EFC Conference 2021 – From crisis to opportunity – How can philanthropy accelerate sustainable change?

The health of the planet is tied inextricably to the health of those living on it. Philanthropy has been mitigating the effects of Covid-19 while at the same time keeping focus on the other critical challenges we all face, from the climate crisis to rising social injustice and inequality, all of which have been aggravated by the pandemic.

The EFC Conference in Vienna will represent the first time that our membership will be able to come together as one for more than two years. We never imagined that could happen, but since the last EFC conference in Paris in 2019, what was previously unimaginable has become reality, and the previously impossible has become possible.

So how can philanthropy build on the momentum of the innovations of the past two years to help accelerate real sustainable change, not in the distant future, but right here and now? With no vaccine for the climate crisis, and no herd immunity for inequality, the conference will look at ways for philanthropy to help catalyse a more holistic response to the vast challenges that still lie ahead. The event will take shape via four interwoven strands (Climate, Democracy, Philanthropy and Society), each moderated by an expert who is widely recognised in the field, and will consider the four underlying themes of culture, digital agenda, education and civic engagement.

In 2021 the EFC conference will itself need to adapt to the ‘new normal’, so we will be doing things a little differently this year. The EFC Conference 2021 will take place in Vienna from 18-20 October 2021 on a smaller scale than usual, and was preceded by an online Annual General Assembly (AGA) of Members in the spring.

View our Covid-19 safety measures.

For more information on the EFC Conference 2021, please contact Valerie Bernauer.