Social Firms Europe CEFEC

11/07/2025

🌍 A stronger Social Europe starts with what already works.
Social Firms Europe CEFEC supports and promotes the joint statement “Keep what works: 8 Success Factors for a future ESF+” — a call to reinforce the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) as a key driver of social inclusion, quality jobs, and equal opportunities.
💪 The ESF+ has proven its value. Now it must be strengthened in the next EU budget to meet today’s social and economic challenges.

📌 These 8 success factors must guide the way forward:
✅ Guaranteed funding for jobs & skills
✅ Bottom-up, multi-level governance
✅ Inclusion of the most excluded
✅ Simplified access for smaller actors
✅ Strong enabling conditions
✅ True partnership with civil society
✅ Support for local and social economy initiatives
✅ Investment in long-term reform and resilience

👉 Read and share the full statement here:
🔗https://www.socialeconomy.eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Joint-Statement-Keep-What-Works.pdf

11/07/2025

📌 Between 16-20 September 2024 took place the 4th edition of the SFE CEFEC Academy event, in Lisbon/Portugal. With this occasion, our CEFEC members from Romania 👉 Organizatia Institutul Bucovina recorded a series of Podcasts with the participants.

📣 So, we continue this week by sharing with you the Podcast recording, with: 📌 Mrs. Felicitas Kresimon from Italy, our SFE CEFEC General Secretary.

🥁Felicitas was one of the trainers in the 2024 Academy for the topics: ✅ "The European dimension of the Social Enterprises" & ✅ "Support services for inclusion - a tool for a successful Social Enterprise".

09/07/2025

The Social Firms Europe CEFEC Conference!

📣📍This week EMPHASYS Centre proudly participated in the 39th Social Firms Europe CEFEC Conference “CREATING ACCESS; Job Carving and Job Crafting”, hosted in Mainz, Germany on the 1-2 July 2025. For two days, the participants shared good practices, participated in workshops and attended high-caliber presentations from experts on the field of inclusive employment. At the heart of the conference was the goal of designing jobs that meet the needs of a diverse workforce and the approach that was discussed mostly was Job Carving and Job Crafting.

📌Job carving involves tailoring existing roles by adjusting or removing certain tasks to better fit the strengths of individual employees, especially those facing barriers to employment like Persons with Disabilities. Job crafting allows workers to reshape their job responsibilities in ways that increase both their productivity and personal satisfaction. These strategies are vital for creating flexible and inclusive work environments where all employees can thrive.
We came back to Cyprus filled with knowledge, partnerships and new ideas for strengthening our current and future initiatives that promote employability and active participation in a society that is accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or challenges! 💪🏻

06/07/2025

04/07/2025

On 2 July 2025, the Social Firms Europe CEFEC Annual General Assembly (AGA) was held, bringing together members from across Europe for a focused and engaging meeting.

📝 Key topics discussed:
👋 Welcome by Felicitas Kresimon (General Secretary) & Alexander Tränkmann (2024–2025 President)
🛠 Updates on Secretariat work & Management
💶 Finance & Membership
🔍 Project updates: initiatives where SFE CEFEC is actively involved
👥 Working group presentations & next steps
📅 Other business:
Planning for the 2026 & 2027 Conferences
Open discussion and conclusions
A big thank you to all participants for your dedication👏

04/07/2025

📌 Between 16-20 September 2024 took place the 4th edition of the SFE CEFEC Academy event, in Lisbon/Portugal. With this occasion, our CEFEC members from Romania 👉 Organizatia Institutul Bucovina recorded a series of Podcasts with the participants.

📣 So, we continue this week by sharing with you the Podcast recording, with: 📌 Mr. Jukka Lindberg from Finland, one of the representatives of our CEFEC member 👉Valo-Valmennusyhdistys.

🥁Jukka was one of the trainers in the 2024 Academy for the topics: ✅ "The European dimension of the Social Enterprises" and "Start-up mechanism of the Social Enterprises", in his role as 📝 Senior Advisor for Diaconia University of Applied Sciences and Centre of Expertise for Social Enterprises, Finland.

02/07/2025

What an energising experience! ✨ This week, the team joined the Social Firms Europe CEFEC Annual Conference 2025 in Mainz, diving deep into the theme of Creating Access – with powerful conversations about inclusive employment, AI in the labour market, and the evolving role of social firms across Europe. 🌍

💬 We took part in dialogue groups, exchanged ideas with leaders in inclusive business, and explored on-site examples like Hotel INNdependence and the incredible Social Urban Beekeeping project 🐝. Seeing how inclusion, sustainability, and innovation intersect in real-world settings was truly inspiring.

💡 One of the takeaways? When we carve jobs with people rather than for them, we create lasting access—not just opportunities.

Thanks to all speakers, moderators, and fellow changemakers for the energy, openness, and new ideas. We’re heading home with fresh perspectives and deeper connections.

02/07/2025

02/07/2025