Social Solidarity Economy

Articles


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Nantes: Urban Planning Lessons from a City Lab

Published: 24 September 2026
ARTICLE
Nantes, in western France, invests in long‑term urban planning that stretches across decades, turning the city into a living laboratory where small‑scale experimentations test new ideas before they reach wider implementation. Through a systematic methodology of planning, participation, and evaluation, this model offers an example of flexible and innovative urban policy that can inspire other cities.
Vasilis Pangalos
Ανεξάρτητα ΜΜΕ εκδήλωση 14

Cities and the countryside: persistent structural inequalities

Published: 26 June 2026
EVENT
Behind every social issue, there are human stories. And behind every political action—or inaction—there are real consequences that shape people’s daily lives. These are the kinds of stories brought to light through the journalistic investigation commissioned by the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Thessaloniki Office, carried out by five independent and cooperative media outlets exploring the urban–rural divide. The findings, along with a thoughtful discussion on the topic, were presented at an event held in Thessaloniki on 8 July 2025.

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Publications

Housing for the common good

Published: 1 October 2025
Handbook
Across Europe, cities are grappling with an intensifying housing crisis that affects a wide spectrum of urban residents, from the most vulnerable to essential workers and middle-income earners. Increasing numbers of residents face eviction, leading to higher rates of homelessness in urban centres. This handbook by Eurocities presents a wide range of practical approaches in 10 European cities addressing key housing challenges, highlighting strategies that combine affordability, social inclusion, and sustainability.   Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bonn, Ghent, Gotheburg, Lyon Metropole, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Vilnius
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Φροντίδα cover

The social organisation of care in Greece

Published: 29 July 2025
PUBLICATION
This book (language: Greek) is an introduction to the concept of care, a topic that is increasingly at the center of narratives, analyses, claims, and policy proposals. Furthermore, it explores aspects of how care is socially organised in Greece, focusing on the different roles of the state, the market, the community and the family, while aspiring to become part of a collective reflection and dialogue on the ways in which care is socially organized in Greece, but also on how we imagine an equal, just, and caring world.
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Dock Toolkit 1

Business sustainability tools in SSE: Social Value

Published: 30 September 2024
TOOLKIT
This valuable business tool helps social solidarity economy initiatives in a simple and analytical way to understand their values and their position in the market, to realise their problems, to evaluate their situation and to plan their prospects. This practical guide includes three volumes: 1. on social value, 2. on economic sustainability and 3. on the strategy of an initiative.
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Dock Toolkit 3

Business sustainability tools in SSE: Strategy

Published: 30 September 2024
TOOLKIT
This valuable business tool helps social solidarity economy initiatives in a simple and analytical way to understand their values and their position in the market, to realise their problems, to evaluate their situation and to plan their prospects. This practical guide includes three volumes: 1. on social value, 2. on economic sustainability and 3. on the strategy of an initiative.
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Dock Toolkit 2

Business sustainability tools in SSE: Economic sustainability

Published: 30 September 2024
TOOLKIT
This valuable business tool helps social solidarity economy initiatives in a simple and analytical way to understand their values and their position in the market, to realise their problems, to evaluate their situation and to plan their prospects. This practical guide includes three volumes: 1. on social value, 2. on economic sustainability and 3. on the strategy of an initiative.
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Συνεταιριστική νομοθεσία εξώφυλλο

The Greek cooperative law. From fragmentation to unification

Published: 30 September 2024
PUBLICATION
This publication analyses and compares the provisions of each law for the different categories of cooperatives and presents certain proposals for a new legal framework aimed at unifying Greek cooperative law, as urgently recommended by international and European Organisations and Cooperative Associations.

