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Challenges and opportunities for the future

As we are going to see in this chapters, there are infinite ways to apply the SEE. There are new options to
live, consume, interchange, participate and establish relationships using ethic and alternative criteria to
the current system. It is recommended to foster and encourage the advantages that the SEE offers. The
challenge for the future is to actively foster and promote its advantages and be able to disseminate new
practices applied to the economy, and accomplish an economic system totally fair, equitable, based on
solidarity and sustainability (United Nations, 2020).

5.2 Different tools and practices

There are different tools and practices to apply the SEE in every field of the economic cycle. Some
initiatives are part of the formalised juridical aspect but other are part of the informal economy. All of
them are important and share the same values and principles described in the first part of this chapter.

Source: Social (The Peace Institute, 2015)

If we talk about the institutionalised and formal SEE, we can talk about social enterprises, cooperatives and
mutual societies. However, there are also other forms of initiatives considered less formal. In both type,
their social impact is important and can make a change and contribute to the development of SEE. These
less formal initiatives are for example:

- Consumer groups: These are organised groups of consumers that decide to buy directly from local
produces to help them grow.
- Social currency: This consists on inventing a new currency, that imitates the euro, but it works as
a form of interchanging assets and services.
- Ethical banks: Ethical banks are like any other bank, however, they prioritize individuals rather than
money. They promote environmental initiatives and give funds to project that have a compromise with
society.
- Self-financed communities: In these organisations, the individuals of a community are at the same time,
money loaners, owners of the capital and borrowers all at the same time. The interest rate are flat and
beneficial for those living int hat community.
- Crowdfunding platforms: This popular way of funding consists on acquiring a capital to make future
investments or launch a personal project based on small donations of a lot of different individuals.

These tools and practices offer a lot of advantages for society such as the creation of employment, social
cohesion and positive flexibility towards market conditions.