Final EQUAL Conference "Powering a new future - Social Innovation International Conference"

Lisbon hosted the Social Innovation International Conference: Powering a new future that marked the end of the EQUAL European Community initiative at a national and European level, running from 10 to 12 December 2008 at the FIL conference centre in Lisbon. The "Powering a New Future" Conference (Final EQUAL Conference) gave an opportunity to national and international participants and representatives from political, economic and social entities from all over the EU to look back on eight years of EQUAL activity and to draw lessons regarding best practices.

Project exhibition:

A total of 146 projects across the EU were represented at the Conference. Projects are grouped into eight thematic exhibition spaces that correspond to key conference themes (areas of innovation in which the EQUAL solutions were developed over the EQUAL implementation). The EQUAL Social Innovation Clusters are as follows:

• Empowerment, Inclusion and Interculturality
• Animation for Territorial Development
• Inclusive Entrepreneurship
• Education for Employability and Citizenship
• Life-long Education and Organisational Innovation
• Social Responsibility of Organisations
• Modernisation of the Prison System and Insertion of the Prison Population
• Gender Equality, Reconciling Professional Life with Social Life, and Proximity Services

In order to ensure that the results of the presentations and conversations were gathered and shared with the wider ESF community, a series of interviews with the Conference presenters were recorded during the event. To access this information, please click on Videos.

Reflections on Social Innovation: The contribution of the EQUAL initiative