September 26, 2023
The UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) was created in 2013 in response to a growing concern within the UN system to rethink development in the wake of multiple global crises and in the context of the post-2015 development agenda paying attention to the social and solidarity economy (SSE). The UNTFSSE aims to raise the visibility of the SSE within the UN system and beyond. The members and observers have committed to undertake collaborative activities to: […]
July 17, 2023
Following the historic adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” (A/RES/77/281) on 18 April 2023, the UNTFSSE has launched an open online course that will allow UN Member States and intergovernmental bodies, United Nations entities, regional governments and organizations, policymakers, academia and think tanks, development banks, civil society (NGOs, foundations, voluntary groups, etc.), the private sector and media to get acquainted with basic concepts and practices of the […]
April 19, 2023
At its 66th plenary meeting on April 18, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” (A/RES/77/281). The resolution provides an official definition for the Social and Solidarity Economy and acknowledges that it can contribute to the achievement and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Recognizing the role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in promoting democracy and social justice, the resolution also: 1. Encourages Member States to […]
December 7, 2022
A multistakeholder meeting, joining civil society and Governments, is planned at the UN Headquarters in New York on 13 December, 2022 from 10:00 to 12:00 pm (NYT). The event “How can the international recognition of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) help achieve the SDGs through social and inclusive innovation?” is co-organized by the Government of France, Spain, Chile, Senegal and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE). The objective of the meeting is to raise awareness […]
October 20, 2022
The 40th UNTFSSE meeting was held virtually on 05 October 2022. It brought together more than 40 participants from eight member (ILO, UNRISD, ESCAP, ECLAC, UNDP, UNDESA, UNCTAD and OECD), twelve observer organizations (Catalyst2030, CIRIEC, CSEND, EESC, EMES, EURICSE, DIESIS, GSEF, Euclid Network, ICA, SSE International Forum, RIPESS) and two resource persons. The meeting started with a review of the priority objectives of the UNTFSSE. The focus was on how to operationalize these objectives based on the UNTFSSE workplan 2022-2024, as […]
October 19, 2022
The tenth edition of the Mont Blanc Meetings was organized by the SSE International Forum in Cartagena, Colombia this year. It was the first time that the Mont Blanc Meetings took place, in the Americas. The two-day event included seven selected sub-themes and six self-managed sessions on a range of topics pertaining to the SSE. It brought together policy-makers, practitioners and experts from around the world to discuss the latest trends on the SSE. Mr. Vic Van Vuuren, Chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task […]
September 26, 2022
The second position paper of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy revisits the role of Social and Solidarity Economy in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and calls for a stronger enabling environment and policy framework for SSE. The UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) has published its first Position Paper in 2014 to emphasize the need to pay more attention to Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) in the process of drafting the 2030 […]
August 2, 2022
The UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy organized a virtual meeting to discuss recent milestones and future joint work. The meeting took place on July 19 2022, with 40 participants including representatives from the UN Task Force on the SSE (UNTFSSE). The meeting started by welcoming the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) CEPAL as new member of the UNTFSSE and Ms. Chantal Line Carpentier, Chief of UNCTAD Office in New York, as […]
July 29, 2022
During the side-event “Role of Social and Solidarity Economy in achieving the SDGs: Potential General Assembly Resolution,” Member States recognized the role of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in contributing to the attainment of Agenda 2030 and expressed support for advancing a proposal for a UN General Assembly Resolution on SSE for sustainable development. The side-event was organized by the Spanish Government in collaboration with the ILO and UNCTAD on July 22 in New York. It aimed at socializing the SSE […]
July 13, 2022
A High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) side-event held on July 5th discussed the role of the social and solidarity economy in building back better and promoting sustainable development. Organized by RIPESS intercontinental, in partnership with the United Nations Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), the governments of France, Spain and Malaysia, the online side-event was an official side event of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF2022). An annual event and platform of the United Nations organized for the follow-up and review […]
May 20, 2022
