International Cooperation Department

We promote communities’ active participation to co-create an inclusive, sustainable and cohesive planet by valuing individual potential and protecting each person’s right to self-determination.

Through collaborative and multilevel processes, we encourage fair economic and social growth by fostering pathways of mutual learning and transformation. Together with communities, we create spaces for dialogue and action, experimentation and collaboration, where everyone can fully express their abilities and contribute to change.

Mission

To promote social justice through transcultural, participatory and transformative approaches in order to promote civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, and to foster a fair and sustainable social growth.

Approaches

I nostri approcci si sviluppano nel confronto e nella pratica quotidiana, come strumenti per generare insieme conoscenza, connessioni e trasformazione.

Capability building

Con il termine capability building intendiamo un processo volto a creare le condizioni affinché persone e gruppi sociali sviluppino le capacità effettive (capabilities) di scegliere e realizzare i propri obiettivi di vita, in modo libero e informato.

In contesti segnati da disuguaglianze strutturali, esclusione sociale o marginalizzazione, il nostro obiettivo non è semplicemente trasferire competenze o risorse (capacity building), ma rafforzare le libertà sostanziali delle persone: la loro reale possibilità di scegliere, partecipare, incidere sulle decisioni e costruire alternative di vita dignitose e sostenibili.

Ricerca-azione partecipata

La ricerca-azione è per noi un modo di costruire conoscenza insieme alle persone, a partire dalle loro esperienze, domande e visioni.

La ricerca diventa così un processo collettivo di apprendimento e trasformazione, in cui ogni soggettività contribuisce alla definizione di nuovi modi di comprendere e vivere le comunità. Attraverso il confronto e la co-creazione, si generano spazi in cui prospettive spesso rese invisibili trovano riconoscimento e voce, alimentando consapevolezza critica e azioni capaci di rispondere ai bisogni e alle aspirazioni reali dei territori.  

Approccio trasformativo

Crediamo che il cambiamento non sia soltanto questione di strumenti e risorse, ma di relazioni, potere e significati.

Lavoriamo per facilitare processi che intervengano attivamente sulle strutture sociali che producono esclusione e disuguaglianza, favorendo il riconoscimento reciproco e l’emergere di nuove forme di partecipazione e di giustizia. Immaginiamo e cerchiamo una trasformazione collettiva che nasca dall’incontro, dalla riflessione condivisa e dalla possibilità di immaginare e costruire alternative sostenibili e inclusive. 

Approccio transculturale

L’approccio transculturale ci invita a superare i confini rigidi tra culture per esplorare gli spazi di incontro, apprendimento reciproco e co-creazione che si aprono nella collaborazione.

In questi spazi prendono forma linguaggi nuovi, visioni comuni e pratiche che trasformano tutte le persone coinvolte. Riconosciamo la pluralità come risorsa e la differenza come elemento generativo, coltivando relazioni fondate sull’ascolto, sul rispetto e sullo scambio, in un movimento continuo di reciprocità e trasformazione condivisa. 

Aree d’intervento

Social Economy

We promote alternative economic models based on sustainability, integrating environmental, social, and cultural dimensions. 

Main activities 

  • Entrepreneurship education and training, with a particular focus on social entrepreneurship, to increase employment opportunities in the territory.
  • Capability-building actions to improve collaboration mechanisms among the public administrations, social economy actors, and policy-makers, aimed at supporting the social and labour inclusion. 
  • Promotion of transnational cooperation networks between enterprises and innovation hubs.

Governance and Participation

We promote pathways that foster self-determination and awareness of rights, encouraging active and transformative participation in public life and supporting the empowerment of groups at risk of social exclusion. 

Main activities

  • Promotion of processes that generate personal and collective awareness through the development of individual capabilities.
  • Capability-building pathways for civil society organizations to strengthen their role in promoting participation.
  • Support for the experimentation with educational and awareness-raising methods focused on strategic communication and digital activism, to broaden participation and improve access to information.

Cultures

We promote equitable access to cultures and value cultural diversity as a means to foster social inclusion and social justice.

Main activities 

  • Promotion of equitable access to cultures and the enhancement of cultural heritages through community-engaged initiatives that celebrate cultural plurality and raise awareness of social justice.  
  • Awareness-raising and educational activities to support cultural and creative enterprises, emerging artists, and civil society organizations, strengthening the role of cultures in social inclusion and active participation.
  • Promotion of transnational networks and mobility for artists and artistic collectives.

Discover our initiatives

HERITAS – Valorisation du patrimoine culturel à travers des parcours participatifs citoyens et la création d’itinéraires de tourisme communautaire

HERITAS – Valorisation du patrimoine culturel à travers des parcours participatifs citoyens et la création d’itinéraires de tourisme communautaire

B4IT – Business for Italy and Tunisia

B4IT – Business for Italy and Tunisia

SEEDS – Sowing agroEcological education in the VET sector

SEEDS – Sowing agroEcological education in the VET sector

YxP – Youth for Peace in the Mediterranean Sea

YxP – Youth for Peace in the Mediterranean Sea

Invest – Innovation in Green and Digital VET Skills for Sustainable Lifestyles

Invest – Innovation in Green and Digital VET Skills for Sustainable Lifestyles

WITH – Boosting Women Entrepreneurship Education in Tourism and Hospitality in Sub-Saharan Africa

WITH – Boosting Women Entrepreneurship Education in Tourism and Hospitality in Sub-Saharan Africa

ADDUPT – Addressing skills mismatching in the green sector through digital upskilling of VET

ADDUPT – Addressing skills mismatching in the green sector through digital upskilling of VET

EU CARES – EUropean Collective narratives for Reconciliation and trauma healing through youth engagement and Storytelling

EU CARES – EUropean Collective narratives for Reconciliation and trauma healing through youth engagement and Storytelling

Response – Response to emerging challenges to improve education services

Response – Response to emerging challenges to improve education services

InnovAgroWoMed – Social Innovation in the Agri-food sector for Women’s Empowerment in the Mediterranean Sea basin

InnovAgroWoMed – Social Innovation in the Agri-food sector for Women’s Empowerment in the Mediterranean Sea basin

MoreThanAJob – Reinforcing social and solidarity economy for the unemployed, uneducated and refugees

MoreThanAJob – Reinforcing social and solidarity economy for the unemployed, uneducated and refugees

Kyrgyzstan – Strengthening the education attainment assessment  to affect decisions about instructional needs, curriculum and funding

Kyrgyzstan – Strengthening the education attainment assessment to affect decisions about instructional needs, curriculum and funding

GEM – Game for EuroMed

GEM – Game for EuroMed

MADRE – Multilateral Approach to Develop Rural Empowerment

MADRE – Multilateral Approach to Develop Rural Empowerment

EDUPAD – Creating Educational Programs on Anti-Discrimination on a Par with EU Standards

EDUPAD – Creating Educational Programs on Anti-Discrimination on a Par with EU Standards

Raising the Rights of Elderly People and Elderly care Services to the EU Standards

Raising the Rights of Elderly People and Elderly care Services to the EU Standards

CaBuReRa – Capacity Building Relay Race

CaBuReRa – Capacity Building Relay Race

TATRAC – Tissu Associatif et Transfert de Connaissances

TATRAC – Tissu Associatif et Transfert de Connaissances

From School To Community: children and students as change agents in the community

From School To Community: children and students as change agents in the community

CESIE ETS