Workshops
> WORK SESSION A (18 Oct. 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm)
> WORK SESSION B (18 Oct. 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm)
> WORK SESSION C (19 Oct. 10:45 am – 12:15 pm)
> WORK SESSION D (19 Oct. 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm)
> WORK SESSION E (18 Oct. 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm)
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WORK SESSION A (18 Oct. 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm)
Solidarity finance and trade
Workshop 1: Mutual companies and the social and solidarity economy
Download the report – Workshop A1
Regional Integration of Mutuals in the Americas
Organización de Entidades Mutuales de las Americas (ODEMA) (Americas)
Alfredo Sigliano, President of the board of directors, ODEMA and Daniel Lopez Villalba, ODEMA Uruguay
The presentation will cover the creation and evolution of ODEMA, a body that integrates and promotes mutuals in the Americas, and its work at building dialogue and procedures to improve joint mutualist action in the Americas. This consultation and collaboration between its members and with national governments and representatives of international institutions has yielded several benefits, in particular the inclusion of mutualism in national and international agendas, which involves a number of benefits for actors in the sector.
Disseminating Mutual Practices in Africa
Union Africaine de la Mutualité (Afrique)
Abdelmoula Abdelmoumni, President, UAM
The Union Africaine de la Mutualité (UAM) brings together mutual organizations in various African countries to spread awareness of mutual practices on the continent. The organization, its membership, its evolution and the actions and programs it currently carries out will be presented. The importance of African mutualism in the social and solidarity economy and in response to the millennium challenges in the key sectors of health, welfare and education among others will also be addressed. Finally, public policies in the region that have had the greatest impact on mutualism will be identified.
Solidarity Mutuals in Argentina
Asociación Mutual de Protección Familiar (Argentina)
Andres Roman, Director Legal Affairs, AMPF and ODEMA Coordinator and Maria Rosa Saenz Saralegui, Communications AMPF
The Mutual Association for Family Protection (AMPF) works to meet the basic needs of Argentineans and improve their quality of life. It also provides training on and raises awareness of mutualist principles and management in Argentina as well as with other mutuals belonging to ODEMA. What are the most urgent and most common needs of its partners? How do these affect the AMPF’s relationship with the public and private entities with which it interacts? What public initiatives have facilitated or hindered its growth?
- Download the presentation of Andres Roman -
- Download the presentation of Maria Rosa Saenz Saralegui-
Workshop 2: Improving Market Access for Products of the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop A2
Shea Butter in Mali: Organizing the Production and Sale of a Cash Crop
Coopérative des productrices de beurre de karité COPROKAZAN (Mali)
Seydou SAGNON Director, Association malienne pour la Promotion des Jeunes (AMPJ)
COPROKAZAN, a cooperative of producers of shea butter in Zantièbougou, is one of the main sources of revenue for inhabitants of the region and is made up mostly of women. The Malian government has recently begun a process to develop a national policy for the shea butter industry, and has made developing this industry one of Mali’s sustainable development priorities. How do cooperatives such as this reduce poverty among women, especially in rural areas? In practice, how does the cooperative ensure improved production and marketing? How can public policies support these operations?
Joining Together to Integrate the Production Chain in Brazil
Cooperativa Central Justa Trama (Brazil)
Nelsa Inês Fabian Nespolo, Director and President, Cooperativa Central Justa Trama
Justa Trama is a network of cooperatives working in the production chain, from the farming of cotton to the sale of finished products, through its clothing brand. The network is firmly committed to the equitable distribution of income and the protection of the environment. How was it founded? What are the advantages and challenges of this type of organization? How could this experience be replicated in other sectors or countries?
Public Support for the Marketing and Certification of Agroecological Production in Ecuador
Red Agroecológica del Austro (Ecuador)
Germán Patricio Bravo Vera, Master of Teaching with a specialization in Edu-communication, Technical assessor of the Red Agroecológica del Austro
Ecuador’s Austro-Sur Agro-ecological Network presents its territorial joint management process by the public and private sectors in support of the production, certification and marketing of agroecological products from small and medium rural producers through a short-circuit (producer-consumer) network of local markets. Local governments are involved in the marketing and the national government is involved in the guarantee system for agro-ecological production within the framework of the principles of food sovereignty, fair trade and solidarity economy.
Workshops 3: International Initiatives to Support the Social and Solidarity Economy
- Download the report – Workshop A3 -
Implementing a Central American Social and Solidarity Economy Project
COKOMAL (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica)
Miguel Alonzo Macías of Red Comal de Honduras and Yasy Morales Chacón of Consumo y Comunicación alternativa, Cokomal, Costa Rica
Cokomal (Aq’ab’al) The Central American Social and Solidarity Economy for Integral Development Company was founded last year by companies in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica with a strong social base that worked on common issues in order to develop joint cooperative projects to meet their needs. The two- year process to establish an autonomous Central American company which promotes solidarity and has a responsible vision of the future of the region will be described as well as the training, solidarity financing and solidarity management projects the company will take on.
Three Countries Cooperate to Fund and Support Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises in Mexico
Développement Solidaire International, FIDES ECOSOL (Mexico), Mondragon (Spain), European federation of finance and of ethical and alternative banks (FEBEA)
Claude Dorion, coordinator DSI, Jesús Campos Orozco, president FIDES ECOSOL, Fabio Salviato, president, FEBEA
A tri-national project has brought together four major actors: FIDES ECOSOL, a Mexican solidarity economy investment fund; Développement solidaire international, a Quebec-based international cooperation NGO; Mondragon, a Basque cooperative and FEBEA, the European Federation of Finance and Ethical Alternative Banks. The objective is to join together in order to be able to intervene financially in support of producer cooperatives up to $10 million initially. This medium-term commitment also seeks to act as a leverage to attract new Mexican and international partners. In parallel to this financial project, the partners have agreed to make their fund management and administrative management expertise available. They will provide technical assistance to help manage start-ups and businesses in development and recovery, especially in the social economy, notably by helping prepare business plans and funding applications. The presentation will cover how the project was put in place and the government and community organizations in the three countries that have enabled it to succeed.
- Download the presentation of Développement Solidaire International-
- Download the presentation of FIDES ECOSOL -
Building Prosperous Communities Through the Netherlands-Nicaragua Financial Circuit
Centro de Promoción del Desarrollo Local (CEPRODEL) (Nicaragua, Netherlands)
Miguel González Solórzano, President of the board of directors of CEPRODEL
This international cooperation project is based on the solidarity relationship between Dutch and Nicaraguan cities that promotes economic and cultural development. Among other things, the project includes the construction of financial guarantees for obtaining financing from Dutch banks, the implementation of housing and employment programs through support for cooperative housing and the creation of co-investment funds, and expansion of the municipal services offered in Nicaragua. The presentation will describe the creation of the project and its components, its perceived impacts and lessons learned to date.
Workshop 4: Financial Institutions Servicing the Social and Solidarity Economy
- Download the report – Workshop A4 -
Impact of Bolivia’s New Financial Policy on Microfinance Institutions
Fundación Fondo de Crédito Solidario (FONCRESOL) (Bolivia)
Gustavo Diez de Medina V. General Manager, FONCRESOL
Under Bolivia’s new political constitution, the State is the driver of economic development, which means that a new financial policy impacts the entire structure of the financial system. A process to regulate microfinance institutions has therefore begun. That process and its impact on the current status of solidarity finance institutions in the country, in particular the Fundación Fondo de Crédito Solidario (FONCRESOL) will be discussed.
Self-Management of Community Banks for the Democratization of Financial Resources in Argentina
Nuestras Huellas (Argentina)
Nicolas Meyer, Social Psychologist
Nuestras Huellas is a community bank in Buenos Aires. The organization provides loans as well as training, and helps its member entrepreneurs with their marketing. Community banks generate their own savings. Through them, the community also gains access to credit for health care, housing, education, etc. How is a community bank created and how does it grow in a challenging financial climate? Which public policies can help or hinder the consolidation and expansion of community banks?
