By Bérénice Dondeyne, Co-President MES Occtianie, member of the RIPESS Europe Coordination Committee

Following the GSEF in Bilbao, the Movement for the Solidarity Economy Occitania welcomed with great pleasure a Colombian delegation from 7 to 12 October 2018! Meetings with elected officials and field workers were organized by Denis Coutens and Bérénice Dondeyne, co-chairs. Colombia enjoys extraordinary ecological diversity and has natural reserves in the Amazon recognized by UNESCO. A lot of exchanges around a local agriculture of quality guaranteeing food self-sufficiency and articulated around a rural citizen community of “farmers”! Engaged in a peace process with FARC, Colombia is entering a new phase in which the Social and Solidarity Economy occupies a central place. Cooperatives are already shaping a new relationship to the “commons”, to land and property and, of course, to the distribution of wealth. Thanks to partners such as Alfredo Cadena, CODEMA y PROVIVIENDA, César Díaz, CIMA (Cumbre de los pueblos del Macizo), Julián Díaz, Asociación Campesinos Putumayo, Mario Anatole Vega, ProComún, Turismo del Común, we have discovered a range of natural and organic products, products of excellence with high nutritional and culinary value (seeds, oils, beans….) or plant handicrafts for which a distribution channel can be considered here in the Occitania region (France). Initial contacts have been made. To be continued….

Thank you to La Région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée O’Saveurs-Paysannes Ville d’Albi Artisans du Monde Toulouse MIRAMAP Lycée Fonlabour Albi who all put responsible agriculture and food at the heart of their concerns. This trip is part of the dynamic that our Ripess and Ripess Europe networks are driving. The Delegation was accompanied by the Fabrica, a social innovation cooperative in Barcelona (Dorys Ardila/Josep Maria Navarro), Intaini, a Franco-Colombian NGO (Amparo Theret in Toulouse supported the inter-knowledge between Occitan and Colombian actors).

18th Regional Forum of Social and Solidarity Economy

in Occitanie

23 and 24 November 2018

SSE” symposium: You said you were changing scale ” crossed views of actors/entrepreneurs/researchers/researchers

The 18th Regional Forum of the Social and Solidarity Economy will put SSE actors at the centre of reflection and research and will join researchers to talk about a change of scale in SSE! Built with the Université Jean Jaurès and the Master Nouvelle Economie sociale, created by Jacques Prades, the Forum will honour the work of scientists who have contributed to a theoretical reflection on SSE in France and around the world: Jean-Louis Laville, Jean-François Draperi, Geneviève Azam will be present. Conferences, workshops, citizen debates….. as many spaces during two days to define together what we want in terms of social utility? What size of company? What financing? What governance? With which territorial roots?

Ripess Europe will be invited for a round table discussion on “scaling up in SSE, a European issue”

Crédit Coopératif, in the person of Jean-Louis Bancel, will chair the final conferences before an audience of elected representatives, citizens and SSE companies!

Just after the GSEF 2018 Forum, the International RIPESS Board of Directors was held, composed of two delegates per continent and representatives of international members such as Urgenci. It should be noted that RIPESS and the GSEF practice cross-membership and that the collaborative links between the two entities have been consolidated. Laurence Kwark, General Delegate of the GSEF, had been invited to participate in the first morning of the meeting. The face-to-face Board of Directors is an annual high point during which the RIPESS strategy is developed at the international level in line with the realities of the continents, which are all different from each other. It is also an opportunity to put faces on the names that circulate on the lists during virtual consultations, an essential part of the network’s cohesion.

One of the elements of complexity is linked to the geographical and demographic scale of the continents and the principle of creating sub-continents (particularly in Asia) to better achieve the objective of spreading practices has been considered. Two new members are joining: INAISE (International Network of SSE Investors) and NENA (New Economy Network Australia) as new focal point for Oceania. A partnership with Quartiers du Monde has also been established.

On communication, an important decision was also been adopted: bringing all websites together within the intercontinental Ripess website, which will allow the use of common grammar and semantics, economies of scale and better intercommunication. Gabriel Boichat, the new RIPESS communication officer, broadcast the two events extensively on social networks.

