RIPESS Europe

World Social Forum 2026 Cotonou, Benin
2026-08-04 08:00 - 2026-08-08 17:00 (Europe/Paris) | Cotonou, Benin
Cotonou 2026 will be the World Social Forum for social movements worldwide. Participants will have the opportunity to present and connect alternatives in various self-organized gatherings. These gatherings will strongly emphasize social and environmental justice in peace, by relocalizing the governance of natural resources, food systems, peasant agroecology, the economy, public policies, socio-cultural issues, education, and security, all based on well-being and living together, human rights, and respect for the dignity of peoples.

European Ecovillage Gathering 2026
2026-07-13 08:00 - 2026-07-18 17:00 | Nature Community, St.-Hubertus-Weg 1, Schönsee, 92539, Germany
The Gathering is an annual celebration that brings together people from ecovillages, regenerative communities, and allied movements across Europe and beyond. It’s a space to connect, learn, and co-create — where ideas turn into action and community becomes a lived experience.
Each year, the Gathering explores a theme that speaks to our shared moment. In 2026, we invite you to Dare to Trust — to rediscover trust as the foundation of resilience, cooperation, and hope in uncertain times.
Workshops, dialogues, art, and music weave together into 5 days of inspiration and renewal. Whether you come to share experience, learn new skills, or simply reconnect with what matters most, the Gathering offers a meeting point for all those building a more caring and regenerative future.

Economy for the Common Good International Conference 2026
2026-06-10 08:00 - 2026-06-12 17:00 | Amberg Congress Center (ACC), Schießstätteweg 8, 92224, Amberg., Germany
Transforming Towards a Fair and Sustainable Economy. Shared Responsibility of Science and Practice
A fair and sustainable economy requires a shift in thinking within science and practice. Both fields share a responsibility to develop innovative solutions that combine social justice and ecological sustainability and create real impact. The 4th Economy for the Common Good International Conference (ECGIC 2026) will serve as a platform to explore viable paths and opportunities for collaboration, bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders to drive transformative change.
Hosted by a cross-border consortium of Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH) Amberg-Weiden, University of West Bohemia Pilsen, the Bavarian Center for Sustainability in Higher Education (BayZeN), and co-organized by the International Federation for the Economy for the Common Good (ECOnGOOD), the conference will offer a space for inter-and transdisciplinary exchange, knowledge co-creation, and collaboration.

Fa' la cosa giusta! 2026
2026-03-13 08:00 - 2026-03-15 17:00 | Fiera Milano Rho, Strada Statale del Sempione, 28, Milan, Italy
The 22nd edition of the fair of critical consumption and sustainable lifestyles will be held at Fiera Milano Rho from 13 to 15 March 2026 .
Fa’ la cosa giusta! 2026! is:
• a fair of products and services: discover the registered exhibitors and the exhibition areas;
• three days of events, workshops, meetings, presentations, tastings, and shows: more than 450 events in the cultural program for all age groups;
• conviviality and services: nursery, children’s area, catering;
• an opportunity for networking, training, and discovery for volunteers and schools.

Foro Social 2026
2026-02-13 09:00 - 2026-02-14 20:30 | Edificio de Biología – Facultad de Ciencias | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Darwin, Madrid, Spain
A space for democratic deliberation for a new economic model
The Beyond Growth Social Forum is organized based on the principles reflected in the Beyond Growth Conference Declaration, which remains open to collective and individual endorsements through this form .
The Beyond Growth Conference, held at the Congress of Deputies, provided a space for democratic deliberation on a new economic model based on caring for people and the planet. It was a first step towards a new social pact that would help us overcome our economy’s dependence on economic growth and unequal global relations, and thus address the current eco-social crisis in its various dimensions, making a dignified life possible within planetary boundaries.

