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European Capitals
of Social Economy

Toledo (2020)

Toledo, European Capital for the Social Economy logo To develop the role of Toledo as European capital of Social Economy, a steering group has been set up. This is comprised of three levels of administration (Ministry of Labour and Social Economy from the central government, Castilla-La Mancha regional government and Toledo municipal government) alongside the most representative organizations of the sector at national and regional level and academia through the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Its main purpose is to design an agenda for events to be held during Toledo’s tenure and to coordinate the different agents involved.

Yolanda Díaz, Labour and Social Economy Minister, Milagros Tolón, Mayor of Toledo and Patricia Franco, Economy, Business and Employment Minister for the Castilla-La Mancha region took part in the European Capital of Social Economy presentation ceremony.

Strasbourg (2019)

Strasbourg 2019 logoThe decision to name Strasbourg the European Capital of Social Economy was announced by the High Commissioner for Social and Solidarity Economy and for Social Innovation, Christophe Itier, on April 2, 2019, in a ceremony held alongside the first meeting of the monitoring committee under the French presidency. The activities carried out by Strasbourg and Eurométropole have centred on citizen participation and increasing the visibility of social and solidarity economy entities. Thus the title of "European Capital of Social Economy" has been used to promote actions that had already been developed, such as Social and Solidarity Economy Month, in its XII edition, organized by the Regional Chamber of Social Economy and Solidarity of the Grand Est region (CRESS) or to attract events, such as the General Assembly of COOP FR, a national and European network of cooperatives, or the “European Business Day for Social and Solidarity Economy” of the European Economic and Social Committee. This last act was held on November 27, 2019, in parallel to the second meeting of the monitoring committee of the Luxembourg declaration under the French presidency.

Maribor (2018)

Maribor 2018 logoEntre los eventos desarrollados durante la capitalidad de Maribor destacó la Conferencia “Impulsando la Economía Social en el Sudeste Europeo” (Boosting the Social Economy in South East Europe”), el 7 de marzo de 2018.

Among the events held during the Maribor’s tenure we would highlight a conference titled: “Boosting the Social Economy in South East Europe”, on March 7, 2018.

Madrid (2017)

During the Spanish presidency of the monitoring committee a European conference on social economy was held in Madrid titled: "The Social Economy, a Business Model for the Future of the European Union", which culminated with the signing on May 23, 2017 of the Madrid declaration in support of the social economy, emphasizing the importance of this sector for the European economy. Given the impact of this conference, it was said that Madrid had been the capital of the social economy and the idea of creating an annual capital for the social economy was discussed.