• During the OECD event held this Thursday, CEPES took part as leader of one of the six international consortia to promote conducive ecosystems to the social economy at international level
• The six consortia involve 136 partners in 30 countries and are financed by the EU
• The project led by CEPES brings together 25 organisations and governments from 3 continents. They have jointly identified key elements and lines of work to generate legal frameworks to foster social economy as a whole
• CEPES highlights this project as “unique, innovative and decisive in addressing new challenges for the social economy”
• Antonella Noya, Head of the Unit on Social Economy and Innovation at OECD, pointed out: “to keep on this work at global level is important to promote higher visibility of social economy in the future”
Madrid, 3 December 2021. The Spanish Confederation of Social Economy Enterprises (CEPES) showcased the findings and conclusions of the international project ‘Legal Ecosystems for Social Economy- Peer Learning Partnership’, sponsored by the OECD Global Action to promote Social and Solidarity Economy Ecosystems, financed by the European Union. CEPES leads one of the six consortia chosen by the OECD under the Global Initiative since March.
The findings presented by CEPES identify key elements to promote laws and regulations to regulate and foster social economy business model. The findings of this project are backed by a large international consortium that bring together 25 organisations and national departments and ministerial offices, local and regional governments, and social economy organisations from three continents: EU, USA, Brazil, Canada, Korea and Mexico. The Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy is part of the consortium and plays a very active role.
The conclusions presented by CEPES highlighted the need to endow regulatory frameworks with a legal concept and definition of social economy based on the common principles and values that govern this business model: “solidarity, the primacy of people over capital, and democratic and participative governance” as stated by OECD in its work in favour of social and solidarity economy for more than 20 years.
A definition will enable the generation of mechanisms to monitor, give visibility and institutionally recognise and foster social economy as a key driver for recovery after the pandemic, as mentioned by the OECD and the European Commision high-level representatives Ms. Karen Maguire, and Stefan Schleuning respectively who took the floor during the opening of the online event attended by more than 150 people from all continents.
During the event, CEPES described the project as “unique, innovative and decisive in addressing new challenges for the social economy.”
INVOLVEMENT OF 136 PARTNERS AND 30 COUNTRIES
During the event, five other consortia selected by the OECD shared their main findings, challenges and keys to success of supporting and fostering social economy This other consortia focus on promoting the internationalisation of social economy, measuring its impact, or improving cooperation between the social economy and local public authorities.
The Head of the Unit on Social Economy and Innovation of the OECD, Antonella Noya, who closed the event, pointed out: “Today, we have learned about a large number of experiences involved under the Global Action, and how it is important to continue promoting the visibility of social economy in the future.”
In her conclusions, she stated: “The next steps for social economy involve developing more innovative tools to increase its contribution to social inclusion and local development, and further promote this business model.”
All information about the project led by CEPES can be found here: LEGAL ECOSYSTEMS FOR SOCIAL ECONOMY- OECD PROJECT (cepes.es)
All information about the six consortia sponsored by the OECD are available in this link: Global Action: Promoting Social and Solidarity Economy Ecosystems - OECD
