Objectives of the conference

The negative consequences of climate change and the growing problem of resource renewability, as well as the desire to ensure socio-economic development, make it necessary to rethink existing paradigms, especially in economics. It is necessary to place greater emphasis on creating appropriate conditions for socio-economic development and ensuring appropriate environmental quality. An important element of implementing  the assumptions of sustainable development is the circular economy (CE).

So far, analyses and activities have focused on the role of private entities in the implementation of CE, however, the necessity to include all economic actors in the process of creating closed cycles is more and more often emphasised. It seems crucial to emphasise the role of not only large, private players, but also entities whose core activity is social impact. In this respect, social economy entities may constitute an important element in implementing a closed loop economy, particularly emphasising the social element and including marginalised groups in the concern for a better tomorrow. These actors, including cooperatives, social enterprises, non-profit organisations, provide work for more than 13.6 million people in Europe, increasingly becoming key actors in the economy. In the context of the CE, the role of so-called "green social enterprises" is significant. In order to make fully exploit the potential of social enterprises in this direction, it is necessary to support their potential, provide them with comprehensive assistance and overcome the obstacles they may face.

The international scientific conference "Social Economy 2022. Social Entrepreneurship towards the challenges of a Circular Economy" is the next edition of the conference organised annually by the Department of Economics and Economic Policy and the Department of Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation of the Pedagogical University of Krakow in cooperation with national and foreign scientific institutions. The conference aims to:

• discuss and analyse contemporary theoretical and empirical issues relating to the social economy and social entrepreneurship, especially in relation to their role in the circular economy;
• disseminate research results and share thoughts with other professionals on the latest trends, concepts, challenges and dilemmas in relation to social entrepreneurship, including e.g. theories and models of sustainable social entrepreneurship, the impact of social entrepreneurship on the idea of a circular economy, endogenous and exogenous conditions for the development of green social entrepreneurship, practical solutions adopted in social entrepreneurship;
• exchange of knowledge and experience between conference participants: academics, practitioners, social entrepreneurs, representatives of local communities and government authorities, people starting their scientific careers, PhD students, student scientific circles.

Conference topics:

• Social economy and social entrepreneurship versus the circular economy,
• Social entrepreneurship as a route to environmental change and a driver of the circular economy,
• Involvement of social economy entities to reduce the negative effects of climate change,
• Endogenous (internal) and exogenous (external) conditions for the development of a closed loop economy and sustainable social entrepreneurship,
• Innovations, including green ones, in social entrepreneurship,
• Social entrepreneur - leader of change,
• Ethics and social responsibility of business and social entrepreneurship,
• Financing green initiatives in social enterprises,
• Green specialisations of social enterprises,
• Cooperation of social enterprises with other entities for the implementation of the idea of a closed loop economy,
• Supporting so-called green skills among employees and volunteers of social economy entities,
• Information and communication technologies (ICT) in the activities of social enterprises,
• Key success factors for social enterprises.

Conference language:

English and Polish