By Jason Nardi

Under the pouring rain, the city of Bayonne (in the French Basque country) is nonetheless beautiful and full of life: on Sunday 7^th of October the “Alternatives Village” was all over the old town, with hundreds of people in the streets and squares dedicated to many of the existing “alternative” practices – most of them if not all we can say Social Solidarity Economy – that today are not only possible but being done and used by more and more people. Collective Renewable energy solutions, shared mobility (the symbol of Alternatiba is a tandem bicycle – and the bicycle tour that involved thousands of people throughout France, Switzerland and Belgium a success, arriving in Bayonne on the 6^th), food agroecological production and collaborative distribution, the Eusko social currency (with both its paper and electronic version) and ethical banking, but also community and cooperative housing, a strong eco-feminist presence (in streets and debates) and a special attention to the migration crisis, brought to us by the current dominant “growth” economy and the climate change that it engenders.

The latter was the main underlying theme of this Festival, started 5 years ago in Bayonne by the citizens group Bizi, full of “normal” and young people, families, and of course activists – who debated together with a rich program (https://alternatiba.eu/2018/10/programme-du-weekend-d-arrivee-du-tour-alternatiba/) as well as cultural and artistic events. While the urgency of a radical, systemic change was clearly perceived by all participants, the convivial and festive atmosphere gave much hope and renewed energy. Saving the Planet is no longer an option – now is the time to engage: “change the system, not the climate”.

Extract from the article Climate: 15,000 people in Bayonne for the release of the IPCC 1.5°C report

More than 15,000 people joined Bayonne this weekend for a major climate campaign. The two days marked by the arrival of the Tour Alternatiba, a gigantic village of alternatives, conferences and an atmosphere of popular emulation ended with a manifesto to initiate the immediate metamorphosis of the territories. Among them, nearly 200 personalities, scientists, political and associative leaders, artists, former ministers. In a duplex from South Korea, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, a member of the IPCC scientific committee, gave the public gathered in Bayonne the first opportunity to adopt the 1.5°C ratio and encouraged the continuation of citizen actions such as the Tour Alternatiba.

On the eve of the release of the IPCC 1.5°C report, Bayonne delivered a strong message. The final manifesto, read by Gaby, a young high school student from Poitiers and Moriba, a young Guinean saved from drowning by a maritime rescue boat while crossing the Mediterranean, both sixteen years old, launched a vibrant appeal for the immediate metamorphosis of our territories.

With nearly 50 conferences (attended by 6263 people) on such fundamental issues as the current government’s climate and energy transition assessment, obstacles to transition, economic relocation, transition financing, transport, renewable energies, solidarity and climate justice, this weekend also contributed to the ongoing discussions. Concrete alternatives such as the 100% renewable electricity supplier Enercoop or the eusko, already Europe’s leading local currency in terms of volume of currency in circulation, which passed the 1 million euskos mark that same weekend, have demonstrated the possibility that alternatives have to change scale.

This civic effervescence in Bayonne reflects what was observed during the 4 months of the Alternatiba Tour, where a total of more than 77,000 people showed their determination to take action to make a real difference. Under the guise of a great popular celebration, Alternatiba 2018 has once again confirmed that the crucial challenge of the fight against climate change is not only a vital challenge that tens of thousands of citizens are ready to take up, but also the foundation for more sustainable and desirable societies.

Text of the Manifesto  (in French) here.

Videos and photos here.

Transiscope is a new initiative, which aims to highlight all the alternatives for the transition by displaying them on a single map, collecting existing data.

WHAT DOES TRANSISCOPE OFFER?

Inform about existing organisations and citizens’ initiatives in a simple, clear and attractive way through intuitive classification, a harmonised format for presenting initiatives and different digital tools available;

• Encourage participation and citizen action by creating a contact directory of alternatives;
• Accelerate networking and synergies between initiatives: making alternatives visible to each other is a key factor in cooperation;
• Visualize the territories or issues that require the development of concrete alternatives;
• Develop and equip our commons: the software developed for the project is free, therefore reusable and can be improved for other projects.

Read more here (in French).

This platform links the work of transition organisations and actors in France and is supported by a collective of 10 associations, including RIPESS and MES.

The Global Social Economy Forum was held in Bilbao (1-3 October 2018). This is the fourth edition after Seoul 2 times and Montreal 2016. It brought together more than 1700 people from 84 countries. It should be noted that a significant number of representatives of local authorities had made the trip to testify to their involvement in the SSE. It is one of the strong points of the GSEF, to link the evolution of the development of cities to the Social Economy. It should be noted in passing that the title “social economy” has largely predominated in the discourse, the term solidarity being considered superfluous in some cultures because it is included. Nevertheless, the term SSE has also been used in several instances, either in plenary or in workshops. This point can and has given rise to some controversy. We know that for RIPESS, the term solidarity is central because it refers to a philosophy of radical contestation of the ultra-liberal model in force in the globalized economy. The title of the Forum, “Values and competitiveness for inclusive and sustainable local development”, strongly advocated by the Bilbao government, was also discussed.

