It brought together social enterprise researchers from different Balkan countries and Europe, members of the Balkan Social Enterprise Research Network, who presented and discussed their latest research in the field of social enterprise and social economy with a particular focus on the Balkan region.

In addition, participants had the opportunity to hear the presentations given by guest practitioners directly involved in the management of social enterprises or policymaking and development of a favourable environment for social entrepreneurship in the region.

A selection of papers presented at the conference will be published as the joint volume titled Social Enterprise Developments in the Balkans, edited by an editorial board comprising experienced social enterprise scholars from the United Kingdom and Italy.

The project has been implemented by five partner organisations: “Reactor – Research in action”, “Konekt” and “Public” from Macedonia, “Partners Albania” from Albania and “Center for Peace and Tolerance” from Kosovo. One of the main goals was to establish the Balkan Social Enterprise Research Network, a regional network of organisations, institutions and individuals who work in the field of social enterprise and social economy. It will serve as a platform for regional cooperation, knowledge and information sharing, discussions, debates, and creating theoretical and empirical knowledge related to social entrepreneurship and social economy developments in the Balkan region. The network is open for members from different countries in the region and will promote further collaboration with larger and well-established international research networks in Europe and beyond.

The network was inspired by and built upon the previous regional research project The Challenges and Opportunities for Employment of Marginalized Groups by Social Enterprises, implemented by the same consortium of partner organisations.

Source: RRPP