5th RIPESS Global Forum of Social Solidarity Economy

Building SSE as an alternative model of development Manila, October 15-18, 2013

Program

1. Overvi1. Overviewew Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

Morning - Opening Ceremony - Political and conjunctural analysis

SSE Territory in QC/Manila: - Local experiences - Self-managed activities - Fair

- Global Vision on SSE

- Continental Meetings: commitments and actions' proposals for 2014-2017

Afternoon

- SSE in the continents: state of the art

- Thematic Workgroups

- Final Plenary sharing main results, commitments and proposals - Closing Ceremony

Evening

Official languages of the RIPESS Global Forum 2013: English, French, and Spanish. ASEC Philippines should open a dialogue with the French and Spanish Embassies in Manila to get them involved in the organization and conduct of the global forum, and in particular gain their material support for the interpretation requirements of the forum.

2. Details2. Details

2.1 DAY 1

* Opening Ceremony A formal moment of the meeting, which can be open to the public, with some speakers among the RIPESS Board (one for each Continent), the Local Organizers Committee, Government authorities, Supporters, Partners. A brief review of the first four Global Forums should be made, highlighting the main results of each one, and place in a better context the 5th Global Forum. Some methodology could be used to create a way for the participants to present themselves (name, country, organization, sector of activity, expectations for the meeting)

* Political and conjunctural analysis This is the moment of a global analysis where the world's situation, the global crisis and the actual challenges and the possible role of SSE in the world would be treated. This can be done in the morning Plenary with a Ripess Board member and a keynote speaker. Among the names suggested (Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Amartya Sen, Mike Lewis, Ignacy Sachs, Lula, and Naomi Klein), the Board finally chose Mike Lewis as he has written a book that provides a skeletal sketch of a general theory of social & solidarity economy. A representative of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) will also be invited to contribute on the challenges on global governance and the role of SSE in the redefinition of the Millennium Goals in 2015.

The results of the World Social Forum on SSE (July 2013 in Brazil) and the World Forum on Fair Trade (April 2013 in Brazil) could also be briefly presented. An open forum will follow the speeches to allow delegates to contribute in defining the context of the 5th global forum.

* SSE in the continents: state of the art In the afternoon, members of the RIPESS Board representing their respective Continental networks will present a State of the Art of SSE for their respective continents. The continental SSE state of the art should provide an overview of SSE initiatives and the movement in each the 6 continents: Africa, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, Europe, North America, and Oceania.

2.2 DAY 2

* Territory of Social and Solidarity Economy in QC (in Manila's metropolitan area) On the second day, the Global Forum will take place in an open space, defining a “Territory of Social and Solidarity Economy”. The probable place will be the QC Memorial Circle, in collaboration with the QC city government. Each continental network will be provided a booth where they can receive delegates from other continents and engage them in dialogue on pertinent SSE issues and/or enter into negotiations for cooperation in trade and investments. The idea is to have a SSE Fair where SSE initiatives from each continent will be elaborated by their respective delegates, and exchange of ideas and proposals for economic cooperation can be discussed at length. Foreign and local delegates can either display their products or advocacy materials. Local SSE enterprises should be invited and encouraged to interact with the delegates from other continents, and to enlighten them about concrete SSE practices in the Philippines. This will provide Forum delegates and local communities the opportunity to know something about the diversity of SSE in the World and to explore the potentials of collaboration in external trade and investments.

2.3 DAY 3

* Morning – Theme 1: Global Vision With the objective of deepening the discussions and producing resolutions that will guide the RIPESS members in the next 4 years, the delegates will focus on 4 themes, divided in 4 workgroups: “Global Vision ”, “SSE Experiences and Economic Integration”, “Global Networking ” and “Communication and visibility of SSE ”. The methodological approach for this moment will be a highly participative and democratic way of building workgroup resolutions based on reflections of territorial experiences from the 5 continents. In the morning, all forum delegates will be involved in crafting a Global Vision of SSE.

