In 2024, with the financial support of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS), the Institute for Economic Democracy (IED) has begun expanding its international reach by establishing a transnational Economic Democracy Network (EDN). The EDN, which will consist of national organizations modeled after the IED, will be promoting the dissemination of the European ESOP model and the broader economic democratization agenda beyond the Slovenian borders.

The goal is to maximize impact and accelerate the process of economic democratization in the Balkan region, Europe, and beyond. This will be achieved through the widespread implementation of social innovations and policy proposals that have proven most effective for scaling up employee ownership – particularly the European ESOP model.

In the first phase of the Economic Democracy Network’s expansion, IED is creating two national chapters, one in Croatia and one in Serbia. These two countries have been identified as the most suitable starting points for IED’s efforts due to their geographical proximity, cultural affinity, and shared history with Slovenia, as well as for the severity of the socio-economic issues they are facing, which could be alleviated through the expansion of democratic firms.

In 2024, IED began recruiting collaborators in Croatia and Serbia, who, upon selection, formed two IED National Teams (NTs), one in each respective country. These proto-organizations are initially operating as informal associations of individuals aiming to gain sufficient strength and knowledge to become fully operational, autonomous, and self-sufficient organizations, following IED’s blueprint.

All selected members were invited – and ended up participating – to the 1st EDN Gathering in Ljubljana, a four-day event during which NT members attended workshops focused on acquiring IED know-how, developing essential skills for managing an IED-type organization, team-building, and strategic positioning.

Programme of the Gathering

Tuesday, October 1st
15:00 – 17:00: Arrival of members, check-in at Hotel
18:00 – 23:00: Congress on Economic Democracy

October 2nd – Faculty of Social Sciences – University of Ljubljana
9:10 – 9:30: Welcome and project introduction (Tej Gonza)
9:30 – 10:30: Lecture 1: Introduction to Economic Democracy (David Ellerman)
10:30 – 11:00: Lecture 2: Employee Ownership in the World: Scope and Existing Forms (Kosta Juri)
11:05 – 12:00: Lecture 3: The Functioning and Core Values of the IED Network (Brin Kaplan and Tanja Sedej)
12:10 – 13:45: Lecture 5: Main Features of the Slovenian ESOP Model and Its Implementation in Slovenia (Tej Gonza)
14:00 – 15.30: Lunch with the Team
16:00 – 18:00: Visit to Inea (first 100% democratically governed ESOP company in Slovenia)
18:30: free time

October 3rd – Faculty of Social Sciences – University of Ljubljana
9:00 – 12:00: Workshop 1: Basics of Fundraising (Emilija Kastelic, CNVOS)
12:00 – 13:30: Lecture 4: Effective Communication on Employee Ownership (Eva Kraljič)
13:30 – 15:00: free time
15:00 – 17:00: Workshop 2: Teamwork, Identifying Opportunities in Serbia and Croatia
17:00 – 19:00: free time
19:00 – : Dinner with the Team

October 4th – Working breakfast
9:00 – 10:00: Next Steps, Presentation of Erasmus+ Projects, RLS24 and RLS25
10:00 – 10:40: Closing remarks (Tej Gonza)