• GSEF Members Present Initiatives at the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit 1 Jun 2021

    In May 2021, GSEF members and partners had the opportunity to present their initiatives and projects during sessions of the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit. Their contributions served to highlight the importance of civil society’s involvement and of effective public-private partnerships for a ‘green transformation’. The P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030) initiative is a global public-private partnership launched in 2018 and consisting of 12 countries and 5 international organizations including the World Economic Forum, the International Finance Corporation, the World Resources Institute, the Global Green Growth Institute, and C40 Cities. It aims at accelerating market-based solutions to build sustainable and resilient economies, particularly in themes of food, water, energy, cities, and the circular economy through impact investment. As of 2020, it has invested USD 292 million in more than 50 partnerships. Initiatives presented in the Green Future special session 'Just and Green Recovery from Grassroots` Engagement' (25 May 2021) and in the framework of the Peoples’ Forum to the P4G Summit 2021 (14 May) Montreal (Canada) - La TOHU/Frédéric-Back Park   Bordeaux Métropole (France) - recycling ecostem, Village Ikos   Organisation for Youth Committed to Sustainable Development (OJEDD) - Agro-ecology project in Togo Initiatives presented in the framework of the Peoples’ Forum to the P4G Summit 2021 (14 May) Moroccan Platform for Social, Solidarity, & Environmental Economy (EMESSE) - Environmental cooperative At-Tawafouk in Morocco Available soon     The 2021 P4G Seoul Summit took place from 30-31 May 2021, with special thematic sessions from 24-29 May 2021. For more information, we invite you to consult the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit's official website and Youtube channel. The next edition of the P4G will be held in Colombia, in 2023.
  • Thematic session @ 2019 National Forum for SSE & Social Innovation in France 6 Nov 2019 to 8 Nov 2019

    From 6 to 8 November 2019, the City of Niort hosted the 5th edition of the National Forum for the Social and Solidarity Economy & Social Innovation. Over 3 days, numerous workshops, training sessions, roundtables, and networking opportunities were held in parallel to exchange and discuss how the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and social innovation are useful tools for territories to respond to the major challenges facing today's societies. Over 1500 people attended the Forum, including elected officials and staff from local governments involved in the field of SSE, civil society actors, as well as 200 students. The closing press release of the event is available in the download section of this page and the photo gallery and videos (in French only) can be accessed here and here.   [[{"fid":"3605","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]] Digital transition, territorial cooperation, ecological and energy transition, culture... Here are some of the 13 thematic paths around which the program of this Forum was co-constructed in collaboration with 34 partner organizations. As part of the thematic path 'International cooperation & Europe', a session took place on the theme of international cooperation. Laurence Kwark, Secretary General of GSEF, presented an overview of the SSE around the world and shared the latest developments and good practices worldwide in this area.  She was joined on this journey by Pascal Duforestel, Regional Councillor for Social and Solidarity Economy, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine; Rachid Abibi, Director of Lab'ESS (Tunisia); Hamado Simporé, Réseau Zoodo Action & Solidarité - RéZAS (Burkina Faso); and, Mounia Benalil, Advisor for Development and Strategic Initiatives, PROMIS (Québec). This was followed by a workshop conducted by our member the French National Network of Local Authorities for a Solidarity Economy (RTES) and SOCoopération focused on the added value of international cooperation activities for both territories and SSE actors. Laurence Kwark also joined the closing plenary session of the Forum on the theme “SSE: the norm of tomorrow’s world economy?” with other inspiring speakers including Charlotte Debray, General Delegate of La Fonda ; Hager Khemazi, Director, CRESS Hauts-de-France (Regional Chamber for Social and Solidarity Economy Hauts-de-France); Arnaud Breuil, Head of Engagement & Ecosystem, Up Coop; and Patrick Klein, Head of Sector Social Economy, European Commission. [[{"fid":"3655","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"3":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"3"}}]] Laurence Kwark highlighted the necessity to gather more assessment data to convince national and local governments of the critical role SSE ought to play in strategies developed to achieve #SDGs (in particular through their localization), and to support the belief that SSE can become the norm of tomorrow’s local economies (if not the world’s economy). She briefly presented the conclusions of the report Social and Solidarity Economy for the Sustainable Development Goals: Spotlight on the Social Economy in Seoul published by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in collaboration with GSEF, one of the first of such initiatives. In particular, research has shown that SSE is better positioned to create synergies between SDGs. [[{"fid":"3656","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"3":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"3"}}]] Lastly, Laurence Kwark stressed the urgency and importance for SSE to play its part in structuring actors who, in their large majority, operate in the informal sector in regions of the world such as Africa. Only then will we be able to witness an inclusive economic development of those regions. This is a major global challenge and SDGs constitute, indeed, a critical tool through which the SSE sector worldwide can mobilize and convince decision-makers – especially at the global level – of the potential and role of the SSE in responding to sustainable development challenges. In the margins of the Forum, a delegation from the City of Hwaseong also had the opportunity to visit venues implementing innovative practices in the field of SSE, such as Le Relais Gironde and Fabrique Polka, and to meet the teams in charge of SSE within the department of Gironde and Bordeaux Métropole.   [[{"fid":"3652","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"2":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"external_url":""}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"2"}}]] For more information, please visit the Forum website.
  • GSEF Global Youth Camp for SSE 2017 22 Aug 2017 to 25 Aug 2017

