Definition, facts and opportunities

Social and Solidarity Economy: what comes to your mind?

The Social and Solidarity Economy: many different terms…. Social Economy Solidarity Economy Community Economy Popular Economy Social and Solidarity Economy Social Enterprise Social Economy Enterprises Third Sector Non-Profit Sector

… but common characteristics recognize the primacy of people and work over capital are built on the principles of solidarity, mutuality, reciprocity, cooperation and proximity seek to simultaneously achieve social, societal, economic and environmental benefits are based on voluntary participation, member empowerment and peoples’ commitment  

The social economy gives prominence to a business model that cannot be characterized either by its size or by its areas of activity, but by its respect for common values. European Parliament, 2009

Attempt of a definition “The social economy is a concept designating enterprises and organisations, in particular cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations, foundations and social enterprises, which have the specific feature of producing goods, services and knowledge while pursuing both economic and social aims and fostering solidarity.”

Five Families Cooperatives Mutual societies Associations Foundations Social enterprises

Five facts on Social and Solidarity Economy At the European level, the SSE represents approximately 10 per cent of all European companies (approximately 2 million undertakings) and 6 per cent of total employment Many governments have recently approved innovative legislation and policy on the social economy (Brazil, France, Mexico and Spain). In Cameroon, Mali, Italy, South Korea and South Africa the issue is part of the ongoing debate on public policies. Data (CEPES and LEGACOOP) shows that during the crisis started in 2008, the social economy sector has created new jobs in Italy, while in Spain it lost fewer jobs than in the traditional private sector (> 12.000 Italian SC provide > 500.000 jobs) In Argentina, well over 10.000 jobs have been saved through the establishment of 130 worker-owned “empresas recuperadas” . Worldwide, there are 750.000 cooperative societies with one billion individual member-households and 100 million employees. 1 2 3 4 5

Social Economy & Decent Work Labour standards Employment creation Social protection Social dialogue … the concept: how the social economy is related to this decent work component … examples: how concretely the social economy has advanced this component

Standards: the concept Congruence between the objectives of standard-setting and the values of the social economy; Social economy as subject of standard-setting: Rec 193; Rec. 204 Social economy as promoter of standards: see examples

Social enterprises and the quest for social justice in South Africa. Standards: examples Cooperatives and the fight against child labour in the cocoa industry in West Africa [C 182]; Village associations promoting the emancipation of indigenous people in Cameroon [C 169]; Social enterprises and the quest for social justice in South Africa.

Employment: the concept Economies of scale and scope; Innovation and creativity: Access to markets, finance and inputs; Diversification and division of labour.

Employment: examples Social cooperatives in Italy: 40,000 jobs; Germany’s 320 shared service cooperatives support 230.000 small businesses with a turnover of 490 bn €; Coffee marketing cooperatives in Oromia, Ethiopia: 288.000 livelihoods, 2.000 jobs.

Protection: the concept Social economy as one of three complementary strategies to implement the Social Protection Floor: Broadening access to formal social security institutions; Upgrading traditional systems of mutual social assistance; Cash transfers. Upscaling, modernizing and formalizing traditional systems.

Protection: examples The tontines and rotating savings and credit associations; The “mutuelles de santé” of West Africa; The burial societies of Southern Africa; Micro-insurance schemes for crop protection and risk taking.

Dialogue: the concept The double nature of the social economy: business and association; Bargaining power, voice and representation through joint action; Propensity to establish horizontal networks and vertical structures;

Global organizations: ICA, WOCCU, ICMIF, AIM, COPAC, etc. Dialogue: examples The self-employed women’s association of India (SEWA): a hybrid between trade union and social economy organization; The SYNDICOOP programme: organizing informal economy workers through joint trade union-cooperative action. Global organizations: ICA, WOCCU, ICMIF, AIM, COPAC, etc.

The social economy: a pioneer Green jobs and environmental protection; Fair and equitable trade; Local identify and local products; Slow food; Social finance; Corporate social responsibility.

The Social Economy as a Bridge Between informal and formal Between rural and urban Between local and global Between society and governments Between individuals and society

SSE Academy It is an interregional training opportunity gathering practitioners from all around the world, to share their experiences and meet leading SSE specialists. ILO Regional Conference on SE, Johannesburg (South Africa) 2009 First Edition of SSE: Turin (Italy) 2010 Second Edition of SSE: Montréal (Canada) 2011 Third Edition of SSE: Agadir (Morocco) 2013 Fourth Edition of SSE: Campinas (Brazil) 2014 Objectives   Contribute to a better understanding of the concept of Social and Solidarity Economy Discuss the relevance of SSE as a new development alternative and how to relate it to ILO’s Decent Work Agenda Strengthen the impact of SSE through the creation of a community of practice At the end of the academy, the participants will be able to: A high level capacity building programme on social and solidarity economy was proposed by more than 200 practitioners on the occasion of the ILO Regional Conference on Social Economy held in Johannesburg, in October 2009. This proposal was then further discussed during the ILO task force meeting on social economy in February 2010. The ILO task force members agreed to support an annual “Social Economy Academy” whose first edition would be organized in October 2010 by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC ILO). The ILO Social and Solidarity Economy Academy (SSE Academy) is an interregional training opportunity gathering practitioners from all around the world, to share their experiences and meet leading SSE specialists. have a better understanding of the different areas where the SSE can play a role (employment creation, social protection, social dialogue, innovation, environment, green jobs, informal economy, local economic development, etc.); refer to SSE legal and policy frameworks from around the world; identify the key features of an enabling environment for an effective SSE; refer to experiences of successful SSE initiatives from different areas of practice; make use of tools and approaches to effectively promote SSE and take actions within the context of such initiatives.

SSE Academy It is an interregional training opportunity gathering practitioners from all around the world, to share their experiences and meet leading SSE specialists. Fifth Eidtion, Johannesburg (South Africa) 2015 Sixth Edition of SSE: Puebla (Mexico) 2015 Seventh Edition of SSE: San José (Costa Rica) 2016 Eight Edition of SSE: Seoul (South Korea) 2017 Nineth Edition of SSE: Luxembourg 2017 Objectives   Contribute to a better understanding of the concept of Social and Solidarity Economy Discuss the relevance of SSE as a new development alternative and how to relate it to ILO’s Decent Work Agenda Strengthen the impact of SSE through the creation of a community of practice At the end of the academy, the participants will be able to: A high level capacity building programme on social and solidarity economy was proposed by more than 200 practitioners on the occasion of the ILO Regional Conference on Social Economy held in Johannesburg, in October 2009. This proposal was then further discussed during the ILO task force meeting on social economy in February 2010. The ILO task force members agreed to support an annual “Social Economy Academy” whose first edition would be organized in October 2010 by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC ILO). The ILO Social and Solidarity Economy Academy (SSE Academy) is an interregional training opportunity gathering practitioners from all around the world, to share their experiences and meet leading SSE specialists. have a better understanding of the different areas where the SSE can play a role (employment creation, social protection, social dialogue, innovation, environment, green jobs, informal economy, local economic development, etc.); refer to SSE legal and policy frameworks from around the world; identify the key features of an enabling environment for an effective SSE; refer to experiences of successful SSE initiatives from different areas of practice; make use of tools and approaches to effectively promote SSE and take actions within the context of such initiatives.

OUR “COLLECTIVE BRAIN” ON SSE OUR WEB SITES RELATED TO SSE More information on SSE initiatives OUR “COLLECTIVE BRAIN” ON SSE www.sseacb.net/ OUR WEB SITES RELATED TO SSE www.itcilo.org/socialeconomy www.ilo.org/coop