REVIEW OF EVENT ‘EMBRACING CORPORATE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE’

Groningen, Netherlands, 29-30 September 2021

Hanze University of Applied Sciences hosted a one-day event for the EMBRACE project partners to meet and interact with local stakeholders engaged in social and regional challenges in the Groningen region. There were 11 partners present from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania and the Netherlands. The European Experience of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) event started with a bus journey to a medieval city where CSE is practiced. Professor Willem Foorthuis explained the historical and cultural context of the province that frames CSE activities of the best practices and how the region is experimenting in creating a regional innovation framework.

Diederich Bakker, Professor of International Business welcomed the delegation in Appingedam and explained how it was important to work in the region and across regions linking businesses and other local communities to students and researchers to support new developments and local challenges. The concept of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) is important in these activities to support transitions of businesses from models of profit maximization to those where ecological and social impacts are as important as economic efficiency. Iris Rickhoff, CEO of Domhan-vision, Germany, partner of the EMBRACE project showed a video to explain what Corporate Social Entrepreneurship entails. Teresa Cunha Algre from University Porto, handed the Handbook for Corporate Social Entrepreneurs to Rudolf Doornkamp of Univé, this company was one of the good practices in the Handbook.

A short video showing the highlights of the event can be found here.