The 39th UNTFSSE meeting was held virtually on 11 May 2022. It brought together 45 participants from six member organizations (ILO, UNRISD, UNDESA, UNCTAD, ESCAP and OECD), twelve observer organizations (CIRIEC, EMES, EURICSE, DIESIS, GSEF, Euclid Network, Social Economy Europe, SSE International Forum, RIPESS, CSEND, EESC and ICA) and three resource persons. The meeting started with a review of the priority objectives of the new UNTFSSE workplan 2022-2024, as discussed during the third UNTFSSE technical symposium held in December 2021.Reflections on mainstreaming […]
May 20, 2022
The Director of the Enterprises Department of the ILO and Chair of the UN Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), Mr Vic Van Vuuren has participated in the Catalysing Change Week 2022, an international event to unlock and accelerate the potential of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). Catalysing Change Week (CCW) is a global event led by social innovators and entrepreneurs to share knowledge, exchange ideas and accelerate collaborative systems change during more than 250 sessions […]
May 11, 2022
Organized in Strasburg on 5-6 May, the event brought together more than 2,000 social economy stakeholders of Europe and beyond. The Director of the Enterprises Department at the ILO and Chair of the UN Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), Mr. Vic Van Vuuren and one official from the COOP Unit at the ILO and Technical Secretariat of the UNTFSSE, Ms. Valentina Verze, participated in the conference. The conference was organized by the city and euro-metropolis of Strasbourg, in partnership with […]
April 25, 2022
Interview with Sonia Dias, Waste Picker Sector Specialist at Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) on Redesol, a network of cooperatives of waste pickers in Brazil. The interview was conducted by the International Labour Orgnization. The establishment of sustainable business links in the recycling chain has been a dream pursued for waste pickers in the informal economy in Brazil. Since the early 1990’s waste pickers have been organizing themselves into cooperatives and other solidarity based associations. These […]
April 1, 2022
On 9 December 2021, after a process of consultation with citizens and stakeholders, the European Commission (EC) published the Social Economy Action Plan « Building an economy that works for people: an action plan for the social economy”. The Action Plan represents a milestone in providing a policy framework on SSE in European Union. It was developed to help the European social economy thrive, tapping into its economic and job-creation potential, as well as its contribution to a fair and inclusive recovery, […]
March 29, 2022
The Chair of the UNTFSSE and the ILO’s Enterprises Department Director, Mr Vic van Vuuren, spoke at the Pact for Impact event “For an International Recognition of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)” on 4th March 2022. Pact for Impact Alliance is an initiative led by the French Government aiming to create a Global Alliance that promotes and strengthens the SSE and the Inclusive Economy. The event was held to review the history and achievements of Pact for Impact and to […]
March 2, 2022
The 38th UNTFSSE meeting was held virtually on 24 February 2022. It brought together 45 participants from six member organizations (ILO, UNRISD, UNDP, UNCTAD, ESCAP and OECD), twelve observer organizations (CIRIEC, EURICSE, Catalyst2030, DIESIS, GSEF, Euclid Network, Social Economy Europe, SSE International Forum, RIPESS, CSEND, EESC and ICA) and three resource persons. The meeting started with a review of the priority objectives of the new UNTFSSE workplan 2022-2024, as discussed during the third UNTFSSE technical symposium held in December 2021. Reflections on […]
February 1, 2022
The Chair of UNTFSSE and Director of ILO Enterprises Department joins a discussion at the MedTOWN’s international seminar on social and solidarity economy. On 26 January 2022, Mr Vic van Vuuren, the Chair of UNTFSSE and Director of ILO Enterprises Department attended the MedTOWN International Seminar on Social and Solidarity Economy which was held virtually. In a panel discussion on social innovation and public policies, Mr van Vuuren shared ILO’s experience in innovative Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) practices and highlighted the […]
December 17, 2021
With the theme of “Deepening our Cooperative Identity”, the 33rd World Cooperative Congress was held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea from 1 to 3 December 2021. The Director of ILO’s Enterprises Department and chair of the UNTFSSE, Mr Victor van Vuuren contributed to the discussion on cooperatives and the wider Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at a parallel session of the Congress and at a post-Congress event on Global Round Table of Governmental Authorities for the Promotion of Cooperatives. During his presentation at the […]
December 17, 2021
The technical symposium took place virtually from 6 to 10 December 2021. The third technical symposium of the UNTFSSE was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and facilitated by the ILO International Training Centre (ITC-ILO). Fifty participants took part in the event which included resource persons and representatives of eight members (ILO, OECD, UNESCAP, UNCTAD, UNDESA, UNDP, UNHCR, UNRISD) and 12 observers (CSEND, CIRIEC, Diesis, EMES international, Euclid Network, EURICSE, EESC, GSEF, ICA, SSE International Forum, RIPESS, Social Economy Europe). The event provided […]
October 28, 2021
