Encounter, celebration and commitment: three words that summarise the 35 years of the Economy of Communion (EoC), commemorated from 25th-30th May 2026.More than 400 people participated in a two-phase program. In the first, participants had an immersive experience in 16 Latin American communities and businesses that put the culture of communion into practice. In the second, they gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for an international forum dedicated to celebrating the journey and present reality of the EoC and committing to its future.

Regenerating “wounds” from the inside out

Communion, as a force for regeneration, stops focusing exclusively on the poverty of a territory and instead highlights its social, cultural and spiritual riches. For this reason, that’s where the celebration began: entering the depths of those who suffer daily in order to get in touch with and imagine together a different economy. Sixteen initiatives from three Latin American countries opened their doors to participants for the first part of this celebration. Through group activities, guided visits, participatory exercises and moments of dialogue, each person was able to listen, welcome the reality of the other, encounter it directly, understand it, express it and share it.

“I participated in the experience at the Nuevo Sol Centres in Buenos Aires. What struck me the most was not the poverty or the enormous inequality that exists in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, but the strength with which love weaves communities in this region. The challenges are more difficult, which is why love is more concrete, more active and closer”, said Luz Villafañe, from Tucumán, Argentina.

The Entrepreneurial Journey with the Economy of Communion

After these experiences, the participants met in Buenos Aires on 29th-30th May and took part in a forum held at the “Usina del Arte” Cultural Centre.

Voices from different countries, cultures and social classes, including entrepreneurs, start-uppers, community leaders and indigenous leader, took turns on stage demonstrating the transformative power of this vocation. There were experiences of small and large entrepreneurs, of those whose projects are dedicated to the care of the earth, of those who live interculturality as a richness and make choices of communion as a vocation, as a lifestyle.

Commitments for the Future

The culminating moment of the celebration was a global pact signed by all those present, individually and collectively, to promote, within the economy, a culture that places human relationships at the centre and aims to put regenerative approaches into practice, approaches capable of creating communion. During a global online link up held on the morning of the 30th, almost 300 people joined the Buenos Aires hall, connected from all over the world, to solemnly reaffirm the pact that unites the entire Economy of Communion network.

The EoC also unveiled two new developments to celebrate the present and look to the future: a new visual identity and a new application to connect people, businesses and projects globally. To learn more, visit https://www.globaledc.org/.

This large global community aspires to carry forward the culture of encounter, to work for a more just economy, to recognize the central role of the people in vulnerable situations, and to contribute to the building of more fraternal communities through relationships. As many repeated during the event, “No one is so poor as to have nothing to give and no one is so rich as to have nothing to receive”.

Ana Tano (Buenos Aires)

Photo © Joaquin Masera – CSC Audiovisivi