Mondragon, a partner of the event, is an emblematic example of cooperativism, and of the social economy conceived as a systemic complex aiming at autonomy in a context of resistance, at the time of its creation, to Francoism. Mr. Iñigo Ucin, President of the Mondragon County Council, presented his global experience (production, finance, training, distribution) and invited people to field visits.

The workshops on a wide range of themes offered a wide range of experiences, which is always a time to stimulate optimism and an opportunity for meetings that can be extended over time through fruitful collaborations. RIPESS was present with several members from all continents. The opportunity to get in direct contact with representatives of local authorities and the European Commission was well taken.

During a dedicated session, a Declaration on Transformative SSE which aims at real systemic change was read. During the ceremony, people from several cultures and continents read the text in 4 languages.

During the same session, Jason Nardi for RIPESS, Julia Grannel for XES and Carlos Askunze, coordinator of REAS Euskadi, announced the preparation of the World Social Forum on Transformative Economies. A first preparatory phase will take place in April 2019 in Barcelona and the final edition of this Global Forum is scheduled for 2020. The session ended with a “picoteo” (a kind of aperitif dinner) invited by REAS to Hika Ateneo, an alternative place in Bilbao.

In the closing session Margeritte Mendell (Concordia University, Montreal) used an oxymoron to signify that political and also academic research staff should relax the frameworks and rules that stifle the field initiative. She recommended the “institutionalization of flexibility”.

Jason Nardi was one of three people mandated to read the final declaration of the GSEF after participating in its drafting. A statement from the youth who participated in the forum was also presented.

The next edition of the GSEF is expected to take place in Mexico City in 2020.

Following the first European Erasmus+ project, which ended with an international meeting in Porto (Portugal) organised in July by APDES (Agencia Piaget Para O Desenvolvimento), a new project was submitted to Europe and approved. It will officially begin with a working meeting in mid-November in Timisoara (Romania) dedicated to the planning of the different phases of the project.

“The project aims to contribute to the development and improvement of skills and competences in Vocational Education and Training (VET), a need identified during the evaluation process of the previous project (SSEE: affirming a new paradigm through innovation of VET programmes), by providing programmes and strengthening the skills of VET trainers, in order to make VET a socio-cultural, interdisciplinary innovation and a basis for experiences and jobs, starting with vocational training, in the context of local development. This project will advocate for the integration of transversal knowledge and using the importance of general knowledge and key competences in addition to professional competences in this education and training of trainers subsystem. The adaptation and development of VET and SSE skills and competences are richer and better adapted to the needs of the labour market, enable young people and adults to be better qualified and contribute to permeability and mobility between different education and training subsystems. The ability of VET systems to anticipate future skills needs and skill gaps requires the inclusion of new frameworks of ideas, new paradigms and alternative models. This is why the project aims to include social issues and solidarity in the education of new generations of learners. This new socio-economic model will serve as a relevant tool for them to address labour market challenges (…) SSE as an alternative socio-economic model in the EU and other parts of the world is rooted in inclusive values and practices, which are much needed in a “transition era”. SSE practitioners develop alternatives in all economic sectors within and beyond current economic models by focusing on sustainability, social needs, reciprocity and solidarity. (…) SSE offers new skills and competences as well as methodologies and practices for creating new or alternative business models, enterprises and cooperatives. With regard to new skills, in the era of automation, the development of non-technical skills such as communication, creative thinking, work ethics, teamwork, networking, decision-making, flexibility, critical thinking and conflict resolution is considered more than essential. (…)

Based on the objectives of the project, a threefold scope can be presented:

• First, to make SSE a visible and familiar concept on the labour market with regard to the potential and specific constraints that this alternative socio-economic model includes.
• Secondly, to empower trainers and trainees such as unemployed and untrained young people to acquire new skills and competences from SSE as part of their attempt to enter the labour market.
• Third, to provide VET trainers, especially at higher levels, with innovative pedagogical methods and tools by implementing an alternative pedagogical experience (SSE in training). To this end, the project proposes the development of innovative methodologies and specific pedagogical tools including training courses, an online platform to support learning and training activities and guides to good practice. (extracts from the project presentation)

Project partners: CRIES (Romania), Technet (Germany), DOCK Synergatikos Koinonikis Koros kai allileggyas oikonomias (Greece), Solidarius (Italy), APDES (Portugal), MES (France) and RIPESS Europe