Download the full report
This work first gives me dignity, as a person, as a father, as a husband, and satisfies my desire to work, because I have always felt like a worker.
Manolo, Driver at Comparte León, MODA-RE, a Spanish Social Economy Enterprise
What to find in this handbook?
This handbook is for all those who want to deepen their knowledge of the Social Economy.
In particular, the first part of the book is especially designed for the directors and managers of Caritas. It shows how investment in and promotion of Social Economy Enterprises can support the work and the vision of Caritas (we have looked at Catholic Social Thought, Caritas principles, and the Caritas Social model). It also explains how Social Economy Enterprises contribute to ensuring sustainable social services and social policies: we have considered some reference frameworks at both global and European levels such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the European Pillar of Social Rights.
The second part is addressed particularly to Caritas experts and is based on the experience already gained in the various countries in which Caritas has been working on the Social Economy. It explains how Caritas works in practice and it analyses the most important aspects to take into consideration when investing, starting-up and developing Social Economy Enterprises.
Throughout the manual there are also 16 boxes that describe concrete experiences carried out by Caritas in different countries and that refer to what is explained in the main text. These boxes allow the reader, on the one hand, to better understand, having a practical example, what has been said in the main text and, on the other, to learn more about the variety of Caritas Social Economy Enterprises throughout Europe.