Theme 1: Global Vision This Theme debates the basic principles that define SSE world-wide, and will serve as reference for RIPESS' comprehension of SSE. Both viewpoints that are consensual or divergent (i.e. show of different perspectives on SSE) should be highlighted. The idea is that a basic document developed by the continental networks during the year could serve as a reference for debate, besides the concrete initiatives that will be discussed in the thematic workgroups. Questions/Issues of this Theme: → Governance structures for SSE → Values of SSE that set it apart from neoliberal market oriented economy → Social development services provided by SSE → Ecological conservation measures undertaken by SSE → Economic sustainability of SSE Prior to the Forum, the continental networks of RIPESS will initiate discussions on the global vision of SSE. Formulations of the global SSE vision will then be gathered and submitted to the respective RIPESS Board members, who in turn will review the vision formulations. RIPESS Board members will then select what may be deemed as sound formulations of the global SSE vision and submit these to the Executive Coordinator of RIPESS, Dr. Benjamin Quiñones, Jr.. The RIPESS Global Forum 2013 delegates will collectively review all the submissions and select what they may deem as the best or most appropriate formulation of the global SSE vision. Forum participants will work in small groups (organized by table) to formulate their respective global SSE vision. Finally, Forum participants as a whole will decide (by casting votes) on the ‘best’ or ‘most appropriate’ formulation of the SSE global vision.

* Afternoon – Themes 2, 3 and 4 In the afternoon, the Forum delegates will be divided into three workgroups which will treat the remaining three themes: Theme 2 - SSE Experiences and Economic Integration (SSE actions to link producers & consumers, link production and solidarity/social finance, create alternative market for SSE products); Theme 3 - Global networking (SSE actions to link with local, national & international networks); and Theme 4 - Communication and visibility of SSE (overcoming communication problems between continents; enhancing information exchange & experience sharing among SSE networks ) Questions and issues to be treated in each Theme follow below:

Theme 2: SSE Experiences and Economic Integration This group will be focused on the ways that the existing initiatives of SSE do their economic activities and their articulation in economic networks and chains. In this Theme, territoriality and sustainable development is a key aspect that should be present transversally in the discussions. Questions/Issues of this Theme: → What actions/ innovations are being undertaken by SSE to link/connect (ethical) producers and (ethical) consumers? → What actions/innovations are being undertaken by SSE to link/ connect (ethical) production and solidarity/social finance? → What concrete actions/ innovations are being undertaken by SSE to create an alternative market for SSE products and services at the local, national, and international levels? → What actions/innovations are being undertaken by SSE contributing to territorial development?

Theme 3: Global Networking Global Networking refers to the way that the movement organizes itself locally, nationally and internationally. This has to do with political strategies, articulation with other movements and international institutions, and the structure of the different networks that are more effective in building up a strong and interconnected global network of SSE represented by RIPESS. Questions/Issues of this Theme: → What are the network initiatives that are necessary for reinforcing the global vision in the following dimensions: . finances . public policies . research and education → What are strategic actors (social movements, institutions, government structures) with which we should strategically articulate? → What actions are undertaken by SSE enterprises to link/connect with local, national, and international networks? How SSE expands membership locally and internationally? → What are the challenges in establishing such institutional linkages?

Theme 4: Communication and visibility of SSE One of the main challenges of SSE is its invisibility towards the common public, the public policy makers, and even in other social movements. This Theme will treat this challenge and propose ways to spread the message and contributions of SSE for another development model. Questions/Issues of this Theme: How to develop the visibility of: → the SSE experiences among each other (SSE initiatives knowing and learning from each other) → the SSE initiatives to society, common public, other movements and actors → the organization of SSE (its networks, where they are, what are the actors doing SSE and how it's organized) → the global vision of SSE in respect to political issues of interest for society and development (political positions/views)

In each one of the three thematic workgroups, each continent will have chosen, before the Forum, one concrete initiative that will be presented in each Theme. This means that for each thematic workshop, there will be at least 5 persons (one from each continent) who will share their perspective on the theme based on their concrete experience and practice. Therefore the continental experience will serve as the starting point of the discussions (bottom-up approach). The presenters should have prepared their presentations well ahead in time for translation into other official languages of the RIPESS global forum (French, English, and Spanish). Each Thematic Group will be coordinated by two RIPESS Board members, preferably one Man and one Woman, from different Continents. Finally, a Systematization Committee will work on the final proposals developed by the 3 Thematic Groups to have them ready for the Continental Meetings and Final Plenary the next day.

