On Saturday, May 18th, Torino Social Impact participated in Rieti at the Regional Festival of Social and Civil Economy, discussing “The European Action Plan on Social Economy and Its Connection with Civil Economy.”

This event is a stepping stone from Lazio to the national festival, aimed at sharing and discussing local policies and practices gaining traction in the country, with a European perspective in mind.

The national festival of civil economy is now in its sixth edition and is held annually in Florence during the first week of October.

The festival aims to be an open forum for discussion and debate, highlighting the various forms of civil economy present in Italy and Europe, and seeking to combine economic sustainability with social and environmental sustainability.

Regional editions

Starting this year, regional editions are being introduced, with Rieti being one of them. A central theme of the national edition is the participation of individuals, organizations, and the community.

Each pre-festival regional event aims to bring forward a proposal for change that can be refined with the local network leading up to the October festival.

The goal is to engage local communities at the regional level across all components of civil society and as actors in the social and civil economy, to create tangible improvements in their lives and future-building capacities. This involves raising awareness of Europe’s strategic and practical directions in social economy, starting from the action plan.

Specifically, the Rieti edition aimed to:

• Contribute to a shared understanding of social and civil economy in Italy and Europe by identifying priorities, common intervention strategies, and the social and environmental benefits to be achieved.
• Experiment with new tools and models for sustainable local development through the creation of hybrid networks and social and civil economy districts. These aim to connect public and private best practices and collaboratively design sustainable development solutions at the local level.

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