‘What’s your father’s name?’
‘Geppetto.’
‘And what’s his job?’
‘Being poor.’
Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio, 1883

“While you create goods and services,
do not forget to create work,
good work, and work for everyone.”
Pope Francis, EoF Event in Assisi, 2022

 

In their seminal book, Part-Time for All: A Care Manifesto (2023), Jennifer Nedelsky and Tom Malleson address the enduring challenge of work-family conflict, offering innovative solutions that examine its diverse manifestations across cultural, social, and economic contexts. With a particular focus on the inequalities faced by caregivers, they advocate for a fundamental shift in priorities, urging society to engage in collective reflection: “Rethinking what is important by talking together about how we want to work, how we want to provide care, in short, how we want to live”.

The intersection of work and care remains a pressing issue in many countries, where structural challenges persist—including contractual precarity for care workers, inefficient labor organization, and exploitative conditions—that contribute to new forms of inequality and poverty. Addressing these issues demands a comprehensive reevaluation of labor policies and care infrastructures to promote greater equity and sustainability in both professional and domestic spheres.

However, the relationship between care and work extends beyond traditional roles associated with care work, such as nurses, doctors, or caregivers. Instead, it emphasizes labor as a form of care and service, reflecting the principles of civil economy, which regards work not as one activity among many but as a transformative space essential for human flourishing.

Building on these reflections, this two-day event aims to serve as a platform for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and co-creation. The program is designed to engage and welcome experts, researchers, students but also people interested in the fields of ‘care and labor’, featuring a variety of participatory activities. Highlights include the presentation of innovative ideas in a “Fair of Extraordinary Ideas” by selected speakers, a documentary screening and debate, and firsthand accounts from organizations showcasing replicable models of best practices.

It is a great honor to announce that Jennifer Nedelsky, Professor Emerita of Law and Political Science at the University of Toronto, will join us in person at the Polo Lionello Bonfanti to deliver a keynote lecture in collaboration with the Economy of Francesco (EoF). 

Over the course of these two days, participants will also engage in opportunities for conviviality, in-depth discussions, and the fostering of new synergies. The event, therefore, represents itself an opportunity to explore alternative practices of work and care, aligning with Pope Francis’s assertion in the Laudato Si’ encyclical: “Every form of work is a concept of the relationship which we can and must have with what is other than ourselves.”

Want to Participate as a Speaker? Take a look at our CALL FOR IDEAS! 

 

Discover the Program 

Day #1: Friday, May 2nd

Morning | Arrival & Accommodation

13:00 – 14:00 | Light Lunch & Socializing 
Place: Bar – Polo Lionello Bonfanti

14:00 – 14:30 | Welcome Remarks
Place: Sala Duccia

• • Luigino Bruni (EoF Foundation Vice-President) 
  • Maria Gaglione (EoF Executive Director) 
  • Maria Jordet (University of Inland Norway and EoF Foundation) 

14:30 – 16:30 | Workshop: “A Fair of Extraordinary Ideas for Care at Work”
Place: Sala Duccia

• • Introduction pill: “Stories Yet to Be Written: Visions of Care” by Stefano Rozzoni (University of Bergamo) 

Selected speakers:

• • Giulia Angelucci – Ph.D. student in Science of Civil Economy (LUMSA)
  • Giorgia Lucchini – Research fellow at Centro Universitario Cattolico 
  • Ida Marie Munck – EoF Academy research fellow 
  • Annalisa Gabriele – PhD Student in Economics and Management (IUS) 

Panel of experts:  

• • Jennifer Nedelsky – Professor Emerita, University of Toronto
  • Luigino Bruni – LUMSA
  • Benedetto Gui – IUS

17:00 – 18:00 | Keynote Talk by Jennifer Nedelsky: “Giving Care: (A) Time of Economic Change, Starting from Work”
Room: Sala Duccia 

This session will be streamed live on YouTube!

18:45 – 19:45 | Light dinner 
Room: Bar  – Polo Lionello Bonfanti

20:00 – 22:00 | Documentary Screening & Debate: Careseeker – In cerca di cura (2023, 85 min, Ita with sub. in Eng) – Dir. T. Sala, T. Francesca Vaccaro.
Room: Sala Duccia 

• • Introduction: Stefano Rozzoni (University of Bergamo) in dialogue with Sandra Della Bella (Director at Poliambulatorio Risana) 

 

Day #2 Saturday, May 3rd 

10:00 – 11:00 | Invited talk of care: “Istituto Serafico di Assisi”
Room: Sala Duccia 

• • Introduction: Luca Iacovone (EoF Foundation Press Officer)

Invited speaker:

• • Francesca di Maolo (Istituto Serafico of Assisi President)

11:00 – 12:30 | “Stories of Care: Witnessing changes in action through real stories”
Room: Sala Duccia 

• • Introduction pill: “Narrative Capital through Theories of Care…in Practice” by Stefano Rozzoni (University of Bergamo) 

Speakers:

• • Rita Sacramento Monteiro – PhD Candidate in Integral Ecology (CAS)
  • Valentina Rotondi – Professor (SUPSI Lugano) & Associate Researcher (University of Oxford) 
  • Merveiller Kouatouka – Coordinator of the NGO Together for a New Africa
  • Maria Jordet – University of Inland Norway and EoF Foundation 

12:30 | Toast & Farewell
Room: Bar

Attendance Fee

Build your own package!

Base: registration fee 25 €

Additional services:

• Light Lunch May 2nd: 12 €
• Accommodation (1 night): 45 € (apartments with multiple rooms and shared bathroom) 
• Light dinner May 2nd: 12 €
• Lunch May 3rd: 12 €

Participation grants are available.

For more information, you can contact us via email at info@edicspa.com

Registration >

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