The first Ibero-American Seminar on Social and Solidarity Economy was held online on September 5 and 6, 2024, by the Ibero-American Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIFESS) marking a major milestone in promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) throughout the Ibero-American region. Hosted by the Instituto Nacional de Economía Social (INAES) of the Government of Mexico, the event provided a platform for discussion with key stakeholders, including representatives from international organizations, government institutions, and the SSE movement representatives.
Participants included UNTFSSE Member organizations (International Labour Organization and UN Trade & Development) as well as Observer organizations (Global Forum for Social and Solidarity Economy (GSEF) and Catalyst2030) along with more than 250 public sector representatives from Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Spain, and Mexico. This led to enriching dialogue that will serve as the foundation to shaping future strategies for fostering inclusive, sustainable development in the region.
© Instituto Nacional de Economía Social (INAES)
From Global Policies to Local Development
The 2nd Session of the Seminar focused on the intersection of global policies and their local impact, exploring how international guidelines, recommendations, and agreements can translate into practical, actionable outcomes at the national and community levels. The session was moderated by Chantal Line Carpentier (Co-Chair of the UNTFSSE, Head of Trade, Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development at UN Trade & Development) with panel participation by Simel Esim (Co-Chair of the UNTFSSE, Head COOP/SSE Unit, ILO), Karen Maguire (Head of Division and Leader of the Local Employment and Economic Development Programme at the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions, and Cities), and Veerle Klijin (Policy Lead for the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise World Forum). Each speaker highlighted the priority issues facing the IberoAmerican region and the role their organizations play in supporting the advancement of the SSE for sustainable development and discussed key questions including:
- How can international regulations and recommendations be effectively implemented to promote and develop the SSE across regions?
- What role should national institutions dedicated to promoting SSE play in ensuring that global policies are localized to benefit communities?
- What mechanisms should be employed to ensure that these efforts lead to improved living conditions, equality, and sustainability in local economies?
Key Takeaways
Ms Simel Esim noted that the countries within the RIFESS network have strong histories and rich traditions of SSE initiatives, including in developing national and subnational legal frameworks. To build upon progress made, she emphasized the importance of two key international resolutions: the ILO Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy and the UN General Assembly Resolution 'Promoting the social and solidarity economy for sustainable development'. In addressing the slow progress towards the sustainable development goals, Ms Esim highlighted the ILO's readiness to support efforts to develop a conducive environment for the SSE. She encouraged the establishment of a regional strategy for the SSE in Latin America and the Caribbean, similar to those in Europe and Africa, noting it would benefit from the experiences of Spain and Portugal.
Ms Esim outlined the ILO's ongoing support in the region, which could be built upon in developing such a strategy. This includes policy advice and dialogue from a decent work perspective, sector-specific capacity-building tools at the meso and micro levels, and efforts to improve SSE statistics, including through upcoming Technical Working Groups on SSE statistics and cooperatives' economic contributions, both led by the ILO. Additionally, the Open Online Awareness Raising Package on the Social and Solidarity Economy, co-developed by the ILO / ITCILO for the UNTFSSE, offers a clear introduction to the SSE fundamentals for a wide variety of stakeholders.
"The rich tradition of solidarity and mutual support in the Ibero-American region provides a strong foundation for developing a regional SSE strategy that would allow for stronger collaboration across the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Such a strategy would create opportunities for collaboration between national governments, civil society, and international organizations. At the ILO we stand ready to serve as a supporting partner, as we did so in the development of the African Union strategy on the SSE, bringing our expertise in capacity building, legal and policy advice, and statistics to help shape and implement this regional vision." (Simel Esim)
Chantal Line Carpentier agreed with Simel's insights and further emphasized that the goal of the UNTFSSE is to accelerate knowledge sharing to drive coordination of efforts at the international level, as noted in the UNTFSSE Action Plan (24-26). She recommended that further collaboration between the Task Force and RIFESS should be explored, such as granting mutual observer status to help ensure continued cross-learning and support. Furthermore, she highlighted the potential of the recently launched UNTFSSE Technical Working Group on Finance Access and Support (TWGFAS) for SSE entities:
"We are analyzing good practices in terms of public policies aiming to boost access to finance for SSE projects with a strong social and environmental impact. In France and Québec there are tax incentives for investments in impactful social and solidarity economy projects. The SSE is a driver for the implementation of the SDGs through the active participation of citizens and of the organized civil society. In that sense, we will open the dialogue with multilateral banks on the importance of improving access to finance for SSE entities, and we will work to include this topic in the International Financing for Development Conference to be held in June-July 2025 in Sevilla (Spain)".
Later on in the programme, Aude Saldana represented GSEF in a panel on the topic of SSE in local economic development. She highlighted the 2023 Global Summit in Dakar as well as the upcoming 2025 Summit in Bordeaux which will revolve around the theme: "The SSE, a precondition for a just transition towards resilient territories1 and the well-being of their inhabitants". She also discussed the GSEF / UNRISD Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy as a tool for policy makers in the region.
© Instituto Nacional de Economía Social (INAES)
Looking Forward
As a first step in strengthening cooperation between government institutions and international organizations, the seminar set the stage for future collaborative efforts aimed at promoting the SSE throughout the region. The participants reaffirmed their commitment to working together in advancing a fair and supportive economic model, one that addresses the challenges of inequality and fosters sustainable growth for all.
Recording of the Seminar can be accessed here.
