Euracademy Association, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Greece and the Development Agency of Karditsa
organised the 15th Euracademy Summer Academy (SA) in Mouzaki, Karditsa, Greece, from 16th July – 23rd July 2016, and welcomed participants from all over Europe interested in the field of rural development.
The theme: How social enterprises and co-operatives contribute to the rural economy and how these types of enterprise can be supported.
For information on the Summer Academy activities, have a look at the 15th Summer Academy Report. The respective Thematic Guide, that will contain full papers on the theme examined, is scheduled to be published in December 2016.
By clicking on the links at the programme below, you can download the respective presentations.
15th Summer Academy
“Social Economy and Sustainable Rural Development”
Mouzaki, Karditsa, Greece, 16th to 23rd July 2016
Day 0 – Saturday 16 July 2016
Arrival of Participants, settling in at the Environmental Education Centre of Mouzaki
20:00 International Dinner
Day 1 – Sunday 17 July 2016
Social Economy and Sustainable Rural Development. The role of social enterprises and cooperatives in the economy of rural areas
09:00 – 09:40 Welcome by
- Fouli Papageorgiou, President of Euracademy Association
- Fotios Alexakos, Chairman of ANKA – Development Agency of Karditsa, Mayor of Karditsa
- Olga Drossou, Director, Heinrich Böll Foundation Greece
Opening and greetings by
- Demetra Chalikia, Secretary General for the Management of European and Other Funds, Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity
- Giorgos Kotsos, Mayor of Mouzaki
09:40 – 10:00 Presentation of Euracademy and the 15th Summer Academy; practical Information, Fouli Papageorgiou, President of Euracademy Association
10:00 – 11:15 Coffee break and open space
11:15 – 12:00 Speaker1: Supporting rural economy by social enterprises – In what context this issue is topical, Márta Márczis, President of the European Association for Information on Local Development – AEIDL
13:00 – 13:30 Presentation of workgroup conclusions in plenary
12:00 – 13:00 Workgroups. Participants in small groups of 8 people each, discuss the questions posed by the Speaker
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 Panel 1. Definition and historical development of social enterprises and cooperatives in Europe
15:00 – 15:30 Speaker 2: The definition of social enterprises across Europe, Dr Roger Evans, business and education consultant, Secretary General of Euracademy (Co-author, Dr Carmen Paunescu Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies [ASE], Romania).
15:30 – 16:00 Speaker 3: We are all children of this European continent: Opportunities and examples of cross border learning for innovation in the rural social economy, Michael Kuegler, Board member, European Forum of Rural Advisory Services
16:00 – 16:15 Coffee break
16:15 – 17:15 Workgroups. Participants in small groups of 8 people each, discuss the questions posed by the speakers– with coffee
17:15 – 17:45 Plenary – presentation of workgroup conclusions
20:00 Dinner
Day 2 – Monday 18 July 2016
Social economy and social innovation in rural areas
09:15 Panel 2. How social enterprises put social innovation to practice?
09:15 – 09:45 Speaker 4. Introducing social innovation through rural social enterprises addressing challenges of ageing population, Dr Artur Steiner, Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship, Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health, Glasgow School for Business and Society
09:45 – 10:15 Speaker 5. Social and economic transformation of rural development through cooperative enterprises, Sofia Adam, Researcher
10:15 – 10:45 Coffee break
10:45 – 11:45 Workgroups. Participants in small groups of 8 people each, discuss the questions posed by the panel
11:45 – 12:15 Plenary – presentation of workgroup conclusions
12:15 – 13:30 Preparation for the study trips
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 Panel 3. The role of social enterprises in integrating or re-integrating people in the world of work, including disadvantaged people
15:00 – 15:30 Speaker 6. Social cooperatives as a vehicle for social integration in remote rural areas: the case of Hungary, Patricia Honvari & Iren Kukorelli, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
15:30 – 16:00 Speaker 7. Meeting the needs of social entrepreneurs: offering support for employment and entrepreneurship to women in rural areas, Popi Sourmaidou, Ergani – Center for the Support of Employment and Entrepreneurship of Women
16:00 – 16:15 Coffee break
16:15 – 17:15 Workgroups. Participants in small groups of 8 people each, discuss the questions posed by the panel
17:15 – 17:45 Plenary – presentation of workgroup conclusions
____________________________________________________________________________
18:00 – 19:30 General Assembly of Euracademy Association
20:00 Dinner
Day 3 – Tuesday 19 July 2016
Support systems for social enterprises
09:15 Panel 4. Supporting the social enterprises’ development process and operation
9:15 – 9:45 Speaker 8. Best practice in creating and supporting Community Enterprise, Stephen Clare, Director, CYTA Consulting
9:45 – 10:15 Speaker 9. How do we define a “social enterprise eco-system” and how best can it operate, Vasilis Bellis, CEO of ANKA – Development Agency of Karditsa
10:15 – 10:45 Speaker 10. “How can we set up ecosystems of change? – the global- local experience of an Impact Hub”, Sophie Lamprou, co-founder and Strategy Director of the Impact Hub, Athens
10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 – 12:15 Workgroups. Participants in small groups of 8 people each, discuss the questions posed by the panel
12:15 – 12:45 Plenary – presentation of workgroup conclusions
12:45 – 13:30 Presentation online by the Estonian Enterprise network on “How can we measure the performance of social enterprise and determine its value?” Jaan Aps, Estonian Social Enterprise Network
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 Panel 5. Best practice examples on support systems
15:00 – 15:30 Speaker 11. “Do’s and Don’ts in supporting Social Enterprise development: lessons learned from the EU experience”, Yiorgos Alexopoulos, Agricultural University of Athens & Euricse, Member of the Expert Group of the EC on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES)
15:30 – 16:00 Speaker 12. “Ireland’s Social Economy – a story of success and struggle”, Ryan Howard, CEO, South and East Cork Area Development – SECAD
16:00 – 16:30 Speaker 13. “Training and certification for social economy stakeholders” Dr Tasos Vasiliadis, President of the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development
16:30 – 16:45 Coffee break
16:45 – 18:00 Plenary discussion on the creation of local support systems for social enterprises and a network of social enterprise ecosystems.
20:00 Dinner
Days 4 & 5 – Wednesday & Thursday 20-21 July 2016
Study trips
08:30 – 19:00 Study Trips
20:00 Dinner
Day 6 – Friday 22 July 2016
Study Trip Reports
09:00 – 13:30 The SA participants work in small groups to prepare the study trips’ reports
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:00 Presentation of Study Trips’ Reports and discussion
16:00 – 16:15 Coffee break
16:15 – 17:00 Presentation of Study Trips’ Reports and discussion (continued)
17:00 – 18:00 Presentation of case studies by participants
- Lili Mahne, Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia
- Theodoros Aleksandrou, Institute of Business Development
- Zorair Kirakosian, American University of Armenia
- Triin Lääne, Tartu Rural Development Association, ELARD
20:00 Dinner
Day 7– Saturday 23 July 2016
Conclusions – Evaluation
09:00 – 10:00 Presentation of Participant’s experiences
10:00 – 11:30 The way forward – Panel of conclusions (participants and lecturers)
11:30 – 12:00 Coffee break
12:00 – 13:00 Evaluation of the summer academy, Award of diplomas
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
Departure of participants
and then present their findings durning a subsequent plenary session. Here is Demetris of Euracademy Association sharing his group’s conclusions during one of the plenaries. The conclusions were presented as posters, which remained on the walls of the main hall so that everyone could take a closer look. 
