Historical background
Once upon a time... in 1997 in Lima, Peru, a group of activists, proponents of socio-economic alternatives, researchers and trade unionists, had the intuitive idea, which was somewhat prophetic at the time and was well before the launch of the World Social Forum, that the moment had come to create a vehicle for meetings at an international level. At the time, the world was seeing a proliferation of initiatives which were later to be called “social and solidarity economy” initiatives (SSE). The time had come to create a major forum and space for sharing, forecasting and policy development in order to raise the visibility and institutional legitimacy of these initiatives. On the back of the success of this event, a decision was taken to organise a second meeting in Québec in 2001. The participants lost no time in organising a network that then became the International Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS). The name of this dynamic process of the “Globalisation of Solidarity” has slowly imposed itself and it is now part of the worldwide heritage of social movements.
Since then, this event has continued to take place every four years, alternating its venue between the North and the South, with an increasing participation of SSE networks from throughout the world (Latin America, North America, Africa, Asia, Europe). Following the meetings in Lima in 1997 and Québec in 2001, then Dakar in 2005, the next meeting will take place in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 2009 (LUX’09). This will be the fourth meeting of its kind and its specific theme will be: “Another economy exists: the innovations of the Social Solidarity Economy”.
Another economy exists : the innovations of the social and solidarity economy
For a real cultural change
INEES has committed itself to the organisation of the next RIPESS meetings because it has the ambition of taking up the itinerant torch of these events that continue to grow in both scale and stature and to maintain this dynamic process at the highest possible level of excellence. This is a perilous exercise and it requires us to change our mindset.
It would be very simple to elect a leader who would then propose a political line, would mobilise his or her networks composed of figures that are already recognised and would merely recreate a nice, well-organised conference in which we could discuss what is happening in the world beneath the benevolent gaze of the authorities who run the planet!
However, that is not at all what the social and solidarity economy is all about. It does not represent a demand to take the place of those who are already in a position of power, rather it is a new vision of society and social relations between men and women. That is why we have started a truly participative process in the context of the organisation of Lux’09, by asking the networks to be involved, to make proposals and to lead discussion.
I don’t know if we will end up with the prettiest programme, but we will reflect directly with those who are concerned by (and interested in) the issues that are at the centre of our concerns.
We have banned terms such as “there is only”, “we must” and “it would be good if,” from our vocabulary and have replaced them with acts of commitment and responsibility, along with simple and clear rules such as gender equality and North/ South equality. We have also adopted a way of doing things that we consider to be as open and collegial as possible, so as to set an example.
The real stars of this event will be the participants, whilst those involved in the organisation will be facilitators who will strive to guarantee the values and coherence of the overall approach. If we succeed in doing this, then Lux’09 will be a success!
Eric Lavillunière - INEES / General Coordinator of Lux’09