The paper addresses the contribution of Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) to improve the attractiveness of regions and local territories and the quality of the life of their citizens, as was illustrated at EXPO 2015 in Milan, in the KIP International School pavilion. LEDAs are special public-private participatory structures that support inclusive and sustainable local economic development. Currently, 71 LEDAs exist in Latin America, Africa, the Balkans, and Asia, and they are associated in the international ILS LEDA network.

The paper, after a brief description of these LEDAs and their performance, introduces 101 best practices for a better world by typology and topics of intervention, mainly regarding governance, food, environment, social inclusion and job creation, gender, finance and innovative technologies. At EXPO 2015, 8 of these best practices were awarded. The next section describes briefly the experiences awarded: a special guarantee fund for small businesses, an innovative miniaturised and mobile device for food processing, a social enterprise, an indigenous and peasant craft business,  an innovative program for business of students from universities and technical institutes, a support model for the diaspora, a quality label for women’s traditional food cooperatives, an environmental management and income generation initiative for a swampy zone.

The lesson learned is that at local level, bottom-up actions for making the territories more attractive are possible, provided that an intermediary instrument such a LEDA exists and is devoted to the welfare of the community.