By Juli Hernández, Ripess Intercontinental

RIPESS and its continental SSE network members has been actively involved and fully mobilised for the  Global Social Economy Forum 2021,  which took place on site in Mexico and online from the 4^th to the 8^th of October. In addition to participating in the opening and other plenary activities, we have been collaborating and bringing inputs from different continents through the organisation of various sessions.

Plenary Session: Build and rebuild an inclusive community.

Monday 4^th 11:30 in Mexico, 18:30 CET, 0:30 (+1) Malaysia.

Shigeru Tanaka, joint-coordinator of RIPESS, participated in the opening session of the conference, together with other representatives of important SSE organisations, networks and international organisations.

Session organised by ASEC, Asian RIPESS member: Social investment for community empowerment

5^th of October, 1:30 Mexico, 10:30 CET, 16:30 Malaysia.

The Asian Solidarity Economy Council (ASEC) has also been very active in GSEF2021. They organised a session entitled Social Investment for community empowerment.

In this virtual session, participants explored :

1. What products and services are provided by SSE organisations/enterprises to marginalised/vulnerable groups in order to cope with/mitigate the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic; and
2. How beneficial partnerships/collaboration between the SSE organisations/enterprises and interested participants can be cultivated for the purpose of cascading SSE products/ services and/or expanding their outreach to marginalised/vulnerable groups in a sustainable way in their respective localities.

Session Co-organised between RIPESS and the UNTFSSE, including the participation of RIPESS LAC (Latin America & Caribbean) and Chantier de l’économie sociale: “Develop territorial and international alliances to promote the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a people-centred and planet-sensitive economy”.

Wednesday 6^th 13:00 in México, 20:00 CET, 2:00 (+1) Malaysia.

This session reflected on different key aspects that characterise the social and solidarity economy as a key actor in the realisation of Agenda 2030 and a genuinely sustainable recovery.

The high-level panel discussion focused on the importance of alliances and partnerships at different levels – local, national, regional and international- to strengthen SSE ecosystems and promote SSE’s role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in order to promote a human rights-based, people-centred and planet-sensitive economy.

The session, co-organised between RIPESS and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), will benefit to its members and observers’ experiences and knowledge, and it was the occasion to launch the Regionalisation process of the UNTFSSE, promoted by RIPESS and other members of the Task Force, in cooperation with continental networks including RIPESS. It has been organised thanks to the contribution of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD) to RIPESS’ activities.

Session organised by INAISE, including the participation of Jason Nardi from RIPESS EU: “Financing the Ecological and Social Transition of SSE enterprises: dialogue between social and solidarity finance networks”

October 7^th 7:30 Mexico, 14:30 CET, 20:30 Malaysia

As indicated in the title, this virtual roundtable focused on different SSE networks to exchange on the role of networks in the face of the challenges of the ecological and social transition.

Session organised by RAESS, RIPESS African member: The situation of SEE enterprises and organisaions post Covid

8^th of October, 2:00 Mexico, 11:00 CET, 17:00 Malaysia

RAESS organised a session in the framework of GSEF that analysed the situation and resilience of SSE businesses and organisation post Covid.

The session aimed to share information on the solidarity chain that African SSE networks at both national and continental levels have put in place to address the negative impacts of COVID-19 on their SSE enterprises. Addressing SSE networks worldwide, youth, researchers and governments, this session will be co-facilitated by four panellists, from Cameroon, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Mali.

RIPESS and RIPESS LAC have also been involved in the organising committee of the forum, and have been actively participating in the committee working on the declaration of this GSEF 2021.