In  November 2015, for the seventh year in a row, Riga has host the annual Social Entrepreneurship Forum, gathering social entrepreneurs, decision makers and change makers from Latvia and the Baltic region. The long term tradition is one the best examples, how to keep social entrepreneurship topic important for stakeholders, society, policy makers.

The Forum’s first day   was a journey to the eternal question “Why do we need social entrepreneurship?” The experience of some European social enterprise involved in difficult social problems – employ refugees, integrate different ethnic groups or assist former prisoners, drug/alcohol addicts to return to normal societal life were observed.

The Forum’s second day   was dedicated to the legal framework of social entrepreneurship and funding opportunities in Latvia. 2016 will be an important year for the social entrepreneurship in Latvia. In addition to the adoption of the Law on Social Entrepreneurship, 19 million EUR will be available through European Social Fund to support the development of social entrepreneurship in Latvia. Participants of the Forum will have a chance to look for the best solutions in drafting the law and spending the available funding jointly with representatives of the state institutions and MPs.

Renate Lukjanska, SIC Chairman of the Board and the researcher has  present the data of study “Social business development in Latvian: The role of municipalities”.

Iveta Cīrule, SIC Board Member has moderated the workshop “How to build a successful social entrepreneurship business model.”

Presentations from the Forum: http://sefriga.lv/prezentacijas/ 

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/sorosafondslatvija/2JwJB2