Social and Solidarity Economy . A Human-Centred Agenda for the Future of Work

The ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation (2008) states that “productive, profitable and sustainable enterprises, together with a strong social economy and a viable public sector, are critical to sustainable economic development and employment opportunities”.

Today, the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is
a reality in many people ́s lives because it promotes values and principles that focus on people’s needs and on their communities. In a spirit of voluntary participation, self-help and self-reliance, and through enterprises and organizations, it seeks to balance economic success with fairness and social justice, from the local level to the global level.

The concept of SSE cuts across all four dimensions of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda. A high-level capacity building programme on SSE was proposed by more than 200 participants on the occasion of the ILO Regional Conference on Social Economy held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in October 2009.

Since then, nine editions of the Academy were organized by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) in Turin (Italy) in 2010, in Montreal (Canada) in 2011, in Agadir (Morocco) in 2013, in Campinas (Brazil) in 2014, in Johannesburg (South Africa) and Puebla (Mexico) in 2015, in San José (Costa Rica) in 2016, in Seoul (South Korea) and in Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) in 2017.

Known as the “ILO Social and Solidarity Economy Academy (SSE Academy)”, this inter-regional
training event has gathered together more than 500 practitioners and policy-makers from around the world, to share their experiences and meet leading SSE specialists.

In its 10th edition, the SSE Academy will have a special focus on the future of work, namely the challenges and opportunities posed by the rapidly changing world of work.

This Academy will be of great contribution to the ILO’s Future of Work’ centenary initiative.

Go to bit.ly/2XAyQTz to find the course. Deadline for registration: 30 April 2019

The 9th ILO SSE Academy took place in Luxembourg city in the last week of September 2017. Echoing the ILO ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008), the 9th SSE Academy was centered on the future of work, exploring a diverse set of themes such as the digitalization of work, the circular economy, the creation of decent work for refugees, among others.

The recent ILO report “SSE and the Future of Work” was presented, you can download a copy (pdf EN) here.

As RIPESS Europe was represented during this Academy, we had a chance to connect and share with participating representant of governments, local, regional and national policymakers, SSE actors and members of civil society through different workshops, study visits and informal exchanges.

Watch the video (in French): Laura Aufrère (RIPESS Europe) talks about SSE and the Future of Work

Other videos and documentation can be found in the “Collective Brain” website.