RIPESS MANILA’ 13 | 5th International Meeting of Social Solidarity Economy

In celebration of the 5th International Meeting on Social Solidarity Economy to be held on October 15-18, 2013 at the University of the Philippines, the Federation of Peoples’ Sustainable Development Cooperative (FPSDC), in collaboration with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA,) spearheads the conduct of a whole-day “Self Organized Action (SOA)” at UP SOLAIR -ISSSI, Quezon City. The SOA will focus on the following:

1. Where are we now?

• Philippine economic situation
• SSE in the Philippines and its link to Co-op
• Global economic situation
• SSE Globally and its link to Co-op

2. Where do we want to go?

• “To achieve Social Solidarity Economy”

3. How do we get there? –

• “Level up to become a potent economic force.”

Dubbed as “Level up and become a Potent Economic Force!” the activity intends to:

a. To situate the Philippine SSE initiatives in the overall Philippine & Global economy
b. To identify challenges (existing or future) that affects or might affect the achievement of SSE in the co-op context
c. To identify courses of action to address the identified challenges
d. To come up with a core-group to monitor the progress of the identified courses of action

Expected outputs of the SOA are:

a. More learned and informed co-op participants
b. Concrete courses of actions to be undertaken
c. Statement of Resolutions and commitments
d. Formation of core group

Cooperatives in the Philippines are cordially invited to attend this monumental activity on October 16. A registration fee of Php 2,000 will be collected to cover the food and snacks, token of resource persons, and other incidental expenses in the entire activity. — jun defensor

Brief Description of the SOA

In the realm of its nature, it can be said that Co-ops are already advancing SSE in their own little ways by their adherence to the universally accepted cooperative principles – an ethical and value-based approach to development. There are already a number of stories or best practices that can be told on how the co-ops operationalize SSE on its local context. However, since there is an emergent discussion on SSE globally, and new forms of cooperation outside of the co-op movement sprang to life brought by globalization, it is essential for the Philippine co-ops to actively participate and become more aware of what’s happening in the advancement of SSE. Also, in the context of the co-op’s 10-year (2011-2020) blueprint, a worldwide campaign to take the co-op way of doing business to a new level can be the co-op’s concrete contribution to SSE.

This SOA will provide the venue for knowledge-sharing and planning on how the co-ops can level up and be strengthened to become a potent economic force, formidable enough to negotiate, explore tie-ups and fairly compete with the big enterprises and conglomerates locally and globally in the face of many challenges.

Program of Activities (Tentative)

October 16, 2013
Venue: UP-ISSSI