How Financial Cooperatives in the United States have Coped with the Financial Crisis
National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Etats-Unis)
Clifford Rosenthal, President/CEO, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions
Community development credit unions (CDCUs) are financial cooperatives of the United States that specialize in serving low-income people, in particular minorities and immigrants in urban, rural, and reservation-based areas. Thanks in part to an investment by the federal government, CDCUs have survived and grown despite the deep financial crisis that has devastated low-income communities. The presentation will cover the effects of the crisis on low-income financial institutions, the impact of public-sector support, and the prospects for growth of the community development financial sector.
Funding Coffee Producers in Kenya
The Coffee Development Fund (CDF) (Kenya)
George O. Ooko, Managing Trustee, CDF
In Kenya, the coffee sub-sector is populated by smallholder farmers, who generate the greatest demand for credit and remain largely excluded from formal financial services. The Government of Kenya established the Coffee Development Fund, a financial institution dedicated to directing affordable and accessible credit to cooperatives of coffee farmers for farm development, inputs and operations. The presentation will discuss how this model has weathered past and emerging financing challenges along the coffee value chain, including the partnerships with grassroots financial institutions and mobile telephone operators to expand credit outreach, group lending approaches to overcome inadequate collateral among borrowers and bulk acquisition programs as a counter to high cost of inputs and procurement challenges.
Food security and sovereignty
Workshops 5: Public Policies on Food Security and Sovereignty in Supranational Areas
Download the report – Workshop A5
North America: Three Countries and Three Approaches to Food Sovereignty and Food Safety
Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec (UPA), international division (North America)
André Beaudoin, Secretary General, UPA
The mechanisms and policies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico regarding food safety and food sovereignty are different. This presentation will bring to light the fundamental differences between the three countries in this respect. It will promote a reflection on the policy directions on which the continent’s food safety is based, from production to consumption, and will attempt to identify the conditions that favour social and solidarity economy businesses.
Forming and Mobilizing Organizations in West Africa to Promote Food Security
Réseaux des organisations paysannes d’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA) (West Africa)
Djibo Bagna, President, ROPPA
The Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organizations of West Africa (known by its French acronym ROPPA) brings together organizations and advisory groups from ten West African nations. It seeks to strengthen its members’ ability to persuade their respective governments to improve rural families’ living and working conditions. What are the main challenges for food security in the region? What national and regional policies are considered exemplary?
Ensuring Food Security in South East Asia
Asia Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (DHRRA) (Asia)
Maria Elena Verdadero Rebagay, Senior Program Officer, DHRRA
The presentation will focus on the efforts of Asia DHRRA, a regional partnership of eleven social development networks and organizations in ten South East Asian nations, as well as other civil society organisation initiatives on food security at various levels (village, national, ASEAN). It will discuss both community-based initiatives focusing on small-scale producers (e.g. community food reserves initiatives, sustainable farming systems, etc) as well as advocacy work. What are the main challenges to food security encountered in this region? How have local, national and regional public bodies responded to these challenges and to the demands of civil society organisations?
Workshop 6: Reducing the Vulnerability of Women and Families to Food Insecurity through Collective Action: a Dream or a Reality?
Download the report – Workshop A6
Integrated Efforts to Strengthen Rural Working Women in Brazil
Diretoria de Políticas para Mulheres Rurais e Quilombolas (Brésil)
Isolda Dantas, General Coordinator of Land Access and Citizenship of Diretoria de Politicas para Mulheres Rurais e Quilombolas, Ministry of Agricultural Development of Brazil
Management of the Organização Produtiva de Mulheres Rurais is funded and supported by the Brazilian government and aims to implement public policy for rural women organizations. It coordinates groups at the national level, ensures women have access to public policies that support production and marketing, provides training in public policy, including the preparation of projects for partnerships, and funds studies on access and policies to support production and marketing. In addition, it consults with other projects to improve the access of productive groups of rural women.
Cooperatives of Women Rice Processors in Burkina Faso: Advocacy with Spinoffs
Comité interprofessionnel du riz au Burkina Faso (CIR-B) (Burkina Faso)
Jean-Pierre Yameogo, Vice-president, CIR-B
In Burkina Faso, imported rice competes fiercely with local rice. Thanks to a well organized and well-supported advocacy strategy, the Comité interprofessionnel du riz du Burkina Faso helped lobby the government to adopt a policy of purchasing processed rice produced locally by women who have formed social economy enterprises. The rice processing cooperatives were thereby able to develop, and have gained access to lucrative markets (food security reserves, school canteens, hospitals, and other public institutions).
Self-Managed Soup Kitchens: From the Right to Food to Impact on the Management of Social Programs
Federación de Mujeres Organizadas en Centrales de Comedores Autogestionarios de Lima Metropolitana (FEMOCCPAALM) (Peru)
Ana María Gil Arcaya, President FEMOCCPAALM
The Federation of Women Organized in Committees of Self-Managed Soup Kitchens of Metropolitan Lima (FEMOCCPAALM) combines over 1000 soup kitchens and over 30,000 organized women in Metropolitan Lima. The soup kitchens organized under FEMOCCPAALM at the neighbourhood, district and metropolitan levels are legally recognized as “grassroots social organizations”, together with other organizations devoted to feeding the community, and government support of their work has been secured. To what extent do the soup kitchens achieve food security for their members? What processes have been carried out to ensure that these women are recognized and heard by the public authorities? What have the results of this recognition and public support been so far?
WORK SESSION B (18 Oct. 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm)
Solidarity finance and trade
Workshop 1: Pension Funds and the Development of the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop B1
Orienting Investment to Promote Development in Peru
La Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (Peru)
Giovana Priale, Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP
The Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP is a public organization whose autonomy is recognized by the Constitution of Peru. The organization is in charge of regulating and supervising financial systems, insurances and private pension funds in order to preserve the interests of the depositories, the insured and its affiliates. It has promoted investment of pension funds in infrastructure, and in particular infrastructure to support small and medium enterprises What are the mechanisms that have been created in order to do so? What have been the effects on the Peruvian economy and society?
Des fonds d’investissement travailleurs au service du développement au Québec
Fondaction (Quebec), Fonds de solidarité FTQ (Quebec)
Léopold Beaulieu, President – General director, Fondaction, Mario Tremblay, Vice-President of public and corporate affairs, Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction are workers’ investment funds created and directed by Quebec labour unions. These funds allow workers to save for their retirement while preserving and creating jobs in Quebec through investments generally directed towards small and medium enterprises. They have become key economic actors and important investors in local funds and in social and solidarity enterprises. Their capitalization amounts to almost 8 billion dolllars (Fonds FTQ) and 1 billion dollars (Fondaction) respectively. How did these funds come to exist? What are their main challenges today? Which public policies oversee and support them?
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- Download the presentation of Mario Tremblay -
Workshops 2: Financial Innovations of the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop B2
Relevance and Challenges of Legal Foundations for NPO-Banks in Japan
Japan NPO-BANK Network (Japan)
Yuko Uehara, Auditor of Japan NPO-BANK Network
NPO-Banks in Japan are “non-profit banks of the civil society” founded to lend the funds provided voluntarily from ordinary people to Non-Profit Organisations (NPO), individuals and others who work for territories, welfare, environment-preservation and other activities. NPO-Banks have not been recognised as financial institutions despite the use of the word “Bank”, and face various difficulties because of the lack of legal foundation. The presentation highlights why emerging forms of organisations from civil society need legal bases and official recognition in order to operate effectively.
