I congressi internazionali di assistenza e protezione sociale. Milano nella circolazione internazionale dei saperi (sec. XIX)

During the 19th century a large number of international meetings and conferences regarding economic and social issues took place. To individuals and charities were given increasing opportunities to compare local and national experiences with foreign ideas and models. The circulation of social knowledge, scientific and operative, across the borders stimulated innovation in a sector that generally had been characterized by traditionalism and resistance to changes, and promoted the diffusion of a new welfare culture driving to a more efficient social care. The essay outlines the intensification of non diplomatic contacts as a relevant opportunity for the circulation of social models and techniques. It focuses on the early private initiatives, i.e. encounters and correspondences between individual and independent actors, driven to overpass domestic boundaries by scientific, economic, religious or humanitarian reasons. Afterwards the ties between non-governmental organizations emerged as a dynamic component of the ‘nébuleuse réformatrice’ in 19th-20th centuries Europe. After illustrating the development of international congresses on welfare, also through figures, the essay analyses the international meetings that took place in Italy and particularly in Milan.