Coordinated by Diesis and hosted by Gruppo Cooperativo CGM and Legacoop Sociali, CECOP-CICOPA Europe took part in the second meeting of the project’s partners where the participants had the opportunity to present country scenario examples related to the legal framework of social enterprises in different contexts; specifically, the French, Croatian and Italian models were discussed. This process, together with the collection of individual best practices coming from the cooperative movement and the social economy, will contribute to outline the state of the art of the social enterprises in 13 countries of the European Union and beyond. This mapping effort is preliminary to the submission of policy recommendations in this regard towards the European Institutions.

The first day’s meeting venue was the social cooperative La Cordata, an excellent example of how the private and public sector can create synergies in regards to social inclusion of vulnerable groups. Both our hosts Stefano Granata, President of CGM and Federsolidarietà and Felice Romeo from Legacoop Lombardia welcomed the audience and gave an insightful presentation on the evolution of the Italian welfare state from the 80’s until today. The last part of the two-days meeting was dedicated to the visit of a virtuous and long-standing actor for social policy and care in the Milan area, Cascina Cappuccina, a beautiful farmhouse located in Melegnano and owned by the cooperative enterprise Eureka. On top of being a key player in the child care sector with tens of crèches in the Milan area and in the social integration of former inmates through work, Eureka is owned by its members who collectively take the decisions regarding the internal governance of the company. Should you find yourself in the surroundings of Melegnano, we suggest you stop by for a delicious lunch in the farmhouse’s restaurant and a quick hello to the funny donkeys! For more information about the project check out the website: http://r2g.diesis.coop/