An Italian Ethical Banking Model Replicated Internationally
Banca Etica (Italy)
Uggo Biggeri, President, Banca Etica
Twelve years after its creation, Banca etica has achieved a social capital of over 31 million euros and counts over 35 thousand members. the institute finances over 4 700 social economy projects with a cumulated worth of over 645 million euros. How did the bank come to exist and what policies enabled its growth? What are the challenges the bank faces today?
A Solidarity Financing and Development Capital Network in Quebec
CAP Finance and Investissement Québec (Quebec)
Chantal Malo, Vice-President Coopératives and other social economy enterprises, Investissement Québec, Paul Ouellet, General Director, CAP finance
For more than 25 years, a series of financial innovations in Quebec has made a wide range of financial products available to social and solidarity economy enterprises through a variety of financial institutions. In 2010, these actors of solidarity financing and development capital formed a network called CAP Finance. For its part, Investissement Quebec, a governmental investment agency, has offered for several years financial products to collective enterprises. These public and collective actors will present the measures that led to their creation and the impact of this network on Quebec’s social economy and society.
- Download the presentation of Chantal Malo-
- Download the presentation of Paul Ouellet-
Workshop 3: Financial Institutions Servicing the Social and Solidarity Economy (2)
- Download the report – Workshop B3 -
Shared Risk with Producers’ Organizations: A Productive Microfinance Option in Bolivia
Pro-rural (Bolivia)
Flavio Ralde Laguna, director, Pro-rural
Pro-rural aims to develop productive microfinance programs to ensure methodological and technological progress in the Bolivian microfinance industry. It seeks to build rural investment funds out of producers’ organizations and transform them from productive players to financial players. Among other things, the presentation will illustrate the challenges of disseminating financial products in rural areas and will present the tools used by this model that is today part of the agenda of the Bolivian financial authority. It will show that it is possible to carry out productive, sustainable and rural microfinance programs in response to the food crisis through a combination of investment and credit instruments.
Designing and Offering Financial Instruments Adapted to Cooperative Economy Companies in Spain
Fundació Seira (Spain)
Miquel Miró, director, Fundació SEIRA
The SEIRA Foundation has conducted an in-depth analysis of over 400 cooperatives that provides details on the reality and needs of companies and that above all helps guide programs and instruments towards effectively responding to those needs. Its objectives are, on the one hand, to offer a view of the reality and challenges of work and service cooperatives in the financial economy, as well as the existing successful financial ventures arising from that environment. The presentation will cover the financial tools for cooperative companies that exist and the proposals for the future that are being considered as a result of the SEIRA Foundation’s actions.
A Savings Cooperative Serving the Community in Colombia
Cooperativa Latinoamericana de Ahorro y Credito Utrahuilca (Colombia)
Jose Ramiro Becerra Sterling, General manager, Utrahuilca
Utrahuilca is a savings and loans cooperative. In addition to solidarity financial intermediation services, Utrahuilca has a social foundation and a school that provides academic, social, cultural and political programs. Approximately 40% of families in the territory it covers have someone with direct links to the cooperative’s services and programs, and various partners supported by the solidarity cooperative have held elected office. Why, how and with what public support does a loans cooperative take on more responsibility and expand the role it plays in local development in its region?
Food Security and Sovereignty
Workshops 4: Recovering Land to Ensure Food Security and Sovereignty
Download the report – Workshop B4
Preserving Agricultural Land Use in France through Collective Tools
Terre de liens (France)
Marc Barny, Manager of the Rhône Alpes regional network, Terre de Liens
Terre de Liens, a national organization in France, mobilizes capital to ensure collective access to farmland in the common interest and to protect such land from financial speculation. This collective financial mobilization tool is useful in a number of situations, particularly when a farm is strategically located or configured. These mixed acquisition tools are another opportunity for elected officials to take concrete action on land use. To what extent do the initiatives of Terre de Liens ensure better food security for communities?
Reclaiming Idle Areas in São Paulo to Develop Urban Agriculture
Cidades sem fome (Brazil)
Hans Dieter Temp, Founder and Project Coordinator, Cidades sem Fome
Despite its urban nature, the city of São Paulo and its outskirts feature a large number of idle areas. These are both private and public areas that represent a major liability for the communities and the city, since they quickly devolve into illegal dumping grounds for garbage and debris, creating favourable conditions for illegal and disorderly house squatting. The aim of Cidades sem Fome is to develop community gardens to provide disadvantaged communities with job opportunities, job training and generation of income through the marketing of products produced by the project participants.
Workshop 5: Improving National Food Security through Public Policy and the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop B5
The Cooperative’s Resistance and its Response to the Food Crisis in Morocco
La coopérative Copag (Morocco)
Youssef Alaoui Solaimani, Ex-General director, Copag
In spite of the difficulties experienced by the Moroccan agricultural and cooperative sectors, the Copag cooperative is today a reliable asset and a true heavyweight in the regional solidarity economy. In these uncertain conditions, how does the cooperative manage to enhance the socio economic condition of its members and its region, create adequate and sustainable jobs, and meet the food needs of the community? What are the public policies that have supported its growth?
Food Safety and Food Sovereignty in Canada: Co-operatism and Public Policy Have Proven Themselves
Coalition pour la souveraineté alimentaire (Canada), Coopérative fédérée (Québec)
Christian Lacasse, President, Coalition pour la souveraineté alimentaire and Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec, Denis Richard, President, Coopérative fédérée
Agricultural cooperatives play a major role in food processing in Quebec. The food this sector transforms has been feeding the country for a number of decades, in spite of market globalization. For example, Agropur, a dairy cooperative, and Coopérative fédérée, a cooperative specializing in the processing and marketing of agri-food products, remain major players in their respective markets. These cooperatives benefit from certain institutional arrangements (in particular from the legislation on the marketing of agricultural products and from supply management), by obtaining a guaranteed supply of staple foodstuffs and a guaranteed market for processed products at the domestic level. The presentation will promote a better understanding of these arrangements.
Workshops 6: Farmers and the Consumer Movement: a Reconcilable Vision in Food Security and Sovereignty? (the workshop will be in the form of a debate)
Download the report – Workshop B6
A Strategy to Increase the Income of Peanut Producers in Senegal
Cadre de Concertation des Producteurs d’Arachide (CCPA) (Senegal)
Sidy Ba, Secretary General, CCPA
The CCPA represents 7,000 Senegalese peanut producers, organized in multi-village collectives that produce certified seeds, process peanuts into oil and peanut paste, and market these products. The privatization of this important agricultural sector led the CCPA to enter into fast-paced discussions with the government and large corporations to advocate for pricing and volumes that protect producers’ interests. Several diversification initiatives made it possible to develop small cooperatives that have increased local spinoffs in a context where Senegalese consumers have limited purchasing power
Wholesome Food and Accessible Food Products for Consumers in Japan
The Seikatsu Club Consumers’ co-operative Movement Group (Japan)
Ms Yangja Suh, the Seikatsu Club Consumers’ co-operative Movement Group
Since 1968, the Seikatsu Club regroups members of consumer cooperatives that have been purchasing food items directly from producers in order to obtain wholesome food at fair prices. Sustainable development is at the heart of their activities. Today, the 350,000 members, of which over 95% are women, have extended their activities beyond food purchasing. Moreover, the members created a non-partisan political action movement that has 140 elected representatives at the municipal level. What criteria are used in their purchasing of food items? What relationship do they maintain with producers? What are their demands of the state?
WORK SESSION C (19 Oct. 10:45 am – 12:15 pm)
Innovation and Collective Entrepreneurship
Workshop 1: The Social and Solidarity Economy in Response to Basic Needs: Housing
Download the report – Workshop C1
Ensuring the Right to Housing in Quebec through Community Housing
Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec, la Confédération des coopératives d’habitation du Québec, la Fédération des OBNL en habitation du Québec and la Société d’habitation du Québec (Quebec)
René Chamberland, Director, Direction de l’habitation sociale of the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) and Marcellin Hudon, Coordinator, Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec (AGRTQ)
For more than 30 years, community housing has been the preferred means in Quebec for ensuring the right to housing. A cornerstone of public policy, cooperatives and associations provide adequate and affordable housing to thousands of people. How is this form of organization more beneficial and more stable? How has the social economy come to play this role and what policies have supported these actions?