The fifth Edition of the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF) was held in Mexico City from October 4 to 8, 2021. Focusing on “Local Governments and Social Economy: co-creation of paths for a green and inclusive economy”, GSEF2021 engaged representatives from national and local governments, private, civil society and international organizations, academia, researchers and experts, in dialogue and action for the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). On the third day of the forum, the session on “Develop […]
October 28, 2021
The fifth Edition of the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF) was held in Mexico City from October 4 to 8, 2021. Focusing on “Local Governments and Social Economy: co-creation of paths for a green and inclusive economy”, GSEF2021 engaged representatives from national and local governments, private, civil society and international organizations, academia, researchers and experts, in dialogue and action for the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). On the first day of the forum, the Director of Enterprises […]
October 28, 2021
Director of ILO Enterprises Department and Chair of UNTFSSE, Mr Vic Van Vuuren participated at the European Social Economy Week 2021 in a discussion on the global challenges and perspectives of social economy as a driver of sustainable development. The European Social Economy Week 2021 took place from 11-15 October upon the Slovenian Presidency of the European Union. With the launch of the European Social Economy Action Plan in the last quarter of 2021, the event focused on scaling up, digitalization and […]
October 28, 2021
The 37th UNTFSSE meeting was virtually held on 21 October 2021 and brought together almost 50 participants from seven UN member organizations (ILO, UNRISD, UNDESA, UNDP, UNCTAD, ESCAP) and OECD, thirteen observer organizations (CIRIEC, EURICSE, Catalyst2030, EMES, DIESIS, GSEF, Euclid Network, Social Economy Europe, SSE International Forum, RIPESS, CSEND, EESC and ICA) and two resource persons. The meeting started with the Chair welcoming ESCAP, as a new member to the UNTFSSE and the Growth team at the Bureau for Policy and […]
October 28, 2021
The UNTFSSE session discussed opportunities and challenges around statistics concerning the SSE. The United Nations Task Force on Social, Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE)’s session on statistics concerning the SSE took place virtually within the framework of the 8th EMES conference. The conference was organized by the EMES International Research Network, in partnership with the Empower-SE COST Action, the University of Zaragoza’s GESES-Zaragoza University Research Group (Grupo de Estudios Sociales y Económicos del Tercer Sector), the Social Economy Laboratory LAB_ES and CEPES Aragon. Under […]
September 29, 2021
This session is organized in the framework of 5th Edition of the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF) on “Local Government and Social Economy: co-creation of paths for a green and inclusive economy”. GSEF2021 was be an opportunity to call for dialogue and action representation of national and local governments, members of civil society, academia, researchers, experts, private organizations, as well as international organizations committed to the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at a global level, with the […]
September 24, 2021
In a session of the OECD event “The Social and Solidarity Economy: From the Margins to the Mainstream”, ILO Enterprises Director and the Chair of the UNTFSSE, along with actors of the social and solidarity economy (SSE), envisions a human-centred recovery with the SSE as a driving force. The OECD’s first high-level virtual conference “The Social and Solidarity Economy: From the Margins to the Mainstream” was held from 13 to 16 September 2021. The UNTFSSE actively participated in this event. […]
August 31, 2021
The papers on Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) statistics aim at supporting stakeholders to deepen their understanding of the methodologies on SSE and policymakers to establish and improve SSE statistical systems. Although policymakers increasingly pay attention to SSE organizations and enterprises (SSEOEs), in particular, their potentials to address social, economic and environmental problems in alternative ways, the lack of statistical information about the weight, size and scope of SSEOEs in their territory often prevents them from establishing sustainable and inclusive […]
August 27, 2021
The Cooperative António Sérgio for Social Economy (CASES) of Portugal, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO) are co-organising the 12th edition of the Academy on SSE titled “Building back better: the role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in a people-centred and planet-sensitive recovery”. The first ever virtual Academy on SSE will take place from 15 to 26 November 2021 in English, Portuguese, French and Spanish. The Academy will stimulate sharing of […]
August 25, 2021
The event will take place virtually from 13 to 16 September 2021, from 13:00 to 16:00 CEST. The high-level virtual conference “The Social and Solidarity Economy: From the Margins to the Mainstream” will be the first international conference part of the OECD Global Action. It is expected to bring together hundreds of policy makers, practitioners, and experts working on the social and solidarity economy to: Learn more about key considerations when designing legal frameworks and measuring social impact, including based on […]