Today, the European Commission launched the 2021 edition of the European Social Innovation Competition. This year’s theme is Skills for Tomorrow – Shaping a green and digital future. Through this Competition, the European Commission is looking to incentivise, support and reward social innovations that will help people and organisations to identify, develop and strengthen the skills they will need to adapt and thrive in a changing world.

Supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC), the Competition is open to individuals, businesses and industries with innovative ideas from across the EU countries and Horizon Europe associated countries. The closing date for entries is 12 May 2021. An independent jury will select the three winning entries, which will each receive an award of €50,000 to develop their ideas. The winners will be announced at the end of the year.

“The shift towards a green and digital future presents individuals, businesses and industries with exciting opportunities. To unlock these opportunities, we need to understand which skills are needed and how best to develop them, The European Social Innovation Competition will tap into the creative genius of European citizens and enterprises as social innovators to respond to these challenges.” said Valentina Superti Director for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission.

The 2021 edition of the European Social Innovation Competition will encourage and reward social innovations that contribute to job creation, growth and European competitiveness by identifying, developing and strengthening the skills needed to adapt and thrive in a changing world. In particular, the Competition is looking for scalable, early-stage ideas that tackle these needs in a range of different ways, including – but not limited to – training. Solutions can relate to the skills needed for the green future, the digital transition or both – but all solutions must consider their own environmental impact.

The Competition complements several other initiatives that the Commission is implementing to underpin the move towards a green economy that embraces the opportunities offered by digital technologies. These include the European Digital Strategy and the European Green Deal initiatives to become the first climate-neutral continent.

More information

Applications are open until 12 May 2021. For full details visit the European Social Innovation Competition website or our page on the competition.