The Colonies of Benevolence and the European Heritage Label

The Colonies of Benevolence symbolize the long evolution in European thinking about socially marginalized people and the difficult recognition of their rights as full members of society, as now included in the Charter of fundamental rights.

The Colonies of Benevolence were a precursor to what we would now call a social enterprise. They tried to fight poverty caused by unemployement. In times of great economic crisis, they pioneered a new approach. Public-private partnerships invested in agricultural innovation, gave the unemployed and homeless poor a roof over their heads and access to education, work and medical care.

for a long time, the ares functioned as agriculural colonies and today symbolize Europe's continuous fight against poverty, unemployment and homelessness. The evolution of the sites since their inception illustrates the difficult social emancipation of the poor in Europe and the type of policies the poor have been confronted with. For example, the poor did receive assistance such as shelter, clothing and food, as well as forces relocation, lack of personal freedom, compulsory labor and tight control.