First training session “Social economy: tool for decent work creation and social inclusion” organized by ITC-ILO in cooperation with ILO and Euricse

As part of “Dignità in campo” project, a distance learning course was organized to discuss the principles of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and how they can be used as a tool to support decent work and foster social resilience and inclusion in two territories in Italy, Saluzzo and Syracuse.

News | 28 July 2020
The participants in the training course came from key stakeholders involved in the project, including the Ministry of Labour, regional and municipal governments, cooperatives, civil society organizations, trade unions, and agricultural enterprises and associations.

Ms. Josè Maria Mallo Carrera, Program officer at the ITC-ILO, opened the session by providing an overview of the project Dignità in Campo. She presented the capacity building component of the project and stressed the importance of exploring the potential of the SSE as a tool to facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal economy and to promote decent work at the local level.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Roberto di Meglio, Senior Technical Specialist in the Cooperatives Unit of the ILO gave a global overview of the current socio-economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that that socioeconomic issues accentuated by the crisis can only be overcome by rethinking the way we approach and shape our economies. Mr. Di Meglio underlined that SSE enterprises that put people and planet at the centre of their activities are best placed to cater to the needs of the community and boost social innovation, enabling a sustainable and inclusive recovery.

Mr. Carlo Borzaga, President of Euricse and professor at the University of Trento, as part of his intervention on “SSE as a tool for social inclusion and creation of decent work”, presented the concept of the SSE and its main features and principles. Mr. Borzaga highlighted the SSE’s role in recovery efforts during the previous crises, and the need to overcome the dichotomy between the mainstream economy and the SSE. He noted the need to find transformative solutions to address urgent problems – e.g. social deficit, climate change, inequalities. Mr. Borzaga presented the trends on SSE in Italy and SSE enterprise models at the national level. He gave examples of SSE initiatives in social services, energy production, and agriculture. The presentation of Mr. Borzaga is available here.

Ms. Monica Rossi Rizzi, Senior Manager at ITC-ILO in her concluding remarks stated that good practices should be adapted to the local contexts of the project and a special attention should be given to addressing the needs of migrant workers and local communities.

During the Q&A session, the participants discussed the challenges faced by two territories of Saluzzo and Syracuse, especially migrant workers in the agricultural sector and the concrete ways to overcome them by co-constructing public policies with relevant stakeholders.

As part of the project activities, the following two training events took place:

  •  July 24th 2020 from 11.00 to 12.30. “Impact and good practices of the Social Economy in Italy: reflections on the COVID-19 crisis”.
  •  July 31st 2020 from 11.00 to 12.30. “Community Foundations: what solutions they can provide to improve the housing conditions of migrants”.
More information can be found here.