2023 – Amsterdam
Collective Action. Sustainable change.
In 2023, our global social enterprise community came together to promote positive change that puts people and planet first. Throughout the year, in partnership with Co-hosts Amsterdam Impact and Social Enterprise NL, we hosted three events under the banner of collective action and sustainable change: Youth Forum (28 March, virtual), Policy Forum (24 May, virtual) and SEWF23 (11-12 October, hybrid).
SEWF23 themes were:
- Ecosystems: Increasing opportunities for trade, collaboration and collective action
- Fairness: Ensuring equality and inclusion for all
- Migration: Entrepreneurial solutions for better lives
- New Economy: Putting people and planet first
- Planet: Living and trading within planetary boundaries
"I host a lot of events and I’ve not been more inspired or learned so much as I did over the last two days."
– Marieke Eyskoot, Co-MC (The Netherlands)
SEWF23 Highlights
SEWF23 (11-12 October), Amsterdam
1750 participants
82 countries represented
44 sessions
133 speakers
60% of speakers identified as women or girls
18% of speakers under 30
80% first-time speakers at SEWF
67kg of CO2 saved
500 tonnes of carbon will be offset by SELCO Foundation
SEWF23 Week
Community Hubs:
An SEWF Community Hub is a place where a community of like-minded social entrepreneurs and changemakers come together to connect local conversations with the global social enterprise movement and participate in SEWF.
Over 500 people joined SEWF23 at Community Hubs around the world. 21 Community Hubs hosted events in their local communities in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, China, England, Finland, Ghana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Rwanda, Scotland, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Fringe Day (10 October):
As part of SEWF23 Week, hundreds of people participated in SEWF23 Fringe Day events organised by partners. These included the Research and Education Conference, Accelerating system change by providing trust-based funding and Countering Heropreneurship – How to foster resilience and wellbeing. SEWF and partners also co-organised the Social Procurement Fringe.
Social Enterprise Tours (9 and 13 October):
Six Social Enterprise Tours offered participants an opportunity to delve into the dynamic world of Dutch social enterprises. Participants visited Amsterdam North, Amsterdam West, Flevoland – Northern Netherlands, Apeldoorn – Eastern Netherlands, Rotterdam and The Hague.
Read about SEWF
A massive thank you for the space and opportunity to reconnect with the SEWF community, from my panel to the side coffee conversations and later at closing, it was a beautiful and much-needed time of hope and restoration of inspiration in a world that can feel too challenging these days. Thank you for having me.”
– Chmba Chilemba, We Are Family Foundation / Tiwale (Malawi)
Policy Forum Highlights
On 24 May 2023, hundreds of policymakers, social entrepreneurs and social enterprise supporters gathered virtually at the SEWF Policy Forum. They discussed the growing recognition of social enterprises as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with developing and scaling the impact of strong social enterprise ecosystems.
500+ registrations
70+ countries represented
13 sessions
25 speakers
60% of speakers identified as women or girls
Youth Forum Highlights
On 28 March 2023, hundreds of young people from around the world came together to participate in the virtual SEWF Youth Forum. Designed by and for young changemakers, including the SEWF Youth Advisory Group, the SEWF Youth Forum provided a space for young people to learn from each other, exchange ideas, build networks and much more.
750+ registrations
80+ countries represented
17 sessions
23 speakers
65% of speakers identified as women or girls
95% of speakers under 30
15 years of impact
See a map of all SEWF23 locations throughout the years.
"I think it’s great that we have a platform like SEWF where we can meet people from different disciplines, learn and be inspired by one another."
– Shomy Hasan Chowdhury, Awareness 360 (Bangladesh)
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