Food Democracy in Practice – Commons Governance, Bioregional Partnerships, and the Right to Food
2026-02-11 17:00 - 18:30 | online
The CfF workshop on Food Democracy in Practice kicks off the ECOLISE Food Policy Campaign Communities for Future: Good food for all. Τhe event brings together community-led initiatives, civil society networks, and food justice advocates to explore how food democracy is enacted in practice, from local commons governance to EU-level advocacy. The workshop is part of ECOLISE’s advocacy campaign Communities for Future: Good food for all which mobilises communities and allies around shared priorities for just and sustainable food systems in Europe.
Grounded in ECOLISE’s policy positioning paper Reclaiming the Future of Food: Community Pathways to Resilience, Justice and Regeneration, this 1.5-hour workshop will examine participatory governance, rural–urban alliances, and bioregional approaches to food, while marking the launch of the Right to Food European Citizens’ Initiative. Through shared experiences and strategic dialogue, participants will reflect on how everyday practices and collective action can shape rights-based food systems rooted in resilience, justice, and regeneration.

URGENCI International Symposium: “CSA Facing Challenges and Building Solidarity”
2025-12-11 08:00 - 2025-12-13 17:00 | La Bergerie de Villarceaux, 95710 Chaussy, France
There are many burning issues within our communities. How can we build ever-greater mobilization to realize the right to food and nutrition? In the aftermath of the pandemic, where does the power of our partnerships lie in providing a resilient basis for disarticulated societies? What is the role of peasant agroecology in building local solidarity-based partnerships between producers and conscious eaters? How to ensure that our partnerships are contributing to building stronger social links? How can we ensure our efforts are collectivised and reflected in policy for genuinely sustainable food systems and nutrition for all?
During the 9th International Symposium of Local and Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology, we will take a breath and look together at our success stories, our common vision, our experiences, lessons learnt and at our joint challenges. Farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, conscious eaters, network representatives and supporters, advocates – all are going to converge for this meeting. Workshops, exchanges of practices: the actors coming from all corners of the world will have the opportunity to build a new chapter for the movement.

5th International Conference Social and Solidarity Economy and the Commons
2025-11-26 08:00 - 2025-11-28 17:00 | Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte), Avenida das Forças Armadas, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal
This year’s theme is ” Collapse and Regeneration: Community-led initiatives prefiguring liveable futures“. The full Call for Contribution description with submission guidelines is here.
We are facing unprecedented times, marked not only by climate collapse, but also the tearing of the social fabric, due to increased socioeconomic inequality, political polarization, mistrust of institutions and expertise, bellicism, and erosion of an international rules-based order.
Such context is contributing to a growing interest in the performance of the role of “social learning spaces” by community-led initiatives (CLIs) where alternatives to the status quo are experimented with, enacted, and coordinated (Egmose, Hauggaard-Nielsen, and Jacobsen 2022).
We invite researchers, practitioners, activists and policymakers to submit proposals for contributions to this conference, focusing on how CLIs contribute to the regeneration of socioeconomic systems threatened or affected by social, ecological, institutional or political collapse, namely by promoting cultural (including ethical) perspectives that emphasise cyclicity over linearity, therefore supporting regenerative and tendentially post-extractivist approaches to livelihoods.

Important dates

Opening of registrations – July 1st
Deadline for submission of proposals – May 31st 2025
Notification of contributors – June 30th
Deadline for registration (conference presenters) – October 6th
Publication of the Final Programme – October 15th
Deadline for registration (non-presenters) – October 25th
Beginning of the conference – November 26th
Submission of full paper for peer review and publication – January 15th 2026

Housing & Food: Communities and local governments driving fair sustainability transitions
2025-11-06 09:00 - 17:30 | European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99-101, Brussels, 1040, Belgium
European policy dialogue series | November 6th, 2025, EESC Brussels & Livestream
Europe’s long-term wellbeing depends on fair and locally-driven sustainability transitions. Housing and food, our most basic human needs and the two largest household expenses, are powerful entry points for change. Yet, solutions to Europe’s housing and food challenges need to go beyond affordability to ensure sustainability and fairness amid mounting climate and geopolitical pressures.
This policy dialogue series will spotlight action by European civil society and local governments, and advocate to center them in the EU’s Affordable Housing Plan, the implementation of the Vision of Agriculture and Food and other related strategies and post-2027 EU budget planning.

