There were more than 500 nominations for this award from all over Europe. Open Food Network Europe gets the prize in the section about social economy initiatives operating in the digital economy or with an important focus on technological innovation and/or working in the action areas of the Digital Transition of the Transition Pathway for the proximity and social economy ecosystem.
The Open Food Network comes with a full set of affordances (digital infrastructure, institutional framework, knowledge, services, skills, global network, etc.) capable of strengthening the digital transition and capabilities of SMEs in the social economy across Europe and beyond.
The OFN project can address skills shortage, digital divide, digital illiteracy, gaping inequalities, market concentration and power asymmetries by strengthening the digital capacity of enabling organizations in the social economy, empowering people and companies especially SMEs to contribute to a fair green and digital transitions while supporting innovation and competitiveness.
The social economy has the capacity to address all these changes and the EU has already recognised it as the proximity and social economy have been chosen as one of the 14 industrial ecosystems in the European Industrial Strategy, which is going to be the foundations of a new Europe. In order to work for that, we can count on the Social Economy Action Plan and the Transition Pathways, which show us the road to move on to a digital and green system. These Awards recognise Open Food Network Europe efforts and contributions for this transition.
These Awards recognise Open Food Network Europe efforts and contributions for this transition.
The Awards, replicated every two years, serve as inspiration to other social economy actors, and citizens aiming at becoming entrepreneurs, activists and change-makers. Also, they aim at raising the visibility of the social economy, in order to continue putting on the public agenda our needs and potential. The Awards have a pan-European focus being also open to initiatives from the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership, EFTA countries, the UK, Turkey, and Southern Mediterranean Countries.