European Ecovillage Gathering 2024
2024-08-20 08:00 - 2024-08-25 17:00 (Europe/Paris) | Angsbacka, Nyeds-backa 511, 655 61, Molkom, Sweden
Every year, hundreds of people from across the globe are drawn by the call of community to come together at the European Ecovillage Gathering. This festival of ecovillage living celebrates community in all its forms, and offers all who attend a chance to meet ecovillagers, learn tools for community development, network with like-minded souls, and discover practices for social, economic, cultural and ecological regeneration.
The cherished memories from the Gathering’s last visit to Angsbacka in 2017 still resonate with warmth and joy in our hearts. Join us in celebrating this reunion and the promise of a brighter, greener future together!

International Fair Trade Summit 2024
2024-09-17 08:00 - 2024-09-20 17:00 | Century City Conference Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
The International Fair Trade Summit aims to bring together leaders, practitioners, and advocates from all corners of the globe to collaborate and promote Fair Trade practices. This edition promises to be a unique opportunity for participants to engage in enlightening discussions, exchange ideas, and forge partnerships that will shape the future of Fair Trade.
Attendees will include representatives from Fair Trade Enterprises, organisations, governments, businesses, and civil society, all united by a common goal: to rethink how we can create an equitable and sustainable global trading system.
During the summit, participants will have the chance to attend inspiring keynote speeches, interactive panel discussions, and insightful workshops. They will hear from distinguished speakers who are leading the way in Fair Trade, and gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the movement.
Cape Town, known for its breathtaking natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, will provide a stunning backdrop for this important event. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the city’s iconic landmarks, experience its vibrant arts and music scene, and savour its renowned cuisine.

ComunESS
2024-10-04 08:00 - 2024-10-06 17:00 | Bilbao, Basque country, Spain
ComunESS is back, the Communication and Social and Solidarity Economy meeting that is celebrating its fifth edition.
It will take place from 4 to 6 October in Bilbao and is promoted by REAS Red de Redes , REAS Euskadi and the ComunESS community formed around previous editions.

4th European Meeting of Workers' Self-Management
2024-10-11 08:00 - 2024-10-13 17:00 | Can Batlló, Carrer de la Constitució, 19, Sants-Montjuïc, Barcelona, 08014, Spain
This October, the 4th European Meeting of Workers’ Self-Management, organized by ICEA Autogestión, will bring together workers and cooperatives from across Europe to discuss self-management and solidarity.
The event will offer a chance to exchange ideas, share experiences, and strengthen networks across Europe, leading to the creation of more resilient workplaces.

General Assembly & Strategic Seminar of the MES France
2024-10-14 08:00 - 2024-10-15 17:00 | OPALE, 21 rue des Malmaisons, Paris, 75013, France
On October 14 and 15, 2024, the Mouvement pour l’Economie Solidaire France is organizing its 2024 General Meeting, followed by a seminar to build its 2024-2028 strategy, at OPALE in Paris.

FESC Festival (Fira d'Economia Solidaria de Catalunya)
2024-10-19 08:00 - 2024-10-20 17:00 | Parc de l’Estació del Nord, Carrer de Nàpols, 70, Barcelona, Spain
A party environment to enjoy and learn, in a fun and attractive way, that there is a real alternative to capitalism, that is already working and that is for everyone.
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October 2024, at Parc de l’Estació del Nord in Barcelona. The Festival includes concerts, different activities, games, children’s area, gastronomic offer, market of products from the social and solidarity economy and much more!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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 .”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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/

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.