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Podcasts


Dimitris Zilos

The president of the Rapsani community wants to see the place come alive, to be a working, residential, and, of course, tourist destination. He is willing to help in that direction but lacks resources, advisors, and support. (audio: Greek, description: English)

Mahi Tsiamoura-Tsatsari

A former teacher and former librarian of the village came to Rapsani from elsewhere, integrated into the local community, and took the lead in organising groups and associations. (audio: Greek, description: English)

Vasso Savanaki

Vasso Savanaki, a product manager for a multinational company, came to Rapsani shortly after the lockdown and began to work remotely. As she says, three elements are necessary for this: a place to live, good internet, and an open space to work. (audio: Greek, description: English)

Lena Gerothanassi

Lena Gerothanassi revives ancient practices like weaving and promotes primary production and locally made wool. She makes the best of the remaining craft industries and gives identity to local products. (audio: Greek, description: English)

Media


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Videos


Γρηγόρης Κουτρόπουλος & Παναγιώτης Κωστούλας - Μπουλούκι - Heinrich Boell Foundation - Office Thessaloniki

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Grigoris Koutropoulos & Panagiotis Kostoulas — Boulouki

VIDEO
Boulouki (‘Gaggle’; travelling company of stone masons and craftsmen) is a group of architects and engineers who deal with traditional building methods that have fallen out of use in today’s construction practices.

07 Συνεταιρισμός Φαρμακοποιών Θεσσαλίας/Pharmacists' Civil Cooperative of Thessaly - Heinrich Boell Foundation - Office Thessaloniki

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Pharmacists' Civil Cooperative of Thessaly

VIDEO
The Pharmacists' Civil Cooperative of Thessaly managed to procure much needed medications to all members during the pandemic while informing the public on the real scale of risks and the appropriate ways to tackle them.

Θεσσαλονίκη, μία πόλη εκτός θέματος; - Heinrich Boell Foundation - Office Thessaloniki

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Thessaloniki, a city off topic?

VIDEO
For whom is Thessaloniki today? Could it become in the future a city that offers quality of life, employment opportunities, and prospects for personal development? How do different communities coexist? What does the degradation of public, especially green, spaces signify? These pressing questions were the focus of an open discussion about the city’s needs, the changes it requires, the challenges it currently faces, and the priorities it must set for the future to reverse the trend of people leaving or the underutilization of its potential. (available in Greek) 

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More pages about Social Solidarity Economy


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The fear of the train after Tempi

Published: 26 June 2026
INTERVIEWS
The Tempi railway tragedy of 28 February 2023 has left behind—among many other consequences—a sense of mistrust toward a mode of transport once considered environmentally friendly, comfortable, accessible, and the “backbone of sustainable mobility.” Can this rupture be repaired? A photo‑reportage featuring ten portraits and ten interviews with people who used the train. Research–interviews: The Manifold. Photographs: Maria Sidiropoulou
ΑτΕ Καρδίτσα Τσαντίκος 6

Karditsa: The Social Solidarity Economy, the organizations, the people

Published: 26 June 2026
FEATURE STORY
Journalist Giorgos Tsantikos visited the Karditsa region seeking to understand not simply whether cooperative initiatives exist, but whether they form an organized ecosystem—that is, a network of Social Solidarity Economy actors who coordinate and interact with one another with the aim of creating social value. For this research, he spoke with the heads of four local organizations that provide support to cooperative initiatives in the area.
Παλιά προβλήματα, νέες πολιτικές αφηγήσεις cover

Old problems, new political narratives

Published: 22 June 2026
DOSSIER
Elder care, technology governance, inequalities between urban centres and rural regions, labour precarity… These and many other issues are explored in a series of theoretical articles that propose new political narratives within the framework of the commons, cooperativism, and spatial justice. The articles were written on the occasion of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s workshops Academy of Alternatives (11–14 September 2025, Lake Plastira).
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The strategy of degrowth

Published: 10 November 2025
DOSSIER
This dossier brings together ten articles discussing strategy within the degrowth movement, written between 2019 and 2020 by members of the degrowth community and published on degrowth.info. It emerged from the observation that strategy has received relatively little attention from both the movement and its scholars — a gap that highlights the absence of coherent goals and underscores the need for deeper reflection on these questions.

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