The Euro-Mediterranean Network of the Social Economy (ESMED Network) and the MedESS Association signed a cooperation agreement in order to promote social economy projects and programs in the Mediterranean countries.
The agreement was signed in Paris by the President of MedESS, Gérard Andreck, and the President of the Spanish Business Confederation of Social Economy, Juan Antonio Pedreño, on behalf of the ESMED Network.
JA. Pedreño and G. Andreck highlighted that this agreement will boost the development of the Mediterranean social economy. A first priority of this agreement will be to promote favorable regulatory frameworks to this entrepreneurial sector.
"The Agreement shows the belief that social economy is a key player in the promotion of employment and social cohesion, especially among young people in order to create stable and decent jobs, as well as better living conditions" said JA. Pedreño.
G. Andreck, for his part, declared that "this agreement is a step forward to strengthen programs and shared projects for the Mediterranean social and solidarity economy which will be added to the ones already carried out by each entity".
Social economy in the Mediterranean Region
Both institutions share the view that Social economy is a key player to turn the Mediterranean into an area of shared prosperity.
There are currently more than 900.000 social economy enterprises and entities in this region employing about 9 million people. In the coastal countries, there are more than 147 million people members of Social economy entities.
The MedESS Initiative
MedESS is a multi-stakeholder initiative committed to the development of social and solidarity economy (SSE) in the Mediterranean. It puts actors and territories at the heart of its action to implement programs on key issues such as funding, training or the development of territorial support poles. Launched in Tunis in May 2013, MedESS was established during the summer 2014 as an Association governed by French law with the main purpose of launching a Foundation by 2016. They are members of MedESS: MACIF, Crédit Coopératif, Region Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur, Groupe Chèque Déjeuner, Unipol, IPEMED and the ESMED Network.
G. Andreck stressed that "this agreement is the second one signed by the Association, after the one with ILO in 2014 which resulted in the incorporation of MedESS as an observer member of the United Nations Task Force on SSE. The incorporation of the ESMED network in the MedESS Association will enable to address more efficiently the aims of the two entities in both the institutional and business contexts".
The ESMED Network
The Euro-Mediterranean Network of Social Economy (ESMED Network) is the institutional reference platform of the social economy in the Mediterranean created in 2000. It is composed by the main representative organisations from Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. Its objective is to promote the Social economy as a key player in the socio-economic development of the Mediterranean.
JA. Pedreño also highlighted that "this agreement is a part of the ESMED network strategy, as the institutional reference for Social Economy in the Mediterranean, to reach agreements and to work with other international actors in order to develop that entrepreneurial sector which has proved to be a key tool in the creation of economic and social wealth".
