Shifting the social welfare paradigm

The second Annual SNF International Conference on Philanthropy focused on the Role of Philanthropy within a Social Welfare Society. Covering a range of specific areas from health care accessibility to volunteerism to microfinance, the Conference looked, in practical terms, at how philanthropy might be able to best contribute if we reframe from thinking about “social welfare states” to “social welfare societies.” Speakers included economist Anders Åslund, Greek Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, and Open Society Foundations founder George Soros.

Convening peers to help address an urgent need

SNF’s first conference, organized in collaboration with the European Foundation Centre, was convened to help answer a very specific question: what role could foundations play to help mitigate the effects of Europe’s ongoing socioeconomic crisis, which had cut particularly deep in Greece? The conference brought together other grantmaking foundations, as well as experts in the field to examine short- and long-term needs using Greece and Southern European countries as case studies.