GSEF2025 Bordeaux Declaration

We, 10,800 participants, representing 907 cities and 109 countries, gathered here at the Global Social and Solidarity Economy Forum in Bordeaux, declare that the Social and Solidarity Economy is a project of social transformation.

We are living in dystopic times. Seven of the nine planetary boundaries have been crossed; inequalities within countries are increasing; not since 1946 has the world experienced so many conflicts; and democracies are in retreat. The future has yet to be written.

Between 2021 and 2024, the Social and Solidarity Economy gained significant international recognition. International institutions, beginning with the United Nations, have fully acknowledged its role in localizing the Sustainable Development Goals. Admittedly, this recognition has not yet been matched with the resources required to meet these ambitions. Moreover, it now risks being undermined by the crisis of multilateralism.

But the Social and Solidarity Economy operates over the long term. It is resilient in the face of crises and challenges the dominant capitalist model. Today, it bears the responsibility of rekindling the ideals of the Philadelphia Declaration, reminding the world that lasting peace can only be achieved when founded upon social justice.

We affirm that the Social and Solidarity Economy is an economy of dialogue and peace — peace among peoples, peace within nations, and peace with all living beings on which we depend.

The Social and Solidarity Economy is a stabilizing force. Through its principles of cooperation and solidarity, it reduces tensions and inequalities by responding to community needs and maintaining social cohesion. Its resilience has been demonstrated in every crisis — from the subprime crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, through ecological crises and armed conflicts — where the SSE contributes to prevention, reconstruction, and reconciliation.

However, the Social and Solidarity Economy does not limit itself to repairing the world’s disorders. Present on every continent, it envisions and experiments with desirable futures, offering a constructive response to the aspirations of younger generations. It is a movement for economic democracy that is rebuilding the commons in the face of ongoing attempts by the hyper-rich to maintain the status quo.

Driven by social movements, civil society, and collective enterprises, the Social and Solidarity Economy is a vitalizing force for our democracies. It fights for and protects economic and social rights, including women’s rights, preserves freedoms in public space, particularly for independent media, and provides cooperative alternatives to digital monopolies and meaningful responses to the climate emergency.

The Social and Solidarity Economy is an economy of pathways to implement a just ecological transition. It is an efficient economic actor that treats material and immaterial resources not as assets to be exploited, but as goods to be renewed. It offers individuals and communities a role, empowering them through democratic control, economic participation, and education for emancipation and collective responsibility.

In the face of the crisis of States, whose foundations have been eroded by decades of neoliberal policies, we must strengthen coalitions between cities and the Social and Solidarity Economy, in the spirit of the Quito Declaration, which sought to foster inclusive economic development and decent work.

From all continents, we declare our shared goal to strengthen our practices in order to address territorial challenges, accelerate the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy, and reaffirm our commitment to work together towards the socio-ecological transition that our world urgently requires.

More than ever, we must co-construct and co-produce transformative policies to reintegrate the economy within society.

We commit to:

• Build upon the unprecedented mobilization of GSEF2025 by strengthening efforts within our territories to raise awareness and recognition of the SSE and its objectives.
• Organize and mobilize as a citizen-led, transformative movement working towards a more equitable, sustainable, and democratic economy, raising awareness and engaging with public and civil society actors who can contribute to the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy and to the necessary socio-ecological transition.
• Increase and accelerate efforts to create enabling ecosystems and to develop Social and Solidarity Economy projects in our territories using all available resources.
• Draw inspiration from best practices through the creation of a platform for Social and Solidarity Economy and cities initiatives, to strengthen their viability and impact.
• Deepen relations with other international networks of mayors to promote Social and Solidarity Economy values and policies.
• Reaffirm the importance of citizen participation and social dialogue for innovation and community resilience, and ensure inclusive participation — especially of youth and underrepresented groups — in Social and Solidarity Economy initiatives and governance structures.
• Support individual and collective well-being across all territories, including in communities of origin for migrants displaced by conflict and climate crises, as well as in host communities.
• Refuse to submit to systems and regimes that restrict freedoms and social, economic, and political rights.
• Strengthen alliances among networks to speak with one unified voice on the international stage.
• Foster intercooperation among Social and Solidarity Economy families and members to support territorial development and build coalitions with those working towards the same objectives.
• Promote direct and equitable international partnerships between funders and funded organizations.
• Support the international momentum for recognition of the Social and Solidarity Economy and the organizations that advance it, and reinforce dialogue with civil society globally.
• Contribute to the cultural and educational emancipation of populations to deepen awareness of the interdependence between economic, social, and environmental objectives.

We call upon:

The United Nations and International Organizations

• Continue analysis and dissemination to advance knowledge of the Social and Solidarity Economy among States.
• Continue encouraging countries to adopt policies that support the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy.
• Establish dedicated internal mechanisms specifically focused on the Social and Solidarity Economy.
• Create a Multi-Stakeholder Organization for Fair and Equitable Exchanges.

The European Union
The Social and Solidarity Economy embodies the values of the European Union, as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty. This commitment must now, more than ever, be strengthened:

• Uphold and maintain the commitments made under the Social Economy Action Plan and the Council Recommendation of 27 November 2023.
• Promote the Social Economy not only within the EU but also in its relations with non-member countries, with particular attention to regions with association and/or trade agreements.
• Include the Social Economy among the priorities of all EU policies and programs, regardless of their general objectives or territorial scope.
• Preserve a significant place for the promotion of the Social Economy within the multiannual financial framework.
• Keep the Social Economy at the heart of social, economic, and territorial cohesion policies.
• Develop a specific and coherent legal and fiscal framework for the Social Economy.

States

• Adopt laws recognizing, promoting, and supporting the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy within their territories.
• Establish and invest in co-construction spaces with the Social and Solidarity Economy to design public policies and programs addressing societal challenges to which the Social and Solidarity Economy provides unique and transformative contributions.
• Support the financing of the SSE by increasing its share in national and international public policies.
• Ensure that SSE financing tools are rooted in its values.
• Ensure fair access for Social and Solidarity Economy enterprises to public procurement and economic development programs.
• Ensure that sectoral (employment, health, housing, education, etc.) and cross-cutting policies (green economy, circular economy, silver economy, etc.) recognize the role of the Social and Solidarity Economy and its actors in implementation.
• Recognize the Social and Solidarity Economy as a driving force for social innovation and progress.
• Implement a green job guarantee to contribute to ecological transition by creating decent work within the Social and Solidarity Economy.
• Support international dialogue on the Social and Solidarity Economy, by ensuring dedicated expertise and resources within international institutions.
• Rely on universities to advance education, training, and research on the Social and Solidarity Economy, with attention to developing better data and knowledge sharing.
• Develop coordinated and funded programs between States and local governments to support the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy.

Local Governments

• Recognize and support co-governance spaces for the Social and Solidarity Economy as essential for strengthening the SSE at the territorial level.
• Recognize and sustain citizen-led initiatives advancing the common good through the Social and Solidarity Economy.
• Promote local initiatives supporting fair trade.
• Recognize and promote the Social and Solidarity Economy as a key instrument for participatory democracy.
• Strengthen partnerships between cities and the Social and Solidarity Economy to address migration challenges.
• Implement ecosystemic strategies based on territorial dynamics of the Social and Solidarity Economy.