Vilnius hosts the Social Enterprise and Innovation Forum

Viktorija Bražiūnaitė, Head of the Lithuanian Social Business Association (LISVA): „It's no coincidence that this year's forum highlights the synergies between technology and social innovation. We live in a rapidly changing world where technological advances open new horizons and provide the tools to tackle society's most profound and pressing challenges. However, this progress must be combined with social sensitivity and responsibility, and we must assume to achieve a more just, equitable and sustainable world“.

The event's patron, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, highlighted the importance of innovation in her opening speech at the forum: „When talking about innovation, especially artificial intelligence, alongside the vast opportunities its application opens in many fields, we increasingly hear warnings about the risks that arise if decision-makers fail to keep up with the most advanced technologies and do not find rational ways to regulate them. Therefore, now more than ever, a close connection between experts from various fields and interest groups is essential for efficiently exchanging knowledge and making wise decisions in a rapidly changing world. Looking at today's program, the speakers, and their topics, I am delighted to see a wide-ranging, diverse view of the opportunities offered by the cooperation between the new technologies and social entrepreneurship“.

Kazys Starkevičius, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania and former Chairman of the Seimas Economic Committee: „I want to emphasise the importance of this forum in the political context. The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to forum provides a unique opportunity to directly engage politicians in discussions on strengthening social business and the importance of technological innovation. It is a special occasion that allows us to take stock of achievements and continue an open dialogue. This dialogue between the various political parties and actors in the social business and social innovation ecosystem was launched a couple of years ago on the initiative of the Lithuanian Social Business Association and the Economic Committee, which I chaired at the time, with the active involvement of the European Commission and the international Diesis network. I hope and wish that the professional discussions held during the forum and the new ideas that emerge will help outline further guidelines for the new political cycle, which will begin soon after the upcoming Seimas elections in the autumn, and in the new term could evolve into a strategy for social business development and a concrete action plan to implement this strategy“.

According to Ms Bražiūnaitė, this forum highlights the path that the association has taken over the last few years, with the most significant achievement being that the issue of social business had returned to the public policy agenda and was mainly actively debated in December when the definition of social business was approved. „However, this is only the beginning of the road; Lithuania is committed to developing national strategies for the social economy within one year, in which social business has a key role. This forum lays a solid foundation for the development of the strategy. The support of international partners and LISVA becoming an international member of the Diesis network provides an opportunity to draw on good practices from other countries and to learn from each other“.

Ramūnas Godeliauskas, Mayor of Rokiškis District Municipality, shared that the municipality, together with partners from Latvia and LISVA, is implementing the project Improvement of the Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Žiemgalė and Northern Lithuania, funded by the Interreg Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2021–2027. The project aims to promote social entrepreneurship by strengthening skills, transferring responsibility to the public sector, supporting educators, and sharing success stories.“ We strive to encourage, foster, and develop social entrepreneurship in the region as much as possible to stimulate the social economy. Creating the conditions for developing social businesses in the area is essential. We are also proud that the Social Business Forum 2025 will take place in the Panevėžys region“.

Brigitte Fellahi-Brognaux, Head of the Social and Inclusive Entrepreneurship Unit at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and Dr. Petra Püchner, Delegate for Europe of the Baden-Württemberg State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism and Head of the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, also gave welcoming speeches at the forum.

Social businesses in Lithuania face several challenges: their legal status needs to be clarified, and the state authorities need an open and flexible approach to creating and developing social businesses. The forum's first session was dedicated to discussing the role of institutions and the necessary conditions for strengthening the social business ecosystem.

In light of the current situation and potential challenges, and ahead of the upcoming Seimas elections, LISVA has presented proposals to political parties to strengthen the development of the social business sector in Lithuania. Viktorija Bražiūnaitė outlined: „We recommend more involvement of social partners in decision-making related to social business. We suggest establishing a Social Business Council, including representatives from state institutions and agencies, umbrella organisations, and representatives proposed by the Lithuanian Association of Municipalities. It is also crucial to ensure that social business, an activity addressing challenges our society faces, is comprehensively included in the country's strategic documents, EU financial planning periods, and economic support plans“.

