• This second event, with the participation of experts and representatives from the Public Administrations and from the Social Economy across three continents, has put the spotlight on the legal frameworks regulating the different entities in the Social Economy, and their shared characteristics.
• This initiative, promoted by the Spanish Confederation of the Social Economy Enterprises (CEPES), benefits from the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union funding.
Madrid, 22 July 2021.- The Spanish Confederation for the Social Economy Enterprises (CEPES) has led the second international event as part of the international project “Legal Ecosystems for Social Economy- Peer Learning Partnership (PL4SE – PLP)”, the aim of which is to promote legal frameworks that drive the Social Economy enterprise model.
This meeting saw the participation of representatives from the 25 consortium partners from 3 continents that are involved in the project, which has the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union funding. Ministries and National public departments responsible for the Social Economy in six countries (Brazil, Canada, Korea, Italy, Mexico and Spain) are partners of this consortium. In the case of Spain, the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy is actively collaborating with the project.
The discussion put the spotlight on the legal frameworks regulating the different entities in the Social Economy. As such, it highlighted the characteristics shared by all types of Social Economy actors present in the different contexts covered by the consortium partners.
Analysis was also undertaken of how the cooperative model could adopt different forms in the existing legal frameworks, and its development as a key element in the Social Economy model. The role of the public administrations was also addressed, with regard to promoting and backing a range of Social Economy enterprises and entities, at both national and subnational levels. In this case the example of Spain, explained in the context of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy and CEPES, was one of the areas addressed.
Finally, the discussion highlighted once again the need to develop Social Economy laws, an issue that “does not just depend on political will”, as noted by the President of CEPES, Juan Antonio Pedreño, who added that “it is crucial for the bodies that represent the Social Economy in each country to be well-organised and have the ability to enter into dialogue with their corresponding governments regarding their interests and enterprise model”.
“We are extremely happy with the direction this project has taken, and with the sharing of international experiences, which allows us to build up a more complete picture of the Social Economy’s situation at global level, and thereby promote legal frameworks that encourage the Social Economy, and which may be adapted to each of the realities presented by the partners”, Pedreño explained.
The project “Legal Ecosystems for Social Economy- Peer Learning Partnership (PL4SE – PLP)”, which started in April and will run until October, was chosen by the OECD along with five other projects on account of the way it combines experience in the Social Economy field with the formation of a consortium involving stakeholders that are key to generating a global ecosystem that will encourage the Social Economy.
The international consortium being led by CEPES is made up of a total of 25 partners including public national and Ministerial departments, and regional governments from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Korea, Spain, Italy and Mexico, and Social Economy organisations from Canada, the US, and the EU, as well as the ILO, ICA, CIRIEC, AIM and the Global Social Economy Forum.
