During the week of 25 June to 1 July, RIPESS presented 3 intercontinental activities in collaboration with other entities or organisations, and 10 continental activities. These activities were attended by representatives from Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The intercontinental activities focused on three main themes: Gender, Youth and Education. The first of these, presented on 26 June in collaboration with Quartiers du Monde and Homenet Asia, began with the illustration of cases close to the context of each of the speakers from the different countries and continents, and ideas were put forward for a collective construction of the post-COVID context, always emphasising the need to put life at the centre. In other words, to promote the development of the SSE with a gender perspective in order to achieve a truly emancipatory transformation that allows women’s groups to participate directly in the process of social transformation.
The Youth session served as a window to make visible the commitment of young people to SSE initiatives in different realities and on different continents. The activity was an interesting meeting point for sharing examples of “good practices”, and undoubtedly demonstrated the growing commitment of these groups to the environment, the desire to achieve work that is meaningful for them and their community, and the importance of being represented, not only at an institutional level, but also among the groups in their contexts.
As for the Education session, it counted on the collaboration of the Campaign for a SSE Global Curriculum, apart from different members of RIPESS who have been working for years on the development of formal and informal education that promotes the Social and Solidarity Economy. The different speakers suggested the need to develop a “Global Educational Curriculum” that would make both teachers and students around the world see these practices included in their curricula, in an educational context that adds a decolonial gender perspective and that provides real alternatives to the neoliberal system.
On the other hand, the continental activities of RIPESS members were particularly enriching as they emerged from a huge amount of cooperation between network members and raised debates on the most relevant issues in international society. Europe, Asia and Latin America presented activities that reflected on how to develop Social and Solidarity Economy strategies in each particular continent, the methodology to elaborate different changes in the social sphere, and presented concrete continental projects that served as examples of good practices at a global level, and especially as embryonic elements of intercooperation. RIPESS North America also followed the general trend of the other continents, but focused on the reflection on the possible responses of the SSE to the COVID and to the racist police violence present in the United States.
All of this was an important contribution to knowledge, a starting point to continue working on new projects, a space for global intercooperation, another element in favour of social change and a clear example that not only other worlds are possible but that these other worlds are already being built and have coordinated actors in all parts of the world.