Lukas Savickas, a member of the Economic Committee of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, emphasised that the EU is demonstrating global leadership in the development of the social economy: „The EU Social Economy Action Plan aims to increase social investment, support social economy participants and social enterprises to start operations, expand, innovate and create jobs. At the same time, we are not lagging, and together with our colleagues, we successfully established social business as a distinct category of economic activity at the end of last year. The legalisation of social business has increased the positive social and environmental impact of doing business, facilitated access to funding sources and markets, and made it easier to implement support programmes. Now more than ever, we strongly emphasise the innovations that social businesses can deliver, as political support for social innovation ensures a systemic change in society and creates a new culture of trust in innovation focused on progress and responding to societal needs“.

Luca Pastorelli, President of the Diesis Network, an international network uniting 100,000 organisations through major national federations and social business support networks, emphasised the importance of strengthening the capacities of the social business ecosystem and the need to maintain dialogue among various stakeholders. He highlighted international mutual learning among public authorities as a particularly influential tool for strengthening the social economy.

The second session focused on promoting cross-sectoral cooperation in the social field using the latest technologies and innovations, which presented results of the ongoing Horizon Europe project „Participatory Open Social Innovation Through Interlinking Valuable Ecosystems“ (POSITIVE) Dr Mantas Vilys, Director of the Lithuanian Innovation Centre, welcomed the fact that more and more bridges are emerging between the two worlds of social and technological innovation: „The discussions at the forum certainly show that social innovators are increasingly looking into the technological innovation ecosystem for solutions that could optimise their activities, while the participants in the technological innovation ecosystem are becoming more open to the specifics of social innovators. We can learn a lot from each other and become stronger and more resilient to crises, but sometimes collaboration is harder than it seems at first sight. It is why events like the Social Business and Innovation Forum, where a wide range of stakeholders come together and try to hear each other out, are particularly needed“.

In the third session, experts presented successful case studies highlighting innovative solutions and discussing methods for identifying and implementing best practices in different sectors. Participants learned how to apply practical approaches in specific contexts, assess their impact and overcome common challenges. The session aimed to equip participants with the necessary knowledge to promote productivity, efficiency and positive change in their organisations and communities by ensuring technology and social innovation synergies. Anna Gulevska-Chernysh, Chair of SILab Ukraine and Chair of the Board of the Social Venture Fund of Ukraine highlighted the importance of social business as a tool in wartime and shared insights on digitisation activities.

The engaging discussion on the role and future of social business in a changing world featured eight experts and was moderated by Julija Jermakova, Deputy Chair of the LISVA Board: „Social entrepreneurship and innovation are powerful tools for addressing contemporary challenges. Political and technological support is essential to strengthen the position of these businesses. Recommendations include applying political and legal measures and implementing innovations to ensure that social businesses can effectively address critical societal issues and contribute to long-term sustainability. Artificial intelligence is becoming one of the tools that can no longer be ignored; it offers opportunities yet presents new challenges. The expert insights we have heard are thought-provoking and raise questions about moving forward. I believe the participants were inspired and gained valuable insights on creating change „.

Summing up the event, Viktorija Bražiūnaitė emphasised that throughout the forum, the focus was on raising awareness about social business and innovation, fostering dialogue, and enhancing communication: „It is essential that social business, a tool to address the challenges facing society, is included in Lithuania's strategic documents, plans for the European financial period and plans for economic aid. We hope to work with the newly elected members of the Seimas on the relevant social business issues. Entrepreneurial skills and self-presentation have been discussed and emphasised many times, but they require sufficient knowledge and resources. Technological skills are becoming increasingly important in international competitiveness. Social enterprises are vital; they must be more heard, visible, and active. As an association, we aim to support social businesses: we unite 27 members who are currently addressing the problems of nearly 10% of Lithuania's population, and our goal is to strengthen them so they can create impactful change“.

Links:

LT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p6C_9A_PD0

EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3C1yMxRqKA&t=213s