By Josette Combes, Ripess Europe
This newsletter devotes a few articles to this issue which takes on all the more importance as faced with the chaotic situation the world is in, we are at our wits’ end. The scale of existing and future disasters is almost unbelievable. Whether it is this war that is encysting in Ukraine, which is going from escalation to escalation, or this huge revolt underway in Iran carried by women but not only, by a whole people who can no longer stand the suffocation of the Mullahs, who persist in their bloody repression, or the threats that weigh on the Atlantic Ocean with the rupture of the AMOC, the atlantic regulatory current serving as a thermostat for the climate or finally (way of speaking) the elections in Italy and Sweden consecrating the parties of the most extreme right, not to mention the political convulsions in Africa. Definitely, times are rather desperate. So what to do, if not take care of yourself, others, water and air, animals and plants. To take care, that is to say, to be attentive and proactive to maintain life and hope in us and to try by contagion to reverse the heavy tendency of humanity to create disasters and catastrophism. There is an urgent need to develop a culture of care, especially at work. See the webinar on this topic.
The RIPESS Europe GA was held this year in Poland, thanks to the Polish team for their warm and well organized welcome. The General Assembly is always an invigorating moment for all of us who work remotely. Meeting, exchanging, laughing together, this gives heart to the work. We were pleased to welcome three new members. You can get to know them here.
The care of others is also to travel while respecting the people and places that welcome us. Solidarity tourism is developing more and more. To promote it, RIPESS Europe participates in the solidarity tourism guide project for young people. The details of the entire project are here and in particular the link to the guide that the partners of this experiment have created.
The law must be able to guarantee that women who are assigned to the care of others are not themselves abused. The Basque Country, which is well ahead on these issues, has just enacted a new law that strengthens women’s rights, particularly in the social action sector, with its advantages and limits according to the REAS article.
Caring for others also means demanding a living wage for those who contribute to our well-being. See the “Good clothes, Fair pay” campaign.
It is still to be interested in the Territoires Zéro chômeurs longue durée (Territories with no long duration unemployed people) in France, a call for projects has been issued relayed by Socioeco.
Do not hesitate to participate in the political consultation issued by Ecolise for the 10 theses on transformative local development led by the community.
Among our members, a special news for MES France and MES Occitanie: the publication of the book “L’économie solidaire en mouvement” which will be presented in Toulouse during the 20 years anniversary of MES, followed by the FRESS. On this occasion, we publish the video of Bruno Lasnier and Bérénice Dondeyne, recorded in Villarceaux.
To conclude, I will quote Joan Tronto*, who has been a great inspiration for the work carried out for several years on the issue of care, she defines it as “a generic activity that includes everything we do to maintain, perpetuate and repair our “world”, so that we can live in it as best as possible”.
There is an urgent need to develop the concept of a “decent society”, which ensures respect for all.
*Un monde vulnérable ; Pour une politique du care, Joan Tronto. La Découverte. 2009
