This contribution is especially important when it comes to the social inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable communities like People of African Descent (PAD). The SSE plays a crucial role in the lives of People of African Descent. The SSE is where PAD find refuge and meet their economic and social needs. It is also where they actively contribute, through their Black Social Solidarity Economy (BSSE), to the economy and society (Hossein, 2017). However, the endeavors and contribu-tions of PAD in the SSE have not been recognized and well documented (Hossein, 2018), especially in the context of Europe. Furthermore, the potential of BSSE as a strategy in social work to foster social inclusion and empowerment of PAD has not been explored. The purpose of the research project is to identify and examine various organizations of the BSSE in Europe in relation to the concepts of social inclusion and empow-erment, eco-social innovation, and sustainability transition. The study has two major parts. The first part, which is being completed, is based on a systematic scoping re-view of studies about organizations of the BSSE and their contribution to the social inclusion, empowerment, and wellbeing of PAD in Europe. Here the aim is to exam-ine the overall state of research/ knowledge in this domain of study and systemati-cally map the evidence. The second part will be based on empirical multiple case studies of organizations of the BSSE found in Italy, Austria, and Germany. In this case, the aim is to investigate the characteristics and contribution of such organiza-tions vis-à-vis the concepts of eco-social innovation, sustainability transition, and social inclusion and empowerment. For the purpose of ECER, the author intends to present the results of the scoping review.

Elsen, S. (2018). Eco-Social Transformation and Community-Based Economy. Routledge. Hossein, C. S. (2017). A Black Perspective on Canada’s Third Sector: Case Studies on Women Leaders in the Social Economy. Journal of Canadian Studies, 51(3), 749–781. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs.2017-0040.r2 Hossein, C. S. (2018). Daring to Conceptualize the Black Social Economy. In C. S. Hossein (Ed.), The Black Social Economy in the Americas: Exploring Diverse Community-Based Markets (pp. 1–13). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60047-9_1