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- Download the presentation of Marcellin Hudon -
Providing Permanently Affordable Housing in the United States
Champlain Housing Trust (USA)
Michael Monte, Director of Operations and Finance, Champlain Housing Trust
The Champlain Housing Trust is a community land trust that develops and supports rental housing, shared-equity homeownership, cooperative housing. It also offers financial counselling and home repair loans in order to provide permanently affordable, safe, and decent housing to families and individuals with low to moderate incomes in the United States. The presentation will discuss what public policy contributed to the success of this model and why it is considered innovative, sustainable and transferable.
Building a Framework Favourable to Cooperative Members and Sustainable Development in Senegal
Union régionale des coopératives de construction et d’habitat de Thiès (URCCHT), Senegal
Maty Ndoye, President, URCCHT
The Union régionale des coopératives de construction et d’habitat de thiès represents 65 cooperatives that support their 4 800 cooperative members in their steps to create social eal-estate and a dignified life by taking charge of their services at the community level. In addition to developing intercooperative solidarity, they work with authorities to avoid the anarchic development of cities by enabling the regular, programmed and successful occupation of space by social and rural housing.
Workshops 2: The Role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in Developing and Managing Natural Resources
Download the report – Workshop C2
Experiences of Community Managed Forests
Federation Of Community Forestry Users (FECOFUN) (Nepal) BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) (Canada)
Bharati Pathak, Treasurer FECOFUN and Susan Mulkey, Manager, Communication and Extension, BCCFA
The Federation of Community Forestry Users of Nepal (FECOFUN) represents 12,500 forestry user groups which account for a third of the population of the country. It is the most important civil society organisation in Nepal. The British Columbia Community Forest Association (BCCFA) represents 50 forestry user groups across the province, representing aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities. This joint presentation will discuss the advantages of community management of forests, the challenges these groups face, and the policies that support them.
Citizen Wind-Turbine Cooperatives in Belgium
SAW-B, solidarité des alternatives wallonnes et bruxelloises (Belgium)
Jean-Francois Mitsch, Administrator of the citizen cooperative wind-turbine “Zero Emissions” and Administrator and member of fédération belge des coopératives éoliennes RESCOOP
A “citizen wind turbine” is a wind turbine built by a cooperative and owned through shares by local residents seeking to re-appropriate a source of available energy, though local municipalities can also be partners. This means creating solid structures, marshalling the necessary funds, and obtaining a permit. In Belgium, municipalities, called communes, are increasingly getting involved in wind-turbine cooperatives, for several reasons: the primary motivation is to prioritize renewable energy sources, but the desire to lay the foundations of energy self-sufficiency is also prominent.
Successful Resource Management and Exploitation in Indonesia
Bina Swadaya Konsultan Community Investment Programme (CIP) (Indonesia)
A. Irawati Hermantyo, President and PT director, Bina Swadaya
The Bina Swadaya Konsultan Community Investment Program (CIP) aims to increase the capacity of communities to manage their environmental resources in a sustainable manner through the empowerment of groups and local resources management. What are the challenges for communities to exploit their natural resources in an environmental and economically sustainable way? What role must other stakeholders play in order to support these activities?
Workshop 3: The Contribution of the Social and Solidarity Economy to the Quality of Life of Communities presided by Sonia Vaillancourt, Development director, Conseil quebecois du loisir
- Download the report – Workshop C3 -
The Role of the Social Economy in Supporting Families and Young Children in Quebec
Réseau des Centre de ressources périnatales (CRP) (Quebec), Association québécoise des centres de la petite enfance (AQCPE) (Quebec)
Louise Boucher, General Manager, réseau des CRP, and Jean Robitaille, Director General, AQCPE and a representative of the Quebec Ministry of Family
Social economy enterprises play a central role in supporting families and preschoolers in Quebec, and their work is supported by public policy. Quebec’s network of day-care centres (CPEs), which brings together 220,000 children and 40,000 workers, and its network of perinatal resource centres (CRPs), combine educational, social and community missions. They strive for universality, accessibility and quality, and they recognize parents’ roles and strengths. They have helped build the government policies that apply to them. These networks are innovators in designing and delivering services to Quebec families and in shaping their own associational and business development.
Innovations for Domestic Workers in China
Easy Home Service (China)
Timothy Ma, Executive Director, Senior Citizen Home Safety Association
The Senior Citizen Home Safety Association of Hong Kong developed several innovative ways to improve the likelihood of being hired, the wages and the retention rates of trained domestic workers. The presentation will describe the economic and policy environment in which domestic service associations operate and the innovative mechanisms and information & communication technology put into place to ensure decent and active employment for domestic workers in Hong Kong SAR, China.
Workshops 4: Role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in the Integration of Excluded Individuals
- Download the report – Workshop C4 -
Encouraging Collective Entrepreneurship in Immigrant Communities of Berlin
BEST (Germany)
Heike Birkhölzer, Director BEST
BEST, a development agency for social and neighbourhood enterprises of Berlin, offers training and support to immigrants starting up their own companies. Local agreements with public bodies are necessary to ensure the sustainable development of these social enterprises that is not dependent on subsidies. The presentation will identify the expectations of these entrepreneurs and those of the organisations that represent them before regional and national authorities.
A Prisoners’ Producer Cooperative in Ethiopia
Prisonners Cooperative of the city of Mekelle (Ethiopia)
Jürgen Schwettmann, Deputy Regional Director for Africa, ILO Regional Office for Africa
The Mekelle prison has put in place a training and production program that provides prisoners with new skills and enables them to generate their own income. The project innovates on three fronts: the prisoners are encouraged to form producers’ cooperatives that they manage themselves and are run by democratically elected leaders; these cooperatives establish direct commercial relations with the “outside world” without interference from the prison administration; once released, the former inmates may remain members of the cooperatives and continue working with them. The process of implementing this program, its benefits and the extent to which it could be replicated elsewhere will be presented.
Vulnerable Youth and Employment: How to Provide Better Skills Training for Labour Market in Vietnam
Hoa Sua School of Economics and Tourism (Vietnam)
Pham Thi Vy. Founder and director, Hoa Sua School of Economics and Tourism
The presentation by the Hoa Sua Vocational School, a not-for-profit training enterprise, will give an overall picture of the current state of vocational training and employment in Vietnam. It will describe its successful and comprehensive vocational education model to prepare poor and vulnerable Vietnamese youth for meaningful employment in key sectors in Vietnam through collaboration with partners from civil society, industry and government. The objective is to explore the dynamic interaction between education, policy and practice, highlighting the challenge of sustaining this model and expanding it to other schools and sectors in Vietnam.
Workshop 5: New Technologies and Communications of the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop C5
Actions and Tools to Increase the Visibility of the Social and Solidarity Economy in Spain
Red de Economía Alternativa y Solidaria (REAS Navarra) (Spain)
Carlos Rey, Technical Secretariat REAS
The Red de Economía Alternativa y Solidaria has various projects underway, amongst which a social auditing project for the building of a solidarity map, a web portal to inform, present and give visibility to the solidarity economy movement and other movements related to it, and the organisation of a common market. REAS also works to integrate the media coverage of the solidarity economy locally. The presentation will highlight the most useful tools in this respect, and the main challenges for these types of initiatives that aim at improving the coordination and visibility of the social economy in a territory, as well as the public initiatives that can contribute to these efforts.
