Dedalus’s mission is the pursuit of the general interest of the community, through the promotion of humanity and culture, the creation of equal opportunities, protecting rights and guaranteeing citizenship for all without distinction of sex, nationality, religion and wealth.
Our primary objectives are to enhance the welfare system and and help to establish ethical pathways to social and work inclusion.
Our interventions are based on respecting differences, preventing and addressing all forms of intolerance, discrimination and xenophobia, and promoting peaceful coexistence. We do not see encounters between diversities as a problem, but rather a civil, economic and social opportunity.
Our work in the areas of the labour market, social exclusion, the social economy and basic services makes local development the means by which our mission will be achieved.
We consider the local community as a complex social entity whose active involvement in services and interventions is indispensable for the establishment and maintenance of solidarity and democratic processes.
We believe the cultural project and the promotion of beauty and art are vital for stable coexistence and collective wellbeing. We consider a gender perspective fundamental to our own activities and the management of internal and external relations.
Dedalus is committed to encouraging the participation of the cooperative’s members in its life and the growth. We nurture a sense of belonging, and we promote information and communication amongst our members, and workers’ professional development.
Dedalus has developed a particular interest in issues associated with migration over the past 20 years. We have undertaken research and innovative interventions intended to improve migrants’ social integration and access to work, with a focus on young people, women in difficulty and unaccompanied minors.
We have created low-threshold social protection services for non-EU prostitutes, we run information desks and “on call” mediation services and we manage shelters for women in difficulty. We also run projects for minors who are unemployed, marginalised or involved in crime, and we provide environmental education, pre-training, social support and job orientation services.
We also implement and supervise projects proposed by institutions and social enterprises active in the area.
To achieve our objectives we need to be an effective, horizontal and interactive organisation, and we have redefined our practices, protocols and functions to ensure this is the case.