# Social economy experiences shared at transnational conference

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/04/01/social-economy-experiences-shared-transnational-conference/
- Published: 2004-04-01T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

A week-long study tour held across the East of England region has helped social 
enterprises from Europe share experiences and best practice.

The sessions covered a range of topics including a regional and project overview,
business support, finance, plus various presentations and tours. It was a two-centre
event starting in Cambridge and ending in Norwich.

Miguel Pires of the IES Project in Portugal attended one of the tour’s events. He
said: “What we saw in terms of social entrepreneurship is, in many ways, very similar
to our own experiences. We will be presenting this understanding of social enterprises
in the UK to our partners on our return to Portugal.”

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Social enterprises include co-operatives, mutual societies, associations and foundations
and most are based on voluntary participation or membership.

Elaine McCorriston, EQUAL project manager at Business Link Hertfordshire, which 
organised the tour, said: “The study visit has been a strong follow up to the Innovations
in the Social Economy study visit to Portugal in December last year.”

The conference, part of an EQUAL funded project entitled Supporting the Social Economy
in the Eastern Region (SSEER), is part of a programme which has been set up to encourage
collaboration between a series of transnational partners, including Business Link
Hertfordshire, two partnerships from Italy and one from Portugal.

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