Freeware: Information Tools Adapted to the Social Economy’s Needs
Association Internationale du Logiciel Libre (Ai2L) (France, Quebec)
Bastien Sibille, PhD, General Coordinator, Ai2L
Computer applications have become central to all activities in the social and solidarity economy’s activities, yet they are rarely adapted to the sector’s needs. This presentation will discuss the challenges of creating software adapted to the management of social and solidarity economy structures, and in particular the central issue of financing, which must involve specific public policies and software development projects in order to engage public actors. The reasons for choosing freeware licences to protect software will also be explained: What types of economic models do these licences create? How do they help disseminate the software throughout the sector in a way that promotes solidarity? By ensuring that software developed using public funds cannot be privatized, are licences better adapted to public financing?
Mapping the International Social Economy
Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy (RIPESS)
Jason Nardi, RIPESS Europe, ItalyDaniel Tygel, RIPESS-LAC, Brazil
With the growth of the organization of Social and Solidarity economy in different countries, the capacity of publicizing and sharing information about of SSe initiatives has also grown, through mapping initiatives, constructions of databases, systems of information and internet portals. Unfortunately, this information is still restricted to each network. this international initiative, begun in 2008, has brought together the heads of 10 SSenetworks from different countries to create global standards and achieve economic and thematic intercommunication among national SSe information systems. The presentation will also discuss the next steps and procedures for other national networks to join the initiative, and will present a first prototype of a global interactive map of SSe initiatives in ten countries, called eSSGLoBaL
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Workshop 6: Experiences of the Social and Solidarity Economy in Indigenous Environments
Download the report – Workshop C6
Quebec’s Native Friendship Centre Movement chooses the Social Economy
Carole Lévesque, Co-Director, ARUC:ODENA and Director, Dialog network and Professor, Institut national de recherche scientifique / Édith Cloutier, Co-Director, ARUC:ODENA, President, Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec and Director of the Centre d’amitié autochtones de val d’or / Conrad Saulis, Director of Policies, National Association of Friendship Centers
In light of new trends, the Native Friendship Centre Movement of Quebec has prioritized the social economy as a development model in view of its compatibility with First Nations’ traditional and contemporary values. Moreover, the social economy has become the cornerstone of an effective strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion. To promote the social, cultural and economic development of Quebec’s Aboriginal population, the Native Friendship Centres of the province have joined forces as part of a shift toward the social economy. What were the arguments on which this decision was based? What benefits have been noted since? In what ways did public policies support this choice?
Income-Generating Options Developed in the Quilombola Territory: Tourism and Showcasing Culture
Associaçao de Moradores do Campinho (AMOQC) (Brazil)
Vagner do Nascimento, Quilombola et Président, AMOQC
The Associação de Moradores do Campinho works with 12 Quilombola, caiçara and indigenous communities to showcase the local community. Thus, the communities’ agricultural production, fish, recipes, crafts, stories, songs and dances are featured in our community-based tourism proposal, reviving the traditional way of life and providing income-generating opportunities thereby encouraging people to stay in the area. Cultural products are based on retrieving and recovering local knowledge, traditions, arts, and especially the practices of these communities. The goal is to enable these communities to protect their environment, improve the services provided and ensure fairer and more respectful relations between tourists and traditional communities.
Local Development that Strengthens the Campesino and Indigenous Communities
Oxfam Bolivia (Bolivia)
José Marcelo Arandia Alarcon, Director, Medios de Vida program, Oxfam
The Productive Economic Proposal for the Northern Amazonian Region of Bolivia promoted by the Centre for Research on and Promotion of Campesino Affairs (CIPCA North) is based on the implementation of agroforestry systems, the diversification of productive economic activities, reforestation, natural resource management and organized processing and marketing. It works to improve the living conditions of rural families in a sustainable manner and to thus contribute to the organizational, political, economic and cultural strengthening of indigenous people and local farmers, and help build a democratic, fair and intercultural Bolivia. What challenges have been encountered in implementing this program? To what extent can or should the State support this initiative? What lessons can be learned from this proposal?
Affirming and promoting the rights and development of the Inuit of Nunavik
Makivik Corporation
Charles Dorais, Makivik Corporation
Makivik, which in Inuktitut means “ To Rise Up,” is an organization mandated to protect the rights, interests and financial compensation provided by the first comprehensive Inuit land claim in Canada in 1975. The Corporation’s distinct mandates ranges from owning and operating large profitable business enterprises and generating jobs; to social economic development, improved housing conditions, to protection of the Inuit language and culture and the natural environment. Makivik’s work has demonstrated that modern aboriginal treaties or land claim settlements can benefit all partners, governments and Inuit, and that the social economy is an important part of Inuit social and economic development.
WORK SESSION D (19 Oct. 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm)
Work and Employment
Workshop 1: Action for private and public Corporate Social Responsibility Measures as a Contribution to the Social and Solidarity Economy and Decent Employment
Download the report – Workshop D1
Unions Working Toward Decent Working Conditions
International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) (South America)
Luis Alejandro Pedraz, Member of the Latin American Executive Committee, IUF
By definition, a social and solidarity economy enterprise is founded upon a social mission and social responsibilities. This is not the case for private businesses, whose primary goal is profit. What role do unions play in ensuring that private businesses meet their social responsibilities (e.g., compliance with labour and environmental standards), including when they subcontract or conduct business transactions in industries like agri food? What role can public policy play?
Encouraging Businesses to be Socially Responsible
La Coalition québécoise contre les ateliers de misère (CQCAM) (Quebec)
Renaud Ledoux, Coordinator, CQCAM
Sweatshops are factories or manufacturing workshops that do not respect labour and environment standards. They operate in the developed and developing world. Working conditions are wretched and labour rights are systematically abused. CQCAM brings together Quebec union organizations, student associations and NGOs. What actions has CQCAM taken to fight against the purchase of sweatshop-made products and, more generally, to encourage businesses to be socially responsible? What are the strategies to be adopted in order to bring about procurement policies that encourage social economy businesses? How can public policies support these initiatives?
Corporate Social Responsibility: Social and Solidarity Economy on the Frontline
Association des Employeurs de l’Économie Sociale (AEES), France
Emmanuel Boutterin, President, AEES
Corporate social responsibility is one of the essential axes in the governance of production and service units, regardless of size. In an economically unstable world, the social
and solidarity economy must reinforce its capacities in order to be exemplary in its management of internal matters with employees, and its external relationships with citizens, users and clients. Only by respecting this development imperative will the social and solidarity economy be of universal value.
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The Effect of Government Purchasing Policies on the Social Economy
Social Business International (SBI)
Jonathan Bland, Managing Director, SBI, and ex-General Director of Social Enterprise Coalition UK
The British government has adopted procurement policies that specifically target social enterprise. Under what conditions were these policies put into place? What kinds of enterprises have most benefited from these policies and what have been their effect on the social economy in general? What are some of the most important challenges for social enterprises when bidding for and carrying out government contracts?
Workshop 2: Working Conditions in Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises
presided by the Groupe national pour l’amélioration des conditions de travail en économie sociale (Quebec)
Download the report – Workshop D2
Working Conditions in Brazilian Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises
Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) (Brazil)
One of the defining goals of social economy enterprises is to defend the priority of people and labour over capital in the distribution of surpluses and revenues. What assessment does the CUT, one of the foremost Brazilian unions, make of the working conditions in social and solidarity economy enterprises in Brazil? What role do unions play in promoting decent work within these enterprises?
Working Conditions and Motivation in the Social and Solidarity Economy: Conclusions from Experiences in Geneva
Chambre genevoise de l’ESS, Haute École de Gestion de Genève (Switzerland)
Christophe Dunand, Lecturer, Haute Ecole de Gestion de Genève and General Director, Réalise
The goal of this presentation is to use examples from the experience in Geneva in order to show how the study of social and solidarity economy enterprise management makes it possible to identify important innovations that benefit the management of all businesses and public services. Participation, independence, values and cooperation promote well being and motivation. Moreover, other practices actively engaged in by social and solidarity economy enterprises, such as promoting mild exercise and a healthy diet, contribute directly to worker health. What initiatives (especially government initiatives) help support and widen the reach of these experiences with a view to implementing sustainable management practices?
