The "Public Consultation" on the draft of a "Social Economy Declaration" has kicked off and runs until 19 June 2023. All interested organisations and individuals have the opportunity to publicly submit a statement on the current draft: https://survey.uni-graz.at/index.php/855381?lang=de

Background on the Social Economy Declaration

The "Social Economy" encompasses organisations and enterprises that primarily pursue social and ecological objectives, largely reinvest profits, and are organised democratically or participatively. In December 2021, in recognition of the significant and diverse contributions of this sector, the European Commission published an Action Plan for the Social Economy. To make the Social Economy in Austria more visible, to network it, and to set a national Social Economy Action Plan in motion, the first Austrian Social Economy Conference took place in Graz in autumn 2022.

Alongside further events — such as an enquête on the topic of the common good on 24 May 2023 at BOKU Vienna — the Social Economy Conference (understood as an ongoing dialogue process) is developing a joint declaration. A draft has been prepared by the co-organising organisations of the first conference, on which statements can now be submitted as part of a public consultation until 19 June 2023. These will be published and incorporated into the final version of the declaration by the editorial team — made up of representatives of the co-organising organisations of the first conference.

We warmly invite you to get involved and are hoping for plenty of stimulating contributions that will help us enrich and further develop the declaration. It is intended to make the shared concerns, interests, and demands of the Social Economy in Austria more visible and to provide an impetus for the political process — in particular for the development of a national Social Economy Action Plan in Austria.