* Continental meetings In the late afternoon/evening, the delegates of each Continent will meet in an assigned room to reflect on what they have learned and to share ideas on the post-forum follow up actions. They'll receive the results from the third day and discuss the possible actions and commitments that can be undertaken in their respective continents for the next four years (2014-2017). In case Continental Meetings have been undertaken prior to the RIPESS Global Forum 2013, the results of such Continental Meetings will also serve as reference to be considered by the delegates. Each Continent will then prepare a brief document presenting their proposals, planned actions and

commitments to help in advancing the SSE Movement in their local communities.

* Final Plenary

2.4 DAY 4 In the morning, special issues related on the advancement of SSE will be discussed. A resource person will briefly present his/her reflections on the issue and elaborate a specific strategic action/ measure that deals with the issue. The plenary moderator will then invite delegates in an open forum to share their thoughts on the proposed strategic action/measure. One important issue is the co-construction of public policies of SSE. It might be noted that the Chantier de l’ Economie of Quebec has established RELIESS as an international network that facilitates dialogue between the State and civil society to develop enabling public policy for SSE. Other crucial issues related to the thematic issues on Day 3 could also be revisited such as inter-continental SSE trading, collaboration in SSE investment projects, and the establishment of a World Social Solidarity Bank. In this session, however, the concerned resource person will elaborate on a specific strategic action/measure for the delegates to reflect on. In the early afternoon, the main results of the 4 days will be presented: the state of the art of SSE in the 5 continents; the issues raised during the field visits and self-managed activities; the results and proposals of the 4 Workgroups; the planned activities and commitments of the 5 continents; and the consensus on the special issues. The final plenary will be closed with an open microphone where people could freely do an evaluation of the forum, share commitments from their organization and contribute salient reflections on the results.

* Closing Ceremony The Closing Ceremony will be a moment to show the richness of the different ways that SSE is lived in the 5 continents: with music, colors, testimonies. Participants will be advised to bring a national costume to be worn at the closing ceremony. Each continent will also be enjoined to prepare a cultural presentation, in music, dance, or poetry.

3. Other special features that might be integrated in the 3. Other special features that might be integrated in the programprogram

3.1 Doing a local public activity In Dakar (3rd RIPESS Global Forum 2005) there was a March of the participants promoting SSE as well as a display of SSE products. At the 5th RIPESS Global Forum 2013, the public at large could be invited to visit the Trade Fair on SSE products at the Quezon city Memorial Circle and the self-organized workshops of each continent.

3.2 Youth interface The Chantier de l’ Economie of Quebec will bring a delegation of youth volunteers from Quebec to the 5th RIPESS Global Forum to learn about the SSE experiences from different continents. It would be quite interesting if a special program can be arranged where the youth delegation from Quebec and the young SSE practitioners, advocates and researchers from the Philippines and other Asian countries could undertake joint activities including interactions with SSE entrepreneurs, joint

evaluations of SSE products, cultural exchange, and the like.

3.3 Launch of the Global Forum of Governments supporting SSE RIPESS should explore the possibility of arranging with France and Brazil to send Ministerial-level officials to the 5th RIPESS global forum. A special moment on the 4th day could be arranged where these Ministers will announce the launching of an inter-governmental Forum on SSE. In view of this, ASEC should explore the possibility of involving the ASEAN Leadership Summit in the organization and conduct of the inter-governmental forum.