Supporting the Community Employment Sector in Australia
Jobs Australia Ltd (Australia)
David Thompson, CEO, Jobs Australia Ltd.
Jobs Australia is the national network for non-profit organisations that assist unemployed people to get and keep jobs. The network helps members to make the most effective use of their resources and promotes the needs of unemployed people for the services and support that will help them to participate fully in society. It is the largest network of employment and related service providers in Australia and is funded and owned by its members. How did such an organisation come into existence? How does it fit into the government’s employment strategies? What impact has it has on working conditions in the social economy?
A Pension Plan for Workers in Quebec’s Social and Solidarity Economy
Régime de retraite par financement salarial des groupes associatifs et de femmes (Quebec)
Marie Leahey, Coordinator General, Régime de retraite des groupes communautaires et de femmes
The Régime de retraite par financement salarial des groupes associatifs et de femmes is a group pension plan created by Quebec associations and women’s groups. It seeks to provide income security upon retirement for salaried employees, and in particular women, in the social and solidarity sector. By matching or exceeding employee contributions, the plan helps employers ensure that their workers can count on a much higher income when they retire. This makes it useful in attracting and retaining workers in this sector. The project shows that women’s groups, social economy enterprises and non-profit organisations in the cultural sector can be responsible employers, and it reflects the government’s willingness to amend existing legislation so that an innovative tool, adapted to the needs of a specific sector, can be implemented.
Workshop 3: Cooperatives: A Means to Revive Businesses and Ensure Job Security
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“Recuperated Enterprises” in Argentina
Associacion Nacional de Trabajadores Autogestionados (ANTA/CTA) (Argentina)
Mario Barrios, Secretary General, ANTA/CTA
The severe economic crisis that affected Argentina in the early 2000s caused a significant number of private businesses to shut down. Some were literally abandoned by their owners. A large movement of affected workers and unions “recuperated” these closed or abandoned businesses to preserve production capacity and save jobs. How did the cooperative model revive these businesses and sustain viable jobs? What conclusions can we draw from these recuperated enterprises?
Public Policy for Strong Worker Co-operatives: Including as an Option for Business Succession
International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal and Service Producers’ Cooperatives (CICOPA) (North America)
Alain Bridault, Executive Committee Member, CICOPA
Worker Co-operatives and related models are an excellent option for small and medium-sized enterprises without successors, especially in rural communities – in addition to being a model uniquely suited to the challenges of the 21st century. Federations of worker co-operatives throughout North America are in the process of writing a joint public policy platform for advocacy with governments throughout Quebec, the rest of Canada, and the United States. The presentation will discuss the potential of the worker co-op model as well as the jointly agreed public policy platform of the North American worker co-operative movement.
The Role of Public Institutions and Policies in Enabling Cooperatives in Mexico
Consejo Mexicano de Empresas de la Economía Solidaria, Mexico
Federico Luis Pöhls Fuentevilla, Executive Director, Consejo Mexicano de Empresas
de la Economía Solidaria
Mexico has a long tradition of collective mobilisation and political institutions that recognize
this reality. How have cooperatives ensured job security in Mexico? In what way have
the institutions and attitudes of the State had an impact on the creation and development
of cooperatives in the country?
Territories and Local Development
Workshop 4: Accompanying Structures of Local Collective Businesses presided by France Joubert, President, Centre Européen de Ressources des Groupements d’Employeurs (Europe)
Download the report – Workshop D4
A Network to Support Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises in Quebec
Association des centres locaux de développement du Québec (CLD) (Quebec), Fédération des cooperatives de développement regional du Québec (CDR) (Quebec)
Janvier Cliche, General Director, Coopérative de développement régional de l’Estrie, Jacques Fiset, General Director, Centre local de développement de Québec
Several complementary structures encourage and support social economy enterprises in Quebec’s regions. Regional development cooperatives (CDRs) support the creation of new cooperatives and the preservation and creation of sustainable jobs. Local development centres (CLDs), which foster local economic development and support entrepreneurship, provide technical and financial assistance to social and solidarity economy projects and their proponents. How did these structures come to exist? What impact is this support network having on the ground? How are government authorities involved in their work?
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Organizing to Obtain Recognition and Support from Public Authorities in Argentina
Espacio Nacional de Economía Social y Solidaria (UNEM) (Argentina)
Francisco Celia, Social Entrepreneur and member of UNEM
The Espacio Nacional de Economía Social y Solidaria (ENESS) regroups NGOs of different profiles and goals, linked to or created by productive enterprises that share a commitment to developing and consolidating the social economy. The organization’s experience illustrates the challenges faced when working for recognition and collaboration with national authorities in the creation of a structure to support social enterprises.
State Policy to Foster the Solidarity Economy in the State of Minas Gerais: Conflict and Areas of Convergence in the Creation of Work- and Income-Generating Activities
Política Estadual de fomento à Economia Solidária no Estado de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Bianca Aparecida Lima Costa, PhD candidate in Social Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
This presentation describes the experience of creating the State Policy to Foster the Solidarity Economy developed in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This initiative gained national recognition for being among the first to be developed as a specific piece of legislation to support solidarity economy initiatives based on the mobilization of the social movement, organized in forums and working in coordination with legislators. The goal is to present the State’s role in fostering the Solidarity Economy and the active participation of the social movement, especially the Fórum Estadual in the demand for public policy.
Workshop 5: Young People and the Development of the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop D5
A Dialogue Between the State and the Social and Solidarity Economy to Promote the Socio Economic Integration of Youth in Mali
Association Jeunesse Action AJA Mali (Mali)
Souleymande Sarr, Executive Director and co-Founder, AJAMALI
For a number of years, the emergence of professional organizations that bring together a number of operators from the social and solidarity economy has encouraged a meaningful exchange with the government of Mali. This has allowed the social and solidarity economy sector to better structure itself and make significant contributions to resolving the issue of youth integration. The government has, for its part, made youth employment its key priority and has started the Programme pour l’emploi des jeunes to help youth find employment. What advances have taken place in practice? What have been the most effective public policies in this respect?
Encouraging and Promoting the Place of Youth in the Social and Solidarity Economy of France
Programme JEUN’ESS (France)
Alain Philippe, President, Fondation du Groupe Macif and President of the Enlistment Committee of Programme Jeun’ESS
The program Jeun’ESS pour l’économie sociale et solidaire is the result of a partnership between the French government and six social and solidarity economy businesses and organizations. The goal of the program is to facilitate the growth and development of socio economic initiatives among youth. How was this partnership developed? What are the benefits of this program for the parties involved? What have been the results of this program to date? What lessons can other countries learn from this experience?
A Youth Social and Solidarity Economy Partnership in Aboriginal Communities
Jaime Alberto Trejo de la Cruz, Coordinador of Productive Projects, Segretariado de los pueblos y la cultura indigena, Chiapas, Mexico / Jesús Caridad Aguilar Muñoz, Secretary, Segretariado de los pueblos y la cultura indigena, Chiapas, Mexico / Martin Gemme, Project officer, Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec / Marie-Pierre Lainé, Youth Development Agent, Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec (RCAAQ)
For the past two years, youth from Quebec’s Native Friendship Centres have been visiting social economy enterprise projects in Chiapas, a region in Mexico with a large indigenous population. These missions have helped improve understanding of the impacts of globalization on various indigenous populations in the Americas, but also allow these youth establish a position as actors who can influence this phenomenon. What were the objectives and impacts of these missions? How do these young people envision the development of our communities? How can governments support these kinds of initiatives?
