The European Social Enterprise Law Association is an international network of law firms, legal experts, academics and others specialising in the law as it relates to social enterprise. The ESELA Annual Conference took place this year on 28 April in Brussels. Whilst the discussions had a legal flavour and focus, there were a mix of perspectives from entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, policy specialists and legal experts. The theme of ‘teaming up’ was explored for international development, the welfare state, social impact bonds, alternative finance and social funds. It was a varied and lively agenda, including:
- a keynote address from the Belgian-Flanders Minister of Social Welfare, Jo Vandeurzen;
- an update from Patrick Klein of the European Commission on its legal policies and plans for social enterprise;
- an overview from Katerina Hadzi-Miceva Evans, Executive Director of ECNL on the development of social enterprise in Eastern Europe;
- case studies from:
- the NGO Close the Gap;
- Inclusie Invest - the social purpose company raising capital for people with disabilities;
- VDAB - the regulatory authority for the labor market in Flanders; and
- SI2 Fund - the social investment fund
- reflections from leading policy experts and practitioners, including Oxfam and BNP Paribas;
- legal perspectives from leading legal experts.
ESELA also has a wealth of other prominent local and international speakers from leading organisations in their respective fields and there was be plenty of time for discussion of legal issues and networking. You can see the full agenda and book your tickets on the following link for the Annual Conference. The Annual Conference is open to anyone with an interest in the relationship between law and social enterprise.