“From Local Action to Global Challenges” is a webinar that will take place September 23, 2025 and it is organized within the framework of the Looking Up project. This webinar aims to show how Social and Solidarity Economy initiatives can connect grassroots practices to global systemic change.

The link for the webinar is https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_4TdYYkwQl6_NVzsM2JZSg

Below you can find the detailed program of the webinar

Date: September 23rd, 2025
Time: 16:00 – 18:00 CEST
Duration: 2h

1. Welcome & Introduction (5 min) – RIPESS Europe

  • Brief presentation of the session objectives: To reflect on how local SSE initiatives can address global crises (climate change, social inequalities, food sovereignty, migration, gender justice, wars, etc.)/ To explore pathways that connect community practices with broader strategies, policies and transnational solidarity.

2. Presentation of the Looking Up project (30 min) – Solidarius Italy, UFISC France and CRIES ROMANIA

  • Overview of the Erasmus+ project: aims, partners, key learnings from the training path …Why it matters today: connecting participatory local development with the construction of a European SSE strategy, the “looking up perspective”. Taking into account this scenario and the challenges it presents, especially for small organisations. We would like the ‘looking up perspective’ to spread and become a common principle for working towards shared objectives.

3. From practice to policy: What strategy to strengthen the European dimension? (15 min) – RIPESS Europe 

  • How to translate grassroots initiatives into political advocacy and policy frameworks at the European level.
  • Linking local voices with global networks and institutions.
  • The role of the Social and Solidarity Economy on Geopolitics today.

4. Open Debate with Participants (40 min) : Building bridges between local practices and global challenges- how to scale the impact of the small organizations through supralocal and sectoral networks – RIPESS Europe moderates with REAS, Urgenci & CRIES, Solidarius Italia and Ufisc

Guiding questions:

  1. What strategies have you seen (or used) to make local experiences more visible at the national or European level?
  2. How can SSE networks support local initiatives to avoid isolation and scale their impact?
  3. In times of multiple crises (climate, migration, inequalities), how can local SSE initiatives connect with global struggles without losing their rootedness in the territory?
  4. What role should public authorities and policies play in supporting this connection between the local and the global?

5. Wrap-up & Next Steps (5 min)

  • Closing remarks by Someone from the Consortium (?).
  • Invitation to stay connected through Looking Up materials.