Workshop 6: The Social and Solidarity Economy to Revitalize Territories
Download the report – Workshop D6
Collective Strategies for Community Development in Alta de Lisboa, Portugal
Grupo Communitário de Alta de Lisboa (Portugal)
Vanessa Duarte de Sousa, Masters in planning, PhD candidate in Sociology – DINAMIA/ CET
The Alta de Lisboa, Lisbon’s Alta neighborhood, is a community rife with tensions. It also features a local Community Group that has worked with over 30 partner organizations, from local grassroots organizations to public institutions in health care, education, environment and housing. This group has various priorities, which were jointly developed in line with the partners’ profiles and focus on an extensive range of public-private partnerships, aimed at fostering sustainable and active community involvement and participation This action is an example of the opportunities for coordination between the traditional forms of economy and employment, coupled with new challenges arising from the social and solidarity economy. The process shows that citizens are willing to actively participate in building their city and their neighborhoods.
Pooling Capital for Community Investments in Nova Scotia
Community Economic Development Investment Funds (Canada)
Chris Payne, Senior Advisor, Evaluation of Finance and Private Sector Initiatives, government of Nova Scotia
Businesses in Nova Scotia find it difficult to access venture capital and this has an effect on the development of the community as a whole. Community Economic Development Investment Funds pool capital of individuals within a defined community through the sale of shares in order to operate or invest in local business. These pools are developed within the community. The program aims to increase the amount of capital reinvested in the province, and thereby stimulate new ventures and entrepreneurship. What kind of public support is needed for the successful creation, management and proliferation of these funds?
An Integrated Community Development Program in Benin
CBDIBA-GBESS (Benin)
Patrice Lovesse, Director General, CBDIBA
The Programme de développement communautaire intégré de CBDIBA GBESS has been implementing social and solidarity economy structures such as micro-insurance associations for the health sector, group agricultural businesses, and savings and credit organizations. How does the village development committee work together with state structures? How were development priorities established? How are the most disadvantaged populations (women and children) reached? What are the limits and benefits of this type of mobilization?
WORK SESSION E (18 Oct. 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm)
Work and Employment
Workshop 1: Ensuring Decent Working Conditions in the Informal Economy
Download the report – Workshop E1
Promoting Decent Work in Africa’s Informal Economy
CSI Africa (Africa)
Yaovi Beleki (Adrien) Akouete, Deputy Secretary General, CSI Africa
In a number of African countries, the vast majority of jobs are in the informal economy. According to the ILO, these jobs are characterized by inadequate working conditions, and workers generally do not benefit from any social welfare programs. Can social economy initiatives within the informal economy contribute meaningfully to promoting decent work? What roles can unions and ITUC-Africa play?
Achieving Recognition for Homebased Workers in Southeast Asia
Homenet Southeast Asia (Asia)
Josephine C. Parilla, homebased worker and elected member, Homenet SEA Subregional Council and Executive Committee; Poonsap Tulaphan , Homenet Thailand
Homenet Southeast Asia, a network of homebased workers -mostly women- in seven countries, works within the solidarity economy framework to provide coherence to the various national homenets’ initiatives from the ground up. Different projects are currently underway in each country. Realizing that these grassroots initiatives must also translate into policy, homebased and other informal workers strive to achieve visibility and voice at national and ASEAN levels. They advocate for social protection for all, occupational safety and health, environmental sustainability, and gender equity in the work place. The presentation will cover the best practices of this network and discuss their achievements and challenges in obtaining recognition and support from local, national and regional governments.
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Facilitation the Development of Agriculture and Food Workers in Haïti
Association des Paysans de Vallue (APV), Haïti
Abner Septembre, Director, Institutional Relations, APV
In 1997, the association des Paysans de vallue (APV) of Haiti launched an agriculture and food transformation initiative that became a cooperative aimed at mobilising peasants from different communities of vallue and its surroundings, particularly women (90 %). Members contribute human, financial and physical capital and in exchange receive training and participate in small groups in the production or transformation process under the supervision of appropriate personnel. Their products are commercialised by APV on the regional markets of the capital, in particular in supermarkets and large hotels. The activity creates jobs, teaches new working methods and creates a sense of belonging and pride amongst members. What are the conditions of success of such a project? Which public initiatives aided in its creation and its development?
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Workshop 2: Human Resource Development in the Social and Solidarity Economy: An Essential Factor for Enterprises’ Vitality
Download the report – Workshop E2
A Partnership to Develop the Social and Solidarity Economy Workforce in Quebec
Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre économie sociale et action communautaire (Quebec) and Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (Quebec)
Louise Miller, Executive Committee member and founding member, CSMO-ÉSAC
The Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (CPMT) is a workforce consultation body whose mandate is to promote the development and recognition of labour skills in Quebec through partnerships. It created the Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre économie sociale et action communautaire (CSMO-ÉSAC) to meet the common needs of enterprises and agencies in the social economy and community action sector. By forming CSMO-ÉSAC, the CPMT has helped develop the social economy by formally recognizing the specific nature of the sector and giving it more power to shape the development of its workforce. A member of CSMO-ÉSAC’s board and a CPMT representative will jointly discuss the public policy that enabled such a contribution to the social economy.
Skills Management in a Belgian Social Economy Enterprise
Société Coopérative Proxemia (Belgium)
Eric Bernard, Managing Director, Proxemia and Charlotte Moreau, Researcher, Centre d’économie sociale de l’Université de Liège
Proxemia, a cooperative enterprise, offers domestic help services and works to achieve social integration through economic integration. To that end, skills management has proven critical: it is essential not only for an enterprise to run smoothly, but also to mobilizing workers and ensuring a competitive edge in this particular market. This joint presentation by Proxemia and the Centre d’économie sociale de l’Université de Liège will describe their attempts to better define, assess and manage workers’ skills in the social economy, and the government initiatives that support them.
Training Initiatives for Solidarity Economy Educators in Brazil
Projeto do Centro de Formaçao para Economia Solidaria Nacional (CFES) (Brazil)
Maria Isabel Rodrigues Lima, Representative, CFES
The Centros de Formação em Economia Solidária (CFESs) are spaces dedicated to training solidarity economy educators who come from enterprises, advisory organizations and public administration. Their educational practice is based on the principles of self-management and public education. How were these centres created and what partnerships were necessary to do so? What are the objectives of the CFESs? What impact have they had on the solidarity economy in Brazil, and what do they expect of the government today?
Workshop 3: Job Insertion Through the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop E3
Social Integration in Switzerland and Quebec: Similarities, Differences and Best Practices
Conseil romand de l’insertion par l’économique (Switzerland), Services publics cantonaux (Switzerland), Collectif des entreprises d’insertion du Québec (Québec), Emploi-Québec (Québec)
Richard Gravel, General Director, Collectif des entreprises d’insertion du Québec, Laura Venchiarutti-Tocmacov, Director, Association Pro-Jet, Jean-Claude Pittet, Director, Fondation Le Relais, Caroline Choisselet, Consultant team use external resources, Direction des mesures et services aux entreprises et aux partenaires externes, Emploi-Québec
This presentation will discuss social integration enterprises in Quebec and Switzerland in order to highlight the benefits and drawbacks of the existing partnerships between these organizations and government authorities. Among other things, these partnerships account for the differences in the perception of unfair competition with the private sector, the organizations’ management independence and innovative capacity, inter-institutional cooperation, and the ability to implement new projects. The presentation will thus identify opportunities and related best practices.
Cooperative Sustainable Waste Management in Argentina
Cooperativa Recisueños (Argentina)
Hector Marcelo Loto, recycler, cartoneer, environmental promoter, Cooperativa Recisueños
Reciclando Sueños, a garbage recyclers’ cooperative that formed after the huge financial crisis in Argentina, helps manage urban waste, but also aims to help create a healthy and fairer planet. Indeed, out of concern for sustainability, it works to educate the population, and calls upon all levels of government to adopt policies to recognize and support this work. How was this cooperative organized in practice? To what extent has it been able to count on public support? What policies can favour this type of program? The main lesson learned is that above all, we must unite to create our own jobs.