GSEF 2025, Bordeaux 2025
2025-10-29 08:00 - 2025-10-31 17:00 | Hangar 14, 14 Quai des Chartrons, Bordeaux, 33000, France
In the autumn of 2025, the Global Social and Solidarity Economy Forum will be held for the first time in France, following previous events held in Seoul, Montreal, Bilbao, Mexico City and Dakar.
This major biennial international eventbrings together all the stakeholders in the Social and Solidarity Economy ecosystem.
The aim is to pool the visions and practices that can make the SSE the “standard that will regulate the economy of tomorrow”, imposing the primacy of people and collective projects over capital, and structuring an economy based on proximity and long-term perspectives.

Call to Action – International Day of Action for People’s Food Sovereignty, and against Transnational Corporations
2025-10-16 08:00 - 17:00 | online
Bagnolet: October 16 , International Day of Action for People’s Food Sovereignty, and against Transnational Corporations, at a time when humanity faces a profound systemic crisis, we at La Via Campesina — uniting peasants, rural communities, small-scale farmers, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, migrant workers, women, youth, and diverse rural identities — we maintain our conviction that the values of Food Sovereignty are essential for the change we need.
We therefore issue this global call to action: let us strengthen and expand our collective mobilization for Food Sovereignty as a driving force for true systemic transformation.

Co-construction of public action, ESCAPE closing seminar
2025-10-02 09:00 - 2025-10-03 19:30 | Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, 2 rue Conté, Paris, 75003, France
Between 2023 and 2025, the ESCAPE (Économie Solidaire, Co-construction, Action Publique Émergente) participatory research project, financed by the ANR and led by a consortium comprising Cose Commune, CNAM Laboratoire HT2S, Collectif des Associations Citoyennes (CAC), Ligue de l’enseignement (LDH), the Mouvement pour l’Économie Solidaire (MES), the Réseau national des Maisons des Associations (RNMA), the Union Fédérale d’Intervention des Structures Culturelles (Ufisc) and the Réseau des collectivités Territoriales pour une Économie Solidaire (RTES), set itself the objectives of taking stock of the co-constructing public action in the SSE field, examining the progress made, the obstacles encountered, the methods implemented and their effects.
We invite you to the ESCAPE closing seminar on October 2 and 3, 2025.

SSE Youth Hub intercontinental webinar
2025-09-30 13:00 - 17:00 | online
Connecting SSE Youth Advocacy from Every Continent !
️ Interpretation FR ⇄ EN ⇄ ES
Zoom link : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84922584800?pwd=[REDACTED]
This webinar will be a key milestone to discover and share the advocacy papers carried by youth from the five continents (Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia, Europe) in the framework of the Global Social and Solidarity Economy Forum – Bordeaux GSEF 2025.
You will find:
✔ Insights into the activities planned during the Bordeaux GSEF 2025 Forum, the program, and the gathering places.
✔ Presentation of the continental advocacy papers and their priorities
✔ A dialogue space connecting young people from all around the world
✔ A key step on the road to the International Youth Declaration

Beyond Growth Conference
2025-09-26 08:00 - 17:00 | Congress of Deputies, Plaza de las Cortes, núm. 1 - 28014, Madrid, Spain
The Beyond Growth Conference will be a space for democratic deliberation for a new economic model based on caring for people and the planet. The desired outcome is to lay the foundations for a new social compact that will help us overcome our economy’s dependence on economic growth and unequal global relations. This requires addressing the current ecosocial crisis in its various dimensions and making a dignified life possible for all people within the planetary boundaries.
The Conference will take place on September 26, 2025, in Madrid, at the Congress of Deputies.
Numerous initiatives and organizations in Spain have been defending and implementing life organization models for decades, supporting the common good beyond growth . At the same time, there are a growing number of voices from academia, civil society, and activists calling for systemic change toward collective well-being, the democratization of the economy, the distribution of wealth and power, and respect for the limits of the planet and the rights of future generations as a means of resolving the current ecosocial crisis. The Beyond Growth Conference aims to be a platform and a collective space for building for all of them.
Registration is now open : https://beyondgrowth.es/inscripciones/
You can find the program at https://beyondgrowth.es/programa/

