• bring together academics, policy makers and practitioners to present research, discuss current knowledge and exchange experiences related to cooperative, social and solidarity economy and various forms of cooperative action

• promote networking among academics and practitioners and further build a community of experts and interested parties for ongoing collaboration, dialogue and research on cooperative, social and solidarity economy and various forms of cooperative action in Europe and beyond

 

The conference addressed these areas:

 

• the history of the cooperative movement and social and solidarity economy development and the current relevancy and standing of cooperatives in the economies of the V4 and other European countries

• the democratic and social dimension of cooperatives and their role of in social economy

• the impact of cooperatives and social economy actors on local/sub-regional economies

• the cooperative model in rural development

• the cooperative model for disadvantaged regions and communities

• social economy and social cooperatives – forms and linkages

• good practices in various forms of cooperative action

• factors hindering the development of the cooperative and social enterprise sector

• financing start-up and existing cooperatives

• legislative support for the development of cooperativism in the future

• public policies supporting the development of social economy and cooperativsm in Europe

• educational programs in cooperativism and social economy

 

 

For further information about the Conference please write to: utopia@utopia.sk.