Save the date!
The DICES Project is hosting an online webinar on mapping the social economy in Europe, unpacking what it means, why it matters, and what we are learning about the state of the social economy across Europe today. The session offers a first look at the work behind the upcoming DICES report Conceptual Framework and Mapping of the Social Economy in Europe, which will be published soon.
The session is designed as an accessible introduction to the topic, welcoming researchers, students, practitioners, policymakers, and anyone interested in social economy, care systems, and democratic governance in Europe.
About the webinar
Across Europe, the social economy is quietly reshaping how communities organise care, work, and democratic life. From cooperatives and mutuals to associations and grassroots initiatives, it gathers a broad set of practices that place people and social purpose ahead of profit, yet what the social economy actually looks like varies sharply from one country to the next.
What counts as social economy in Austria can look quite different in Bulgaria, Ireland, or Greece. Legal definitions, policy support, and cultural traditions shape the field in distinct ways, as do the people and organisations driving it from the ground up. Mapping that diversity matters: it reveals where the social economy is thriving, where it is constrained, and how care, inclusion, and democratic governance come together in practice.
This is the terrain the DICES project examines across nine European countries, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, and Norway. The webinar offers an early look at this work, opening with a conceptual framing and turning to a closer view of the Belgian case. The upcoming DICES report, Conceptual Framework and Mapping of the Social Economy in Europe, will go further still, pairing a theoretical foundation built around social economy, social inclusion, economic democracy, and care as a bridging concept with a comparative mapping of all nine national contexts.
What to expect
The webinar opens with a conceptual framing block, introducing key notions from the forthcoming report, social economy, social inclusion, economic democracy, and care as a bridging concept. The session then moves into the mapping findings, with a dedicated country spotlight on Belgium, illustrating how these concepts play out in a concrete national context. The webinar closes with an open Q&A.
Key themes
- Social economy as a driver of inclusive and democratic development
- Care as a bridging concept across economic, social, and gender dimensions
- Economic democracy and participatory governance, from theory to practice
- Country mapping: variation, drivers, and barriers across Europe
- Policy-relevant insights and good practices
Speakers
- Andreas Exner, University of Graz, will present the conceptual framework
- Barbara Sak, International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC), and Nazik Beishenaly, KU Leuven, will present the Belgium country spotlight
- The session will be moderated by Markus Blümel, University of Graz