The current crisis linked to COVID-19 puts now more than ever the emphasis on the importance of international cooperation and dialogue in developing solutions and alternatives to face common challenges. It has become clear how the socio-economic development of our communities and the inclusion of each citizen, particularly the most vulnerable ones, must be a priority anywhere and in particular in the Euro-Mediterranean region, already hit by a social and economic crisis that generated high unemployment rates and social inequalities.

Indeed, the COVID-19 crisis is particularly affecting the most vulnerable communities, which are suffering the resulting social and economic impact also in terms of lost income and employment. This has highlighted how a strong welfare system is crucial to be able to reach the most disadvantaged groups as well as to ensure fairer societies in which no one is left behind and each citizen can have the same rights and opportunities. Now more than ever, it is crucial to reflect on and rethink current welfare services and the important role that SSE (Social and Solidarity Economy) actors can have in this process. 

Within this context, the MoreThanAJob project aims at promoting the development of innovative social schemes based on the cooperation among SSE actors and public administrations to enhance the social and labour inclusion of vulnerable groups in our societies, such as unemployed, uneducated, refugees. To this aim, we are working towards providing innovative approaches and solutions favouring inclusive growth and promoting private-public partnerships to provide better social services.

We think that the involvement of our main target groups, namely SSE actors and public administrations, since the initial phase is crucial to create the conditions for the development of sustainable social schemes and to bring new inputs for their development. Through MoreThanAJob, we will provide them competences and tools to cooperate more effectively for the design, planning, and development of social services that can support the social and economic development of our territories. Indeed, cooperation among different realities and experiences has demonstrated to be an added value to reach more effectively people living in socio-economic disadvantaged situations.

Maintaining the original aim of promoting the cooperation among these actors, we would like to develop also a tool that can be a space where involved actors have the opportunity to present their services, including those delivered remotely, to more effectively reach their final beneficiaries. We strongly believe that this will positively impact the whole community providing a space in which the different social services active at the local and regional levels will be collected, thus leading to improved awareness of and better access to these services. 

The exceptional situation we are experiencing gives us a further push to rethink the welfare services, the ways in which they are provided, and the involvement of the private sector as an added value. Through MoreThanAJob we aim at contributing to this process and support in addressing current and future challenges in fostering social and labour inclusion of vulnerable groups. 

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