Unlike the long intellectual history of social economy which goes back to the end of the 18th
century in the works of utopian socialists9 (RESTAKIS, 2006), solidarity economy is a relatively
new concept inspired by the practice of local initiatives in Latin America in the mid-1980s.
The concept gained momentum in 1998, with the organization of the first meeting of Solidarity
Culture and Socio-Economy in Brazil, and with the formation of the Latin American Solidarity
Economy Network. It developed further in 2001 with the creation of the Global Network of
Solidarity Economy