The Academy, centred on the Future of Work, was opened by the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social and Solidarity Economy Mr Nicolas Schmit, followed by ILO Enterprises Department Director Mr Vic van Vuuren, and President of INCO Mr Nicolas Hazard. The ILO Director General, Mr Guy Ryder, greeted participants with a video message, underlining the importance of discussing the role of SSE in this rapidly and profoundly changing world of work. The Academy achieved its objective of providing a space for participants from around the globe to exchange on experiences, best practices, challenges and share knowledge on the potential and real role of the social and solidarity economy in responding to the challenges and opportunities as manifested by the future of work trends.

After the official opening, the participants engaged in a foresight activity fast-forwarding to 2030 to imagine the future of work according to two scenarios, one very optimistic and one pessimistic, and define the role that they envision SSE would play. On the second day, participants joined field visits to experience first-hand the diversity of SSE enterprises and organizations in and around Luxembourg City, from SSE enterprise incubators and accelerators to organizations employing persons with disability.

The week continued with a variety of elective sessions on digitalization of work, circular economy, the future of work for all, training/education/new skills, creation of decent work for refugees and innovative experiences in incubation and acceleration of SSE organizations. On the fourth day, participants engaged in a plenary session on co-construction of SSE public policies and participatory governance featuring representatives from the government, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the ILO, and International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC). The week ended with a High-Level Dialogue between policy makers and ministers from Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Morocco, and Slovenia. The dialogue was moderated by Ms Maria-Luz Vega, coordinator of the Future of Work Initiative team at the ILO.

Luxembourg has been at the forefront of the future of work discussions and is preparing to absorb the impact, mainly of the digital revolution, by putting people at the heart of its strategies. Recent policies and laws enacted in Luxembourg facilitate the start-up, incubation, and acceleration of SSE enterprises and organizations, provide for the education and new skills needed in a rapidly changing world of work, and strive for gender parity. An ILO publication on the Social and Solidarity Economy and the Future of Work was launched during the Academy.

The Academy was a joint effort of a number of partners, including the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social and Solidarity Economy of the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the Union luxembourgeoise de l’économie sociale et solidaire (ULESS) the International Training Centre of the ILO, and the ILO Headquarters in Geneva.

All videos, materials and testimonies of the Academy can be found on the Collective Brain.