RIPESS Europe

RIPESS Europe – Solidarity Economy Europe, was born from the synergy produced by the meetings of the Globalisation of Solidarity organised by the intercontinental network RIPESS Intercontinental, the first of which took place in Lima in 1997. The 4th International Forum of “Globalisation of Solidarity”, Lux’09, which took place in Schifflange in April 2009, led to the launching of a dynamic by establishing trust and shared-knowledge between networks of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) at continental and intercontinental levels. During this meeting, Eric Lavillunière (INEES) and Christine Gent (WFTO) initiated the structuring of a European RIPESS platform. RIPESS uses the term social solidarity economy (SSE) to cover both the solidarity economy and the historical view of the social economy. For the members of RIPESS EU, solidarity economy constitutes a foundation that covers the following dimensions: citizens’ participatory economy, democracy in the workplace, social justice, food sovereignty, respect of human rights – especially for minorities -, gender equality and sexual orientation, and finally ecological and environmental justice. Solidarity economy is considered to be the economy of the future. The network aims to promote alternative modes of production, consumption, savings, and exchange to build a more equitable economy and solidarity-based development. The objectives can be summarized in three categories: 1.Promote territorial ecosystems and support the emergence of new networks by organizing their economic inter-cooperation. 2.Continue working to develop and gain recognition for solidarity economy by jointly working with public policy actors 3.Create and strengthen alliances