Abacus: Education and Culture as Drivers of Social Change

Abacus is a cooperative dedicated to making education, culture, and leisure accessible to all through a model rooted in social economy values. With over 50 years of experience, it fosters social transformation by offering quality educational and cultural content while ensuring transparency, participation, and equity. By embracing digitalisation and networking with like-minded organisations, Abacus remains committed to linguistic diversity, pluralism, and conscious consumption, reinforcing its role as a key player in shaping a more inclusive and innovative society.

Cooperative Housing: A Community-Led Solution to Urban Challenges

Cooperative housing presents a sustainable, community-driven alternative to traditional housing markets, tackling affordability, social cohesion, and sustainability challenges. By shifting ownership from private investors to residents, cooperatives remove profit motives, ensuring long-term accessibility. Democratic governance and integrated urban planning further enhance the model’s success, fostering resilient and inclusive communities. As cities worldwide face rising housing costs and gentrification, cooperative housing offers a viable, people-centred solution that prioritises social equity over speculation.

Casalina: Building sustainable local resilience

Casalina is a trans-local community based in Spinazzola and Brussels. They address emerging social and environmental challenges, embodying a global dynamic transition. A social agriculture project launched by the BSR Collective in Puglia, Italy, that represents more than just a farm - it serves as a community hub fostering solidarity, resilience, and knowledge-sharing. By revitalising an abandoned farmhouse through reforestation, permaculture, and sustainable agriculture, Casalina creates a model for sustainable rural development. It supports migrant workers, provides essential services, and engages the local community in climate action. As part of the Communities for Climate (C4C) initiative, Casalina demonstrates how proximity economy and social economy principles can drive meaningful environmental and social change.

Cerro Torre: Inclusive Employment and Environmental Sustainability in Social Enterprise

Cerro Torre is a social cooperative focused on integrating disadvantaged individuals—those with disabilities, addictions, or in detention—into the workforce. It provides waste management, renewable energy installations, and boiler services while promoting professional growth and social inclusion. The cooperative prioritises continuous improvement in quality, safety, and environmental sustainability. Since 2005, it has specialised in renewable energy, installing over 1,300 systems in Lombardy, saving 4,200 tons of CO₂. Certified for quality and safety, Cerro Torre fosters personalised work-integration paths, ensuring dignity and long-term employment for vulnerable individuals.

Lormes, France: A digital village of the future

Lormes, a rural town in France, transformed itself into a “Village of the Future” through community-driven digital innovation. By launching initiatives like a digital hub, fibre network, and participatory planning, it addressed challenges of depopulation, digital exclusion, and economic decline. Today, Lormes stands as a leading example of rural regeneration through citizen-led digital transformation.