FEBEA Annual Conference

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The Next Chapter of Ethical Finance

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30th SEP – 3rd OCT 2025

30th SEP - 3rd OCT 2025

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds

Banque Alternative Suisse

Thun, Switzerland

Hotel Seepark, Thun

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The Next Chapter of
Ethical Finance

The FEBEA Annual Conference brings together experts in the field of Ethical Finance and social economy at European and international level. The FEBEA annual event is a unique opportunity to exchange on the challenges and opportunities faced by ethical finance actors with respect to the changing social and political context.

Annual Conference

Programme

19:00 – 22:30

Reception of FEBEA members

Simultaneous interpretation EN – FR

8:30 – 9:00

Registration of participants

9:00 – 13:00

FEBEA General Assembly

Restricted for members and guests, only with invitation. 

9:00 – 13:00

II Youth Encounter around Ethical Finance

In parallel with the General Assembly, the second edition of the Youth Encounter of Young Europeans around Ethical Finance will take place. Participants will focus on consolidating the network and developing a roadmap for future activities. This event is restricted to individuals under 35.

13:00 – 14:00

Networking lunch

14:00 – 17:00

Workshop 1: Funding and supporting instruments for financial institutions

Workshop provided by EIF, EIB, CEB and SIFTA. 

FEBEA will bring representatives from the European Investment Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Central European Bank, and SIFTA to provide updates through practical examples on the new financial instruments offered by the EU.

Opportunities and practical examples in terms of guarantees, funding mechanisms, technical assistance – and not only – for social finance organisations.

This workshop is close to members of FEBEA’s network only.

14:00 – 17:00

Workshop 2: Governance: the Sociocracy management of a Bank by ABS

In this workshop, the governance model based on Sociocracy 3.0, as adapted by the host member Alternative Bank Switzerland, will be presented through a real case example.

14:00 – 17:00

Workshop 3: Communication and Advocacy

How to organize a communication campaign and effectively deliver advocacy messages at both European and national levels.

This workshop is implemented under the Social Inclusive Finance Technical Assistance (SIFTA) managed by the EIB and funded by the European Union under the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

14:00 – 17:00

Workshop 4: Navigating EU funding opportunities for social innovation and leveraging AI for project applications

This workshop is implemented under the Social Inclusive Finance Technical Assistance (SIFTA) managed by the EIB and funded by the European Union under the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

18:00 – 19:00

Guided tour around Thun

Optional

19:00 – 23:00

Pre-conference reception

Reserved for members and guests – Please attend only with invitation.

An  apero will be served from 18:30h.

Simultaneous interpretation EN – FR

8:15 – 9:00

Registration of participants

9:00 – 9:15

Welcome by

Pedro M. Sasia Santos, President of FEBEA

President of Alternative Bank Switzerland

9:15 – 10:00

Roger SpindlerKeynote speech on current megatrends

Zukunftsinstitut

10:00 – 10:45

Marek HudonKeynote speech on the future of sustainable finance

Finance Watch

10:45 – 11:15

Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45

Panel discussion on the future strategies of financial institutions

 

Moderated by Daniel Sorrosal, Secretary General of FEBEA

  • Alternative Bank Switzerland
  • GLS Bank
  • Crédal
  • Fondazione di Comunità di Messina

12:45 – 13:00

Wrap-up

Response to the panel discussion by Roger Spindler and Marek Hudon, presentation: Daniel Sorrosal.

13:00 – 14:15

Networking lunch

14:15 – 16:15

World Café

Designing the next chapter of ethical finance with various stakeholders from society

16:15 – 16:30

Wrap-up

Key findings from the World Café

16:30 – 17:00

Humorous review of the day with the “Impronauten”

17:00

Networking aperitif for all participants

Open to all attendees

9:40 – 12:45

Boat tour and guided visit of Spiez Castle

Only for FEBEA members

Public and private program

In this program, both public and private events are announced. Please ensure that you attend only public events or private events to which you have received an invitation from FEBEA or Alternative Bank Switzerland.

The Next Chapter of Ethical Finance

FEBEA’s banks and financial institutions are all pioneers. Long before sustainability became a trend in the financial sector, they were taking targeted steps to promote renewable energies, organic farming and the construction of cooperative housing. To this day, they share a commitment towards serving the common good, supporting the real economy and ensuring maximum transparency. Yet the world is constantly changing – and with it, the basic conditions associated with this commitment. Today, these changes are happening faster than ever before. So what can we expect in the future? And what role can banks and financial service providers play? Perhaps they can act as pioneers again, as in the past?

