The National exhibition of Social and Solidarity Economy in Casablanca took place between October 8 and 17, 2015. The Moroccan exhibitors who participated were 350, filling the 6,000 square meters of the exhibition space, to show their SSE based agricultural and artisan products. With 40 foreign guests, the Moroccan networks, Governments, academics,… all those concerned were able to discuss during 4 days of conferences.
For the RIPESS Europe, Eric Lavillunière intervened in the day on public policy. An opportunity to recall the transformative vision of the SSE that RIPESS Europe promotes. Between Solidarity economy and corporate social responsibility (CSR) there is a continuum of approaches which makes the SSE approach not well understood by public opinion. Lavillunière recalled the historical roots of the SSE, as emancipatory project of workers and citizens. The concept of social enterprises is more focused on the competitiveness and success of the individual entrepreneur. The solidarity economy needs to better promote the political content of its vision of an economy that runs on other paradigms than growth. With the climate change emergency, solidarity economy can play a key role to re-localise the economy and rebuild social cohesion in the territories.
The role of public authorities may be to accompany these collective processes of citizen mobilizations. As reactions, the public particularly showed its interest in building a system of education and training based on popular education which puts forward the participation of citizens and the enhancement of the resources of everyone in the community.
