Barbara Sak, Director of CIRIEC International, and José Luis Monzón, Director of CIRIEC Spain and Honorary President of CIRIEC International
What a great idea it was to launch this project—and here we are already at the 50th issue, some six years later. At the end of 2020, CIRIEC-Spain initiated this information bulletin on the social economy, “Social Economy News”, with the aim of broadening awareness of the social economy beyond a circle that was far too limited to experts in the field.
The goal is to better showcase and make known the full scope of the sector and the activities of the social economy within the European Union and beyond. As such, articles and reports cover the activities of representative organizations, enterprises and entities, as well as research centers in the social economy—whether innovations, publications, events, or position statements.
It also disseminates news about the ever-growing number of researchers in this field; events (also increasing); scientific awards; as well as programs of major global institutions, and actions, support measures, and initiatives by public authorities. In this way, “Social Economy News” has become an essential and unprecedented tool for increasing the visibility and understanding of the sector, not to mention information on framework legislation that supports it—fundamental for the development of this cooperative, mutual, and associative dynamism.
Each monthly issue opens with an opinion article written by a personality who has shaped, influenced, and promoted the social economy. The importance of this bulletin has been recognized by figures such as: Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, also responsible for the social economy (2019–2024); Vic Van Vuuren, Chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) and Director of the Enterprises Department of the International Labour Organization (2016–2022); Simel Esim, Head of the Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit at the ILO and Co-Chair of the UNTFSSE (since 2022); Ariel Guarco, President of the International Cooperative Alliance (since 2017); and Juan Antonio Pedreño, President of Social Economy Europe since 2015—among many leaders of federations and prominent figures and managers of the social economy across different continents.
Today, this Social Economy Newsletter has nearly 20,000 subscribers across five continents. It is also distributed via social media. With strong representation in Europe and many contacts in Latin America, the objective is to expand readership in Africa and Asia, where the social economy is experiencing very significant growth.
Indeed, the idea behind this Newsletter is to deepen its global dimension by including opinion pieces from leading figures in the social economy in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as relevant information from these continents. This commits us to considering, in the medium term, increasing the publication frequency of the bulletin and significantly expanding the number of subscribers.
Thanks to the CIRIEC International network and the global strategic monitoring carried out by its members around the world, the information for this bulletin is collected. It is then reviewed, assessed, and edited to present the most relevant news, enabling readers to receive a concise monthly overview of the key developments in the field of the social economy on a global scale.
This is truly editorial work carried out by passionate journalists and documentalists. Preparing and publishing each month—in three languages (English, Spanish, and French)—a mini newspaper on the social economy in Europe and worldwide is a real challenge for a very small team. Thanks to José Juan, Marina, and also Christelle, from the international secretariat of CIRIEC in Liège, who is responsible for proofreading the English and French translations of these articles, which are increasingly numerous and rich in information of many kinds from all continents.
