The twelfth workshop of the European Social Economy Project Hub took place on Thursday, 27 November, hosted by Fondazione Paideia and focused on the Erasmus+ 2026 calls.

The session opened with contributions from Jacopo Bottacchi and Alessia Ibba, who presented the HUB, the newly established community of EU project designers, and the new pathway designed to strengthen project ideas developed by local organizations. This structured process includes:

• participation in capacity-building workshops;
• the definition of a solid project idea aligned with European programs;
• matching with project designers from the roster and tailored support throughout the drafting phase;
• the final presentation of the project

Experiences from the ecosystem

Two organisations from the ecosystem then shared their experiences with the Erasmus+ programme.

The first intervention came from Simona Fontana, Project Manager at Fondazione Paideia, who described the support pathway offered by the Hub, which the organisation benefited from in 2024. Although the “Give Siblings a Voice” project received an excellent evaluation, it was not funded. Simona nevertheless highlighted the generative value of the entire process: it strengthened internal awareness around European design, expanded the organisation’s international network, and opened new opportunities for dialogue. It also helped nurture a more open and Europe-oriented organisational culture.

The second contribution came from S-Nodi, through Antonio Fontana, Head of International Partnerships. Antonio presented the Erasmus+ project “Soul Food”, which engages migrant women in a pathway to social and professional inclusion through culinary, digital and citizenship skills. By sharing a project midway through its lifecycle, he demonstrated how approaching the European dimension can transform local goals, redefine partnership roles, require careful co-construction of the budget, and encourage organisations to view international collaboration as a shared learning space.

Inside the calls: a technical deep dive

The second part of the morning focused on a technical overview of the Erasmus+ programme, with particular attention to cooperation partnerships and mobility calls. The session was led by Maria Chiara Pizzorno of Weco Impresa Sociale, who guided participants through requirements, evaluation criteria, and the opportunities offered by active funding lines.

A peer-learning lab to shape European project design

The afternoon moved to hands-on exploration, with a series of workshops aimed at generating new ideas and strengthening early-stage project proposals. After an initial moment dedicated to introductions and exchange, participants were divided into two groups to work on KA1 and KA2—mobility and cooperation partnerships, turning ideas into draft concepts to be developed within an Erasmus+ project.

19 organizations and 10 project designers took part in the workshop. Organizations wishing to continue the process can now request support from the Hub and activate tailored guidance with a project designer from the roster. This will be the first step of a pathway leading them to the submission of proposals, with Erasmus+ deadlines scheduled between February and March 2026.

The European Projects Hub is co-designed with Weco Impresa Sociale and supported by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and the Torino Chamber of Commerce.