Why Social Economy?

In 2020, the European Commission recognised proximity and social economy as a key in- dustrial ecosystem in Europe:

According to the European Economic and Social Committee study on the Recent Evolu- tions of the Social Economy in the Europe- an Union (EU)5 , there are 2.8 million social economy enterprises and organisations in the European Union, that employ 13.6 million people and represent 8% of the EU’s Gross Domestic Product The European Commissions’ Next Generation EU, as well as other relevant policies at EU and Member States’ level need to be aligned with ambitious policies to tackle social exclusion, including through entrepreneurship.

The role of entrepreneurship educa- tion to promote social economy of proximity among excluded groups

Through entrepreneurship education, dis- advantaged groups can acquire the needed skills and mindset to participate in entrepre- neurial activities. The specific learning out- comes used as a reference in entrepreneur- ship education is shown below.

Defining the attitudes, knowledge and skills entrepreneurs need

Through the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) the European Commission created a shared understanding of the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become entrepreneurial, while at the same time emphasizing that entrepreneurship is a competence that all citizens should have the opportunity to develop. The frame- work also aimed at creating a common language between different levels of ed- ucation and training, as well as bridging the worlds of education and work. The framework can be used as a basis for the development of curricula and learning ac- tivities that foster entrepreneurship as a competence.

According to EntreComp, entrepreneur- ship is a transversal competence, which applies to all spheres of life: from nur- turing personal development, to actively participating in society, to (re)entering the job market as an employee or as a self-employed person, and also to start- ing up ventures (cultural, social or com- mercial). hat constitutes entrepreneuri- al skills, however, has been the subject of much discussion. Entrepreneurial skills include creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives.