- During the ´Conference on entrepreneurship in the social economy and the role of women in the social economy´, organised by the Union for the Mediterranean, the European Commission, CEPES and the German Development Cooperation.
- The event, which took place this Tuesday in Barcelona, brought together representatives and experts from the social economy from 30 countries, including the President of CEPES and Social Economy Europe, Juan Antonio Pedreño; the Deputy Secretary General of the UfM, Abdelkader El Khissassi; and Visitacion Álvarez, Deputy Director of Social Economy of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy of the Spanish Government.
- Juan Antonio Pedreño: "We have the opportunity to place the Mediterranean at the heart of this ´momentum´ that the social economy is experiencing and, above all, to unleash its full potential as a key player in making the Mediterranean a true area of shared prosperity".
Madrid, 17 October 2023 - The President of the Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES) and Social Economy Europe (SEE), Juan Antonio Pedreño, proposed during his speech at the Conference organised by the Union for the Mediterranean, the European Commission, CEPES and the German Development Cooperation, the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean strategy for social economy enterprises and entities in the region.
"A strategy that is consulted with social economy organisations and that develops the European Social Economy Action Plan, establishing objectives around which all the institutions can work together to make the most of the available resources", he added.
This event, held on Tuesday in Barcelona, on social economy entrepreneurship and the role of women in this business model, brought together social economy representatives and experts from 30 countries, among other issues, to raise awareness of the current opportunities and challenges in the social economy in the region, highlight the boom in this business model, promote entrepreneurship and facilitate the active participation of women in the social economy.
The President of the Spanish social economy employers´ association affirmed that the region has the necessary elements to implement this strategy and, in fact, expressed that "we have the opportunity to place the Mediterranean at the centre of this ´momentum´ that the social economy is experiencing and, above all, to unleash its full potential as an essential player in making the Mediterranean a true area of shared prosperity".
Pedreño thanked the Deputy Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Abdelkader El Khissassi, and his entire team, headed by Mr. Mohammed Elrazzaz, for their "enormous effort", as well as for involving CEPES in this initiative. He also thanked the Union for the Mediterranean, the European Commission, the German Development Cooperation and the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy of the Spanish Government for their constant commitment to the Social Economy.
He also wished to recall the potential of the social economy in the Mediterranean, with 3.2 million social economy enterprises and organisations that throughout the Euro-Mediterranean region employ more than 15 million people, affirming that the social economy is a key player in policies to create and maintain quality jobs, especially for the youngest.
The President of CEPES stated that the social economy is at a time of "maximum recognition worldwide" and pointed out some of the milestones that have led to the current boom in this business model: the Social Economy Action Plan approved by the European Commission, the Recommendation on the promotion of the social economy in the 38 most developed economies in the world approved by the OECD, and the recently approved Recommendation on the development of framework conditions for the Social Economy approved by the European Council, among others.
For his part, the Deputy Secretary General of the UfM, Abdelkader El Khissassi, referred to the long-standing commitment of the Union for the Mediterranean to support and promote the Social Economy model in the 43 countries represented by the UfM.
Visitación Álvarez, Deputy Director of Social Economy, recalled the worldwide known effects of social economy enterprises at a global level. During her speech, she explained the importance of the European Action Plan for the social economy and the recent recommendation of the European Commission. Both are very valuable instruments that will allow the unification of actions and legislation in relation to the social economy.
The event included a round table on the current realities of the region, in which representatives and experts of the social economy from countries such as Egypt and Jordan took part; and a second round table entitled ´Entrepreneurship in the social economy: unleashing the creative potential´, in which representatives from Tunisia, Spain, Sweden and Poland took part.
Finally, there was a space dedicated to the role of women in this business model, in which experts and representatives of the social economy from Spain, Mauritania, Albania, Morocco and Italy took part.
