In January 2014 the first European conference on Social Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurs: Have Your Say!, was held in Strasbourg, organised by the European Commission. Over 2.000 social entrepreneurs and supporters came together to identify challenges that lie ahead and think about the solutions to empower themselves.

Social Entrepreneurs are central in creating a healthy and sustainable economy; and strengthen social cohesion, are innovative and create jobs across the European Union.

Konnektid was proud to be a part of the conference and help people connect through sharing knowledge and expertise. Together we created a declaration (which can be read here) to encourage the European Commission to take action on the following subjects: innovative funding solutions, regulatory framework improvement, education and business support, best exchange practices and awareness creation.


 

Konnektid was also part of the successful Network Hub that surrounded the main conference. The Network Hub gave all attendees the chance to reflect on learnings and talks from the conference. They were also able to share ideas, frustrations and connect to fellow social entrepreneurs. It was Konnektid’s job to facilitate the networking, enhance offline connections and support peer-to-peer interaction through its online tool.

Through The Network Hub we were able to facilitate some great connections. For example, we helped an Italian university student living in Denmark - and interested in the situation there- connect to Danish representatives at the conference.We also connected a first time UK-based social entrepreneur from Poland to a seasoned UK social entrepreneur who provided him with free legal advice and business development support.

Graphic by http://biggerpicture.dk/

SocEntEu – a group Konnektid facilitates — became a cross-European knowledge exchange devoted to the advancement of Social Entrepreneurship. Within the SocEntEU group there is a lot of expertise. You can find anything from business development, conference management, and renewable energy, to speaking Spanish and setting up your first Etsy business. It is our firm belief that through collaboration and interaction we can help grow the European Social Economy.

At the conference we saw a lot of inspiration and enthusiasm among the crowd to work together and bring about real change. We would love to keep on facilitating people to connect to fellow social entrepreneurs throughout Europe. So let’s help each other clear the obstacles we face by finding others who experience the same unique challenges that come with being a social entrepreneur. Do you have knowledge or a skill you are looking for - or want to offer? Join in here!