European Day of Sustainable Communities
2025-09-22 08:00 - 2025-09-27 17:00 | online
For the 9th year, ECOLISE and its partners are highlighting how community-led initiatives are shaping the transition to sustainable, resilient, and inclusive societies.

What to expect?
National policy dialogues in France, Spain, Croatia, Finland, and Portugal
Inspiring stories from the ground:
• Henbant permaculture farm (Wales)
• Ökoregion Kaindorf (Austria)
• Sunseed Desert Technology Spain)
• Aardehuis (Netherlands)
• Coopérnico (Portugal)

And in November, the journey continues in Brussels with an EU-level event!

How you can engage:
• Follow and share our campaign posts to spread the word about these inspiring initiatives.
• Join the national policy dialogues.
• Use the hashtag #EDSC25 to spread the movement.

Social Economy European Summit
2025-09-16 08:00 - 2025-09-18 17:00 | Víctor Villegas Auditorium and Conference Centre, Av. Primero de Mayo, s/n, 30006, Murcia, Spain
Murcia to host Social Economy European Summit
The most important European event of the social economy ecosystem of the year, Social Economy Week, takes place in Murcia, Spain – the official 2025 Spanish capital of the social economy.
Social Economy Europe is co-organising our 2025 Social Economy European Summit in Murcia, featuring a full programme of events.

Download full programme of events

European Ecovillage Gathering 2025
2025-08-12 08:00 - 2025-08-17 17:00 | Manas Garden, Lengyeltóti, Rágniczapuszta 4., 8693, Hungary
Mark your calendars! The European Ecovillage Gathering is set to return in 2025, bringing together visionaries, change-makers, and community builders from across the continent and beyond.
From August 12th to 17th, 2025, we’ll gather at the beautiful Manas Garden in Hungary, hosted by the Mindenegyüttmegy Egyesület community.
In 2025, we embark on a journey to celebrate 30 years of the Global Ecovillage Network – GEN and 20 years of Gaia Education. This momentous occasion will unfold in Eastern Europe, where we will nurture our roots and plant the new seeds of a more regenerative future for all.

World Localization Day
2025-06-21 08:00 - 17:00 | WORLDWIDE
An annual celebration of the worldwide localization movement
World Localization Day is an annual celebration convened by the international NGO Local Futures. On June 21 and throughout the month of June, Local Futures and an array of amazing Global Partners host in-person and online events to highlight localization as a strategy for change. And not least, to celebrate the many efforts and initiatives that foster ecological economies, thriving communities and healthy local food systems.
Take part in World Localization Day 2025 as a group or individual and join the growing movement of people building a better world, from the ground up.

International conference “Social and solidarity economy: innovation-training-research – new synergies through global South-North dialogue”
2025-06-10 08:00 - 2025-06-11 17:00 | Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, 2 rue Conté, Paris, 75003, France
RIPESS Invitation to the International Conference on Social and Solidarity Economy
We warmly invite you to join us at the International Colloquium “Social and Solidarity Economy: Innovation / Training / Research – New Synergies through South-North Global Dialogue”, which will take place in person at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam, Paris), with live online streaming on Cnam’s YouTube channel and selected sessions with Portuguese–French interpretation.
This colloquium is part of the “Brazil–France 2025” initiative and will bring together participants from Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, and especially Brazil and France.
We are honored to welcome representatives from the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The event will highlight concrete outcomes from the specialized diploma in Solidarity Economy, Innovation, and Social Management (ESIGS), a collaborative program between the Federal University of Cariri (UFCA, Brazil) and Cnam (Paris), in partnership with Ateliê de Humanidades and the School of Administration of UFBA, and supported by the MCTI.
Be part of this vibrant exchange! Register now and take part in shaping the future of social and solidarity economy across borders.

