This year, APD 2019 gathered more than 30 participants including government officials, SSE intermediaries, and SSE actors from 9 countries to discuss about the experience of implementing Social and Solidarity Economy in their country or city.

Although the contexts of the participants’ cities are different in terms of size, population, economy and level of development, they are facing similar problems due to urbanization and rapid economic development which neglects the environmental and social factors.

The first two sessions focused on the experience of governments to utilize Social and Solidarity Economy to create an inclusive and sustainable economy. They all agree that SSE can be an option to improve the wellbeing of their citizens and protect the nature in the process of development. During the presentations, some countries and cities have indicated that a clear strategic plan to develop SSE for achieving will be implemented in the coming years. However, public awareness and support are indispensible in facilitating the implementation of a robust SSE.

In the last session of the APD, SSE intermediaries were invited to talk about their experience in nurturing SSE with different expertise including capacity building, networking and impact investment. They shared the same idea that government support including legal framework and subsidy cannot be regarded as the sole subsistence of the SSE actors since government support is not durable under the economic fluctuations and rotation of government leadership. At the same time, bureaucracy may hinder creativity in managing SSE. An ecosystem for SSE is necessary to maintain SSE industry sustainable.  

You may click here for all the PPT presentations during the APD.  

Date:  October 30 (Wed) 2019
Venue: Seoul City Hall (Seosomun Complex, 13th Floor)