    Title: Reviva, the youth revive the society  Date: August 22-25 Venue: Seoul and Gurye, Republic of Korea Participants: approx 100 youth representatives from around the globe     Sponsored by the City of Seoul and jointly organized with GSEF, iCOOP, HBM, Mondragon Team Academy, Underdogs, CHNGR and Happy Coop Tour, the 1st edition of GSEF Global Youth Camp for SSE successfully took place from 22nd to 25th of August in Seoul and Gurye, South Korea. For four days, over 100 youth social economy actors from 25 different countries identified current social challenges and discussed ways of resolving the problems through seminars, on-site workshops and working group discussions facilitated by the co-organizers of the camp. The camp was a follow-up of the GSEF 2016 Montreal Declaration (Resolution No.6: Recognize and support youth as important actors for the future of the SSE movement). During the four day camp, the first day was carried out in Seoul City Hall and various SSE sites in Seoul, covering topics from social innovation to urban regeneration. Starting from the second day of the camp, all programs were offered in Gurye Natural Dream Park of iCOOP, which is the one of the biggest consumer cooperatives in Korea. During the opening and two plenary sessions, the participants focused on the meaning and value of social economy in local and international contexts and shared their stories about making changes in their society like the revitalization of the local community, quality of work, women’s health, etc. All participants were divided into five thematic working groups according to their topics of interest such as decent work (I and II), housing, social finance and the local community. You can read the Working Group Reports by following the links below. On the evening of the third day, participants teamed up with others outside of their working group to engage in a group project called ‘Birthgiving’, which involved coming up with innovative projects to change the society. The last day was dedicated to writing up the Global Youth Declaration which identifies current challenges for youth and consequent ways to promote SSE as a means to overcome these hurdles and make positive changes in our society. You can read the full youth declaration here. You can read an in-depth interview with the participants of the youth camp as well as an overview of the camp including the GSEF youth declaration here. Working Group Report (click each working group link below to read the details of the presentations) Decent Work 1 - John Won (South Korea) Decent Work 2 - Yong Kun Cho (South Korea) Local Communities - Jon Abaitua (Spain) Housing - Nicolas Nadeau (Canada) Social Finance - Yujiao Xia (China)
  • Collaboration with International, Regional, and National SSE Networks 18. Jan. 2019

    Collaborating with other international, regional and national SSE networks including International Forum on SSE(IFSSE), REVES, or RTES, the GSEF has expanded its scope of discussion to broader subjects and audiences. The GSEF also facilitates a more detailed agreement of cooperation between members and partner cities/organizations through these networks, such as the MOU between RTES-French local governments’ network on social economy and Korean Association of Local Governments for Social Solidarity economy.  [[{"fid":"3021","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]]