Up Group and its Foundation commit to developing the social and solidarity economy in Slovakia

Up Group is participating in the conference « The Social Economy as a vector for developing regional employment » which will be held in Bratislava on November 30th and December 1st 2016, as part of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union. On this occasion, the Up group Foundation will sign an agreement with the French Embassy on developing the Foundation’s work in Slovakia.

Up Group’s parent company is a cooperative and one of the major players in the social and solidarity economy (SSE), a growth industry that combines modernity, innovation, a societal role and sustainability. With democratic processes as one of its main features, this model directly involves employees in the success of the company.

In the European Union the SSE is gaining ground, presently accounting for 10% of all companies.

As a company that belongs to the SSE, Up Group is participating in the conference « The Social Economy as a vector for developing regional employment », initiated under the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On this occasion, on November 30th at 9:30 at the Embassy of France, the Up Group Foundation will be signing a partnership aimed at developing its social support activities in Slovakia.

For more than 17 years, the Up Group Foundation has been engaged in 5 key areas: supporting vulnerable populations, promoting civic engagement, culture and education, supporting sustainable development, prevention and health as well as supporting entrepreneurship.

Since its inception, the Up group Foundation has supported over 750 projects with a total of over 3.3 million euros in subsidies.

Since 2014, the Up Group Foundation has been a signatory to an international partnership agreement with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act and support projects that are meaningful, socially and economically viable and initiated in all Up group’s countries of operation.

In Slovakia, this partnership takes the form of cooperation, at the local level, between the Slovak Up group subsidiary and the French Embassy. Together, they will select the projects that will receive support, which will be then validated by the Foundation.