2022 Social Enterprise World Forum

17 October 2022

The Social Enterprise World Forum 2022, held recently in Brisbane, is a global event that brought together sector leaders across the many different facets of social enterprise.

Taking part in this conference offered an opportunity for the BCCM and our colleagues from the sector to deepen awareness of the place of co-ops and mutuals in the social enterprise sector, especially with the upcoming social care project that will support co-operative approaches to care.

Visibility is critical in encouraging the development of new co-operatives. As the saying goes, “you can’t be what you can’t see”, and part of our advocacy and education work is to ensure that the co-operative model is front-of-mind for those looking to establish or grow a social enterprise.

As the original social enterprises, co-operatives and mutuals offer a structure where concern for members, community and environment is embedded in the fabric of the organisation.

At the Academic Symposium of the conference Antony moderated a panel on “Mutual mindset, co-operatives, and wellbeing” with Melina, Richard Warner (Coordinator, Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative) and Dr Paul Thambar (Monash University).

At the main conference, Melina joined the “Health care, social care, death care: social enterprises in care” panel, highlighting the great work of SILC and Nundah Community Enterprises Co-operative as well as other relevant examples.

We need to continue to articulate the benefits of the co-operative model within the social enterprise paradigm and we need to strengthen relationships with others in the sector. To this end, The Bunya Fund, Australia’s new co-operative development fund, will provide important development opportunities for emerging co-operatives that will deliver high impact to their communities.