A Partnership for Employment in Luxembourg
Objectif Plein Emploi (OPE) (Luxembourg)
Abilio Machado, Citzen Education Consultant, OPE
Objectif Plein Emploi is a citizen initiative in which associations teamed with labour union OGB-L to help disadvantaged youth integrate into the workforce. The initiative was repeated on a larger scale by local communities and government authorities. Its objectives are to create jobs, engage in territorial development, provide support for personal and professional development, improve public awareness and knowledge, promote sustainable development, and conduct research. The presentation will explain the contributions made by these partners in practice, and will discuss specific challenges to employment integration in Luxembourg and how to deal with those challenges.
Territories and Local Development
Workshop 4: Emerging Trends in Local Development
Download the report – Workshop E4
The Socioeconomic Impact of Solidarity Purchasing Groups in Veneto
Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale, Italie
David Marchiori, Acli Venezia-Sesterzo Coop
A Solidarity Purchasing Group (GAS in italian) chooses the products and producers based on their respect for the environment and the solidarity between members of the group, retailers and producers. These guidelines lead them to choose local products, goods from equitable trade, and re-useable or eco-compatible goods. Today, there are more than 150 GAS in Veneto, Italy that bring together around 11,000 people and 100 local small and medium enterprises. How do these GAS function in practice, and what is their impact on the local territory? What are the potential new spheres of development for this sector?
Institutionalize Consultation in the Province of Tungurahua, Ecuador: How to Build New Democratic Institutions
Gobierno Provincial de Tungurahua (Ecuador)
Jorge Sánchez Chavalié, Director of Planning, provincial government of Tungurahua
The New Management Model in Tungurahua has strengthened the recognition and participation of actors who were traditionally excluded from provincial decisions. A space has been opened for discussion with political and economic institutions in Tungurahua. The process calls the existing political system and the national unitary government into question, while building new democratic institutions. Why and how was this management model created? How are its results measured?
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Achieving Structural Support to Strengthen Women’s Solidarity Economic Endeavours in Bangladesh
Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) (Bangladesh)
Rokeya Kabir, Executive Director, BNPS
Poor, unorganised women are particularly vulnerable when living in a male-dominated and class-divided society and an economy controlled by profit maximizing business entities. This reduces the livelihood options of large sections of the society, especially women. Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) mobilizes grassroots women in rural and urban Bangladesh and tries to ensure policy changes at national level through advocacy. The experience will illustrate why structural support is imperative for the survival and revitalization of women’s solidarity economic endeavours.
Workshop 5: Partnerships Between Local Elected Representatives and Civil Society in the Social and Solidarity Economy
Download the report – Workshop E5
Programs and Projects to Help the Social and Solidarity Economy in the French Region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
Région Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur (France)
Christophe Castaner, Vice-President of the Regional Council on Employment, Regional Development, Higher Education and Research and Innovations, Région Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur
The region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur stands out for the numerous programs and projects that exist to foster the social economy. How and why did these initiatives come to exist? How do government authorities benefit from implementing a range of programs to support these businesses? To what extent has the region’s social economy gained in relative strength?
Fostering Agencies for Local Development in Guatemala
International Links and Services for Local Economic Development Agencies – ILSLEDA (Guatemala)
Heber Cabrera, Director, Local Economic Development Agency of Ixcan, Guatemala
Local Economic Development Agencies in 3 Departments of Guatemala were created following the civil war to facilitate the peace process and address extreme poverty in rural areas, with the technical assistance of the UN ILSLEDA program. They have provided the context for a diversity of stakeholders to work together, in collaboration with local governments, to facilitate social cohesion and the access of poor and marginalized people to the local economy, mainly through cooperatives. These agencies represent key tools in the national strategies for rural development and poverty reduction of the Ministries of the Environment and Economy, who intend to extend them to all the Departments in the country.
Social Tourism, a Driving Force Behind Regional Development
International Organisation of Social Tourism (IOST) (international)
Jean-Marc Mignon, President, IOST
The main goal of the Réseau des autorités locales et régionales de tourisme social et solidaire is to promote partnerships and an exchange of best practices between local and regional stakeholders working in the field of social and solidarity tourism. This involves initiatives to help citizens in the regions in question go on holiday, the organization of services to welcome tourists, and the contribution of social and solidarity tourism to job creation, social cohesion and economic growth. This presentation will offer an overview of the various partnerships that exist between the social and solidarity economy and public authorities working in this field. The presentation will also discuss best practices identified to date.
Community-Based Neighbourhood Development in Manitoba
Neighbourhoods Alive program (Canada)
Shannon Watson, Director, Neighbourhoods Alive program, Kemlin Nembhard, Excutive Director, Daniel MacIntyre, St Matthews Community Association
Most often the best ideas for neighbourhood revitalization come from the community itself. Recognizing this, the Neighbourhoods Alive! program supports local ideas and goals with funding and planning assistance in order to create a long-term, community-based, social and economic development strategy. How is this program implemented in practice, what were the challenges of setting it up, and what sort of strategies have emerged as a result?
Workshop 6: Local Governance in Favour of Social Cohesion and the Social and Solidarity Economy presided by Antonella Noya, Senior policy analyst,manager of the OECD/LEED Forum on Social Innovations
A Network of Women’s Self Help Groups for Holistic Local Development in India
Association for Serva Seva Farms (ASSEFA) (India)
S. Loganathan, Excutive Director, ASSEFA
The Association for Serva Seva Farms (ASSEFA) operates in 7 States in India and works with women’s self help groups in over 10 000 villages on topics such as agriculture, microfinance, health, education, environment, peace, etc. The presentation will highlight the kinds of collaboration that can be achieved with local public bodies in order to ensure the empowerment of rural women.
The Solidarity Economy in Brazil contributes to the development of traditional Quilombola communities
Projeto Brasil Local Etnodesenvolvimento e Economia Solidaria (Brazil)
Ronaldo dos Santos, Quilombola and Executive Coordinator, Etnodesenvolvimento e Economia Solidária and Sidney Lianza, professor, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
The Brazilian project – Etnodesenvolvimento e Economia Solidária is one of the major public policies in economic solidarity for traditional peoples and communities. Since 2005, Quilombola representatives have sought to foster regional development using the social economy as a structuring strategy. How did this project come into being? What are the advantages of focusing on a specific community?
Governance and Mobilisation in Favour of a More Equitable Development in Quebec
Corporation de développement communautaire (CDEC) (Quebec)
Pierre Morrissette, General Director, Regroupement économique et social du Sud-Ouest (RESO)
In the middle of the 1980s, citizens from central neighbourhoods created Corporations of Community Economic Development (CDEC). These structures foster consultation and development by supporting projects and companies that are socially profitable and economically viable. Their democratic governance, representative of the socioeconomic actors of their territory, and their capacity to mobilize their environment in favour of a more equitable local development were deemed a success by Quebec governments. How and why do CDECs contribute to greater social cohesion in the territories where they are present, and how do they favour the emergence and support of the local social economy?
Contributing to Social Cohesion by Developing the Social Economy in Cameroon
Partenariat France Afrique pour le co-développement (PFAC) (Cameroon)
Pauline Eyebe Effa, Resident Representative, PFAC
The social economy is developing rapidly in Cameroon, aided by the political decentralisation underway and the bottom-up push for its promotion and development. The presentation will cover the efforts of the NGO PFAC to create policies and institutions favourable for the development of the social economy and to educate local and national elected officials about this sector. The structures created, their contribution to the quality of life of the citizens, and the challenges still to be faced will also be discussed.