COOPERATIVES EUROPE CONFERENCE & GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2025
2025-06-01 08:00 - 2025-06-03 17:00 | Spice Hotel, Belek, İskele Mevkii, 07506 Serik, Antalya, Turkey
This year’s General Assembly will be held during the International Year of Cooperatives, making it an especially important moment to show the strength and relevance of our movement. In addition to formal decision-making and board elections, the programme includes a public conference led by young cooperators who will tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time—from intergenerational learning and digitalisation to the housing crisis and climate resilience.

Integrating the Social and Solidarity Economy into the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development
2025-05-19 15:30 - 16:30 | online
This webinar is aimed at FfD4 negotiators. The objective of the webinar is to follow up on United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 79/213 , adopted in December 2024, which ” encourages Member States to consider how the social and solidarity economy could contribute to upcoming multilateral processes, including the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development .”

Nyéléni ECA Webinar on "Food Social Security"
2025-01-30 13:00 - 14:30 | online
On Thursday, 30th January, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM CET, dive into an engaging discussion hosted by Urgenci on how we can collectively address food insecurity and build bridges between Food Sovereignty and the Solidarity Economy.
This webinar will explore how Local Authorities play a crucial role in driving transformative solutions, with real-life examples from France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Languages: English & FrenchZoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87187556702Meeting ID: 871 8755 6702

Public Procurement in the SSE: Key points for SSE companies
2024-12-19 12:00 - 2025-01-01 14:00 | online
On December 19th from 12 to 2 pm, the online discussion will be held: “Public Procurement in the Social and Solidarity Economy: Main keys for SSE companies” organized by REAS Red de Redes. This educational discussion is a complementary activity to the forum cycles that we have been organizing since 2023.
Session Objectives
To offer a training space on key aspects of responsible public procurement from the perspective of companies and initiatives of the Social and Solidarity Economy.
Who is it addressed to?
Professionals from the networks and companies of the Social and Solidarity Economy throughout the State.
Session program
During the first part of the session we will have a training talk on the main keys to Responsible Public Procurement from a practical point of view. During the second part of the session there will be a space for doubts and questions on the subject in order to identify future actions that make it possible to cover the needs of the productive fabric of the SSE around the CPR.

La contratación pública en la ESS: Puntos clave para las empresas de la ESS
2024-12-19 12:00 - 2025-01-01 14:00 | online
El 19 de diciembre, de 12 a 14 horas, se celebrará el debate en línea “La Contratación Pública en la Economía Social y Solidaria: Principales claves para las empresas de la ESS” organizado por REAS Red de Redes. Este debate formativo es una actividad complementaria a los ciclos de foros que venimos organizando desde 2023. Objetivos de la sesión
Ofrecer un espacio de formación sobre aspectos clave de la contratación pública responsable desde la perspectiva de las empresas e iniciativas de la Economía Social y Solidaria. ¿A quién va dirigido? Profesionales de las redes y empresas de la Economía Social y Solidaria de todo el Estado. Programa de la sesión
Durante la primera parte de la sesión tendremos una charla formativa sobre las principales claves de la Contratación Pública Responsable desde un punto de vista práctico. Durante la segunda parte de la sesión se abrirá un espacio de dudas y preguntas sobre el tema para identificar futuras acciones que permitan cubrir las necesidades del tejido productivo de la ESS en torno a la CPR.

