Our Story
The Beginning: 2019
When, in 2019, Pope Francis called young economists, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to join him in Assisi to imagine a more inclusive and sustainable economy inspired by the values of Francis of Assisi, over 3,000 young people from 120+ countries responded.
Villages & Hubs: From Global to Local
Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented an in-person meeting, it opened an opportunity: the Villages, originally thought as significant locations in Assisi chosen to host working sessions, evolved into global online networks — twelve thematic working groups where young economists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and changemakers from around the world engage in dialogue, conduct research, co-create an alternative economic narrative, and promote practices to address the pressing global challenges.
From the same spirit, local Hubs naturally grew across the world — groups of young people bringing the Economy of Francesco to life in their own territories through study, dialogue, and locally rooted projects. Hubs are essential, allowing EoF to take root and expand, fostering friendships and collaborations with proximity and continuity.
Villages and Hubs are dynamic spaces of encounter, dialogue, and creative reflection, where new ideas, proposals, and friendships take root, nurturing an economic transformation oriented towards fraternity, care and the common good.
The Pact & Ongoing Events
Since the initial letter of 2019, the community has been continuing to work together at the international and local level, developing research and projects inside Villages and Hubs, promoting activities such as the EoF Academy, the EoF School, the Summer School, and EoF for Peace, and undertaking yearly international and local events.
In 2022, the global EoF community finally met Pope Francis in Assisi and signed the Pact of The Economy of Francesco, committing their efforts and expertise to build, at local, national, and international levels, a new humanism in economic relations.
In 2023, after broad consultations, members expressed the need for a structure to support growth and continuity. Later that year, Pope Francis asked the original Organizing Committee to continue accompanying and safeguarding the process.
The EoF Foundation: 2024
In response, and to provide a structured framework capable of preserving the original EoF spirit, the Economy of Francesco Foundation was formally established on September 23, 2024.
Its purpose is to support young researchers, entrepreneurs, and changemakers in promoting a global economic transformation oriented toward the common good, fraternity, and care, in line with the EoF Pact. Therefore, the Foundation’s main mission is to support and coordinate the EoF Community activities, remaining closely connected with the wider community and safeguarding young people’s protagonism through its Assembly of Representatives, the Foundation’s main governing body — composed of young members and senior supporters.
Today’s EoF Community
To date, the EoF Community has over 1,000 active members from more than 120 countries, a living reality in constant evolution, and continues to be an interdisciplinary, intercultural, interconfessional platform for change, led by young people and strengthened by intergenerational dialogue, where members share ideas, stimulate research, study innovative approaches, and develop projects to transform “today’s economy and to give a soul to the economy of tomorrow”.
