During this summer (from July until September) the campaign of solidarity exports travelled to Berlin, after Belgium and Luxembourg through the cooperation of social organisations and SSE initiatives in Germany and in Greece. The “heart” of the campaign is how an alternative – fair and solidarity trade , without mediators with full access to all information about quality, origin, working conditions, environmental impact of the products is possible.
From the Greek side, “Solidarity for all” in cooperation with the olive oil cooperative “Modousa” from Lesvos and with the producer group “Greenland” from Messinia exported 2,5 tonnes of products (olive oil and olives) to friends and solidarity Germans who actively supported the development of solidarity economy in Greece.
The organisers in Germany are social organisations (Attac Berlin / AG Solidarische Ökonomie), actors and networs of social and solidarity economy (Forum Solidarische Ökonomie eV, das kooperativ eV, NETZ für Selbstverwaltung und Kooperativen Berlin – Brandenburg eV, Netzwerk Selbsthilfe, Regionalforum Solidarische Ökonomie Berlin – Brandenburg eViG) and solidarity initiatives with Greece (Bündnis Griechenlandsolidarität Berlin, Funkhaus Europa Elliniko Randevou (rbb), initiative Respekt für Griechenland), which spread the word and motivated locals to participate in this “chain of solidarity”.
According to the organizers: “The German media interest in the developments in Greece have subsided, but the situation there remains critical since the Troika and the German government continued to urge cuts in social welfare. The campaign directly disposals of cooperatives is a step, a starting point of how solidarity works and is beginning to expand these small steps towards an economy of solidarity “.
The idea of soli-oli (the German name of the campaign) flourished last winter in Berlin, within the framework of a workshop that took place in the Solikon congress, while members of Ripess EU met and exchange not only ideas but put them right away into practice.