The Social and Solidarity Economy in the European Context: Key Elements for a Transformative Agenda
2024-12-11 16:00 - 18:00 | online
This seminar marks the 4th session in the Cycle of Webinars launched by REAS Red de Redes in 2022. The series explores the importance of engaging at the international level, the need to build alliances, and the generation of knowledge in a context where the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) has been recognized as a driver of change, contributing to the achievement and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Just and sustainable food systems: The grassroots’ perspective
2024-12-05 13:00 - 15:00 | online
Just and sustainable food systems: The grassroots’ perspective
We believe in the power of community-led initiatives to transform the food system and to drive just and sustainable change. Key decisions impacting food systems happen at the EU levels of policy making, and together, we can make our voices heard!
We invite you to join this workshop if you are a …
Member of a community-led initiative? An academic? A policy maker? Or a member of a Non-governmental organisation (NGO)/ Civil Society Organisation (CSO)?
… actively working to transform food systems? Are systemic barriers holding you back? Do you want EU policymakers to understand the power of community-driven solutions?
Then join us for this event which will see the kick off of ECOLISE’s policy positioning phase on “Just and sustainable food systems – from the perspective of community-led initiatives”.
This event will be an interactive workshop, kickstarting a participatory advocacy process where we’ll connect, learn from one another, and build an alliance for just and sustainable food systems policies at EU levels , with community-led initiatives at the heart.

16th Citizens’ Energy Forum
2024-12-05 09:30 - 17:00 | Budapest Congress Center, Budapest, Hungary
The 16th Citizens Energy Forum will be co-organised by the European Commission and the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority.
This year’s forum ‘Towards a Citizens Energy Package: Empowering citizens for a just energy transition’ takes place in the context of the next Commission mandate, following the European elections earlier this year. It will kickstart work on the Commission’s Citizens Energy Package, which will increase citizen participation in the energy transition and strengthen the social dimension of the Energy Union.
It will be live web-streamed with the possibility for the online audience to engage. The working language is English and interpretation is not guaranteed. We count on the representatives’ active participation in the Forum and their willingness to work with other national stakeholders to maintain momentum at national, regional and local level.

ICA Global Conference & General Assembly 2024
2024-11-25 08:00 - 2024-11-30 17:00 | Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
The cooperative movement is invited to participate in the Global Conference of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) to be held in New Delhi, India from 25 to 30 November 2024. An important ICA General Assembly will also be held, as well as meetings of ICA’s Sectoral Organisations, Regional Offices and Thematic Committees.
This event will be hosted by the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) who has been a member of the ICA since 1980, and the 18 ICA member organizations in India representing close to 800,000 cooperatives and 290 million cooperators.
The conference theme is :”Cooperatives Build Prosperity for All” where there will be four plenary sessions, each accompanied by four parallel sessions, to create an Action Agenda for Cooperatives to accelerate the SDGs. To accomplish this, the conference has 4 key themes:

Enabling Policy and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Reaffirming the Cooperative Identity
Nurturing Purposeful LeadershipShaping a Just, Equal and Resilient Future

Not only that but also, the official launch ceremony of 2025 United Nations International Year of Cooperatives will be held on 26 November!

4th International Conference Social and Solidarity Economy and the Commons
2024-11-13 08:00 - 2024-11-15 17:00 | Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte), Avenida das Forças Armadas, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal
The fourth international conference “Social Solidarity Economy and the Commons” will be a meeting point for researchers, activists, public officials and social entrepreneurs involved in social and solidarity economy, governance of the commons and new social movements in different parts of the world.
The aim is to co-create an open, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary space for exchange of knowledge and socio-political experiences on new approaches to economic organisation and governance based in solidarity, cooperation and common ownership from across the world.

World Social Forum on Transformative Economies 2024
2024-10-20 08:00 - 2024-10-26 17:00 | Santiago de Cali, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
The WSFET2024 will take place from October 20th to 26th in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, as part of the International Meeting of Economies for Life.
The WFSET is a process of dialogues and convergences at both local and international levels. It is an open space for various forms of resistance to the violence of capital and for creating other possible worlds through economic practices in territories.
