This meeting gathered 31 international representatives from Member and Observer organizations representing progress made on enhancing the role of the SSE within the UN system and beyond.
On 20 June 2024, the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) convened virtually for its 48th regular meeting since the establishment of the Task Force in 2013.
Advancing partnerships and collaboration
The session opened with welcoming remarks from the co-chairs, Simel Esim (ILO) and Chantal Line Carpentier (UN Trade and Development), who underscored the importance and potential of activating the social and solidarity economy amidst the current global crisis. The minutes from the 47th meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously, setting a collaborative tone for the discussions that followed. The meeting had 31 participants, including representatives of eight member organizations (ILO, UN Trade & Development, UNRISD, UNDP, UNDESA, WHO, ECLAC, ESCWA, and OECD), twelve observer organizations (CIRIEC, EURICSE, GSEF, Euclid Network, DIESIS, ESSDI, Social Economy Europe, SSE International Forum, RIPESS, EMES, Catalyst2030, and ICA). Dr. Faten, Ben Abdelaziz, the new focal point from the World Health Organization, gave a brief presentation on their work on well-being economies and explored future collaborative activities with the Task Force, including preparing joint knowledge briefs.
Well being approach © World Health Organization (WHO)
Antton Rönnholm, Senior Officer from the ILO’s Global Social Justice Coalition gave a brief presentation following the official launch of the initiative in Geneva last week. The Coalition includes 31 partners with specific mandates related to the SSE, representing around 10 per cent of all partners:
- 17 Governments with SSE framework laws at the national or sub-national levels (Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Honduras, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Spain, Tunisia, and Uruguay)
- 10 international organizations and international bodies, including 8 UNTFSSE members (ILO, UN Trade & Development, UNDP, UNEP, UNRISD, UN Women, ECLAC, and ESCWA) and 2 others (AUC, EC)
- 4 international NGOs, including 3 UNTFSSE observers (ESS Forum International, International Cooperative Alliance, RIPESS) and 1 other (Fairtrade International)
Preparing the Secretary General Report for 79th UN General Assembly
A portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the drafting of the Secretary General report, as mandated in UN General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/77/28) and the UNTFSSE’s Strategic Action Plan (24-26). The report, which incorporates inputs from 14 governments, eight United Nations entities, six international non-governmental organizations, two intergovernmental organizations and one development bank, documents how the social and solidarity economy contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an inclusive, job-rich, resilient and sustainable recovery. It highlights progress made since the adoption of the resolution in the promotion of the social and solidarity economy through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, as well as through education, research, financial and non-financial support services and statistical visibility. The report concludes with identifying key recommendations for the General Assembly to consider. Colleagues were then invited to provide feedback on the final draft before its submission to New York.
In addition to the development of the Secretary General’s report, the task force made substantial headway in institutionalizing UNTFSSE governance. The new Terms of Reference, refined through consultations since the last regular meeting, were deliberated and are now poised for finalization and publication on the UNTFSSE website.
Mainstreaming the SSE into the development agenda
As the meeting progressed, updates on various task force activities were shared, including the planning for upcoming international conferences and summits. These updates highlighted the strategic efforts to incorporate SSE into global dialogues and development agendas, ensuring that the principles of the SSE are represented in international policymaking and practice.
Chantal Line Carpentier (UN Trade & Development) initiated a discussion on integrating the SSE into trade and biodiversity, particularly for the upcoming Trade Day at COP16 in Cali, Colombia in October. Sandra Morena (RIPESS) further highlighted the interest for collaboration with the Colombian government to promote civil society engagement through ECOOVIDA (‘Economies for Life’).
Simel Esim (Co-chair, ILO) shared outcomes from the recent International Labour Conference, which included multiple references to the SSE in two different committee discussions. The general discussion committee on decent work and the care economy came up with a resolution that has ten mentions of the SSE and its entities. The resolution will serve as an international reference in raising visibility of SSE entities as providers of care services. The next step will be the development of the ILO strategy and action plan through which we will work to integrate work on the SSE. In addition the recurrent discussion committee on fundamental principles and rights at work also included a mention of the cooperative, social and solidarity economy. Colleagues considered how to best mobilize the Task Force for next year’s ILC general discussion on informal economy and the first year of the standard setting discussion on the platform economy. Ms. Esim also highlighted the ILO’s SSE in Asia Regional Workshop which took place last week in Bangkok, Thailand with participation from UNTFSSE Members including the ICA, and ECLAC and Observers including the ICA, RIPESS, and GSEF.
Andrew Alimadi (UN DESA) highlighted the UN International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) upcoming in 2025, which will be officially launched during the ICA Global Cooperative Conference, scheduled for November 26-29, 2024, in New Delhi, India. A soft launch is scheduled for July 9th in New York City, as organized by the Committee on the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC). The UNTFSSE looks forward to these and will continue mobilizing through the next regular meeting schedule in September.
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