Project  

The International Summer School for "Community and local development in Latin America and the Caribbean" originally emerged from the cooperative relationship established between the OECD LEED Trento Centre for local development (Italy), the Training Centre for International Cooperation (Italy) and EAFIT University of Medellin (Colombia) in collaboration with the Trentino Federation of Cooperatives and the contribution of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy.

The main scope of the Summer School is the promotion of local development, i.e. promoting the understanding and acknowledgment by both public and private actors of the analysed territories’ capital factors (“Territorial Capital” and its conceptual dimensions) that contribute to build local development strategies.

Learn more about the objectives and the methodology

2019 Edition

Tenth edition of the International Summer School

The tenth edition of the Summer School for community and local development took place from 15 to 26 July 2019 (Trento, Italy).

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SUGGESTED READING

‌‌Compendium of good practices on local development in Latin America 
_{September 2019}

Participants

Participants should be strongly committed to local development topics and activities. They should currently work (or at least they should have working experience) in public institutions (national, regional, provincial or local governments, development agencies, research centres, international organizations) or private organisations (foundations, co-operatives, NGOs, grassroots community organisations, non-profit entities, etc.) active in the field of local, community, economic and social development.

How to apply

Previous Editions

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Spatial Development 

Urban settlements, infrastructures, economic activities and everything related to the humankind are heterogeneously spread over the territories, interacting in various way with the ecosystem in which they are inserted and contribute in generating, positive or negative, effects.

Topics:

• Territorial planning

• Sustainability and management of natural resources

   

Economic Development 

Taking into consideration the territorial variable in economic development induces a change of perspective and determines a change in the design of economic policies: the economic development is about the territory and its complexity and not just the businesses.

Topics:

• Institutional strengthening and local competitiveness

• Productive development and innovation

• Qualification of human resources and business development

Social Development 

Social development - based on social capital – implies different perspectives, which are well represented by the selected case studies: the added value of economic system is extended to a wider concept of capital, which embraces the provision of social services or is accumulated in public investment and in social relations.

Topics:

• Social Innovation and Social Business

• Vulnerable groups and equal opportunities

Institutional Development and Governance 

Institutional development and governance arise as a response to the challenge of handling the needs and expectations of a society facing increasingly complex and diversified changes. In such a context, the rigidly normative and regulatory approach of the past should be replaced with innovative tools, which may cope in a flexible way with the competing forces generated in the society.

Topics:

• Decentralization and local governance

• Multi-level articulation and inter-institutional coordination

• Social participation and empowerment