The conference on “The Next Chapter of Ethical Finance” on the 2nd of October will address these very questions. It will bring the FEBEA banks into contact with people from different sectors of society. Participants may include specialist representatives of organisations committed to ethical finance and banking or to the environment and society, representatives of the social economy, of the world of academia, education and foundations, ABS partners from sustainable SMEs, young people whose future is the focus of the conference, and many more. Together, thanks to their combined experiences and perspectives, they will develop ideas for the next chapter of ethical finance.

Practical
information

Venue

Hotel Seepark, Thun.

Nearest airport: Zurich airport. 

There’s a train from Zurich Airport to Thun every 15 minutes (with changeovers in Zurich HB or Bern).

Suggested hotels: 

  • Hotel Seepark, Thun. Where the Conference and the General Assembly will be hosted.
  • The Lab Hotel, Thun.
  • Alpha Hotel, Thun.
  • Hotel Holiday, Thun.

For any enquiries contact maria.elejalde@febea.org

The speakers

Marek Hudon

Professor at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and Université Libre de Bruxelles. His research mainly focuses on sustainable finance (microfinance, alternative currencies, impact investing, social crowdfunding), social innovation (alternative organizations, collective action), economic resilience and business ethics.

Roger Spindler

He is the Director, School of Design Bern and Biel and speaker for the Future Institute, Frankfurt a. M. He addresses questions related to the megatrend of education and current changes in the media landscape. As a speaker for the Future Institute in Frankfurt, he focuses on transformations and developments in education, society, work, and media change.»

Sebastien Fosseur

General Director of Crédal, as well as Board member of FEBEA.

Giacomo Pinaffo

is Director of the Messina Foundation, as well as a Board Member of FEBEA. He’s a financial analyst and project manager. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to social economy and finance, closely monitoring the evolution of this sector both nationally and internationally. He has followed the activities of the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks (FEBEA), participating in negotiations with various European institutions.

Daniel Sorrosal

Daniel Sorrosal is currently the Secretary General of FEBEA, the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers, where he leads advocacy efforts with the European Union to promote finance that supports job creation, investment in the real economy, social cohesion, and environmental regeneration.
Pedro M. Sasia

Pedro M. Sasia

Pedro M. Sasia Santos has been the President of FEBEA since 2017, and re-elected during the 2023 General Assembly. During the last few years, he has been a board member of the Spanish Solidarity Economy Network and has developed an intense activity as researcher and consultant in the area of Business Ethics.

Darío Gómez-Cornejo

[Moderator] – Project and Operations Officer at FEBEA.

Our sponsors

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ANNUAL CONFERENCE

About
the event

The FEBEA Annual conference brings together practitioners and experts in the filed of ethical finance and social economy at European and international level. The FEBEA annual event is an unique opportunity to exchange on the challenges and opportunities faced by ethical finance actors with respect to the changing social and political context.

About FEBEA

Founded in Brussels in 2001, FEBEA is the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers, uniting 34 financial institutions from 17 European countries to champion ethical and social finance across Europe. The Federation is dedicated to fostering a fairer, more sustainable, and inclusive society by:

  • Facilitating the exchange of information, experiences, and cooperation among national networks and social economy and finance practitioners within Europe and the European Free Trade Area.
  • Representing its members at EU institutions, financial, and political organizations, and influencing various political levels and European institutions.
  • Actively supporting its members’ initiatives, including the creation of essential banking and financial instruments to achieve their objectives.

Founded in 1990, BAS is Switzerland’s only alternative bank. Operating in two languages, it champions environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and transparency. The bank endorses sociocracy, empowering employees to self-organize. BAS prioritizes the common good over profit maximization and opposes speculation and tax havens. While offering standard banking services such as investment, savings, and lending, BAS ensures all operations follow strong ethical principles.

CFI has a strong focus on sports projects, community based initiatives and social enterprise projects. 

Since their creation in 1995, they have collaborated with capital providers and clients to foster change within the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector. With investments in every county across the island of Ireland, they have emerged a leading innovator in social finance provision, continually striving to push boundaries. 

They speak finance but hear people.

Past conferences

FEBEA Annual Conference 2024

NEWS

Stay informed

Have a look at the latest updates

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