Managing the social economy
Essen. How can a system collapse be avoided in the social economy? This question was discussed by more than 170 managers of care service providers, workshops for disabled people, care facilities and other social economy enterprises at the Zeche Zollverein in Essen. This sector of the economy faces existential questions, but the congress also showed the industry's determination to tackle the issues of the future.
The opening of the congress already left no doubt that the future cannot be shaped by simply “carrying on as before” and that it may even take a conscious step back to achieve sustainable development. For example, transformation researcher and bestselling author Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel called for a change of perspective and questioned the standards by which we want to evaluate success and whether the social economy in particular could actively contribute to a redefinition of value creation and appreciation.
When asked about the specific challenges of the social economy, Dr. Ulrich Schneider, managing director of the German Parity Welfare Association, also addressed the current care reform. “This is guaranteed to fail,” was his clear conclusion.
The three organizers, Evangelisches Johanneswerk, Curacon and Ecclesia Versicherungsdienst, had placed the conference under the heading of intergenerational justice. The panels included personnel, sustainability, digitization and care. 13 speakers offered numerous impulses, best-practice examples and new perspectives on the issues of the day: How can the shortage of skilled workers be compensated? How can sustainability and economy be combined? What perspectives does digitization create – also and especially in care?
“The popularity of the first congress of its kind has shown us that we have chosen the right topics,” said Tobias Allkemper, spokesperson for the Curacon management board. ”From my perspective, the presentations and discussions have shown that All companies are dealing with the same problems, but there are numerous good approaches to solving the pressing issues.” Dr. Bodo de Vries, deputy managing director of Ev. Johanneswerks, also emphasized: ”Our goal as a social economy must be to develop our own innovative solutions for the current crisis that will lead us into the future. To do this, however, we also need the political will to end the patchwork in care policy and finally tackle the problems on a broad scale.” “In 2024, the Future Congress on Social Economy Management will once again provide a space to advance these topics, because there will definitely be a new edition of the instantly successful, sold-out format,” announced Gunnar Pepping, managing director of Ecclesia Versicherungsdienst.
All details about the congress, program and venue for 2024 can be found at:
www.sozialwirtschaft-managen.de
If you have any questions, please contact:
Thorsten Engelhardt
Press Officer Ecclesia Group
Ecclesiastraße 1 – 4
32758 Detmold
Phone +49 5231 603-6912
Fax 49 +49 5231 603-606912
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