Newsletter May-June 2019

gsefadmin

2019-06-11

May and June are the peak season for GSEF when different workshops, conferences and summits are taking place in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Through these encounters and exchanges, we hope to advocate a sustainable ecosystem for the development of social economy in the world.

A national capacity-building training successfully took place from 1 to 3 May 2019 in Saly, Senegal. Curious to know more about the outcome of the first training organized as part of our GSEF Training & Workshop Series? The report, interviews of participants, photos and other outcome documents are available on GSEF's website.

Representative of GSEF was delighted to join Asia Pacific Social Enterprise Summit 亞太社企高峰會 held in Kaohsiung between 11/5 and 12/5. Over 1,500 participants joined APSES, one of the most significant summits on social enterprise across the Asia Pacific region, to meet, collaborate and exchange ideas and experiences about the development of social enterprise.

With the the Africa Policy Dialogue 2019 now behind us, we would like to thank everyone involved in this first edition of the Policy Dialogue that took place on the African continent. Among other outcomes of this event, we are thrilled to share with you the Bamako Declaration which will serve as a road map for the development of the social and solidarity economy across Africa, and which lays out specific recommendations to local and national governments and SSE actors towards this objective.

From 5 to 9 May, the 3rd Regional Forum for Local Economic Development (LED) for the Latin America and the Caribbean which was attended by more than 600 participants was held in Barranquilla (Colombia) around the main theme of Local Economic Development in the fragile territories affected by conflicts and violence. Ms. Laurence Kwark, Secretary General of GSEF, joined as a panelist in the session on employment and economic empowerment of youth and women.

GSEF will participate in the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) on 25th and 26 June 2019 in Geneva.

This two-day conference will:

provide a space for researchers, practitioners and policy decision-makers to share and exchange evidence and ideas about the connections between SSE and people, planet, prosperity, participation and partnerships in different local contexts;
demonstrate, through evidence-based analysis, concrete ways in which SSE contributes to sustainable development, and to the implementation and achievement of the SDGs; and
contribute to enhancing the visibility of SSE as a means of implementation of the SDGs within and beyond the UN system.

Held between 25th June and 28th June in Singapore, the AVPN Conference 2019 is Asia's largest social investing convening bringing together more than 1,000 funders, resource providers and policymakers from across the world. The Conference aims to provide opportunities for thought leaders and practitioners to share and apply innovative best practices, collaborate around undeserved causes, and advance the movement towards maximum impact. GSEF will also participate in the conference.

Publication

GSEF has issued a position paper on the International Labour Organization (ILO)'s report, “Work for a Brighter Future - Report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work” to highlight the importance of SSE in the future of work and presented its suggestion of including a strategic direction plan of SSE in the Centenary Declaration of the ILO during the 2019 ILC to address the identified challenges and recognize SSE’s role in overcoming these challenges.

As preparations for GSEF2020 are well on their way, we are pleased to inform you that the final report of GSEF2018, which took place in Bilbao last October, is finally available in English, French and Spanish!