ILO highlights the relevance of ILO and UN Resolutions on the social and solidarity economy at a European Congress in San Sebastián
ILO Assistant Director-General for Jobs and Social Protection, Mia Seppo, intervened in the high-level panel on the "Plan of Action on Social Economy and the UN Resolution on Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE): tools for scaling up the Social Economy", stressing the role of the social economy in promoting more inclusive growth.
14 November 2023
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MADRID (ILO News) - The Congress took place on 13-14 November 2023 in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, under the title "Social Economy: People, Planet, Action". The ILO ADG participated also representing the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE). Referring to the ILO Resolution on decent work and the social and solidarity economy, she said that it was the first by a specialised UN agency and was adopted tripartite at the 110th International Labour Conference. The resolution contained the first international tripartite definition of the SSE based on values and principles, and emphasised the role of the SSE in the informal economy and its formalisation.
ADG Seppo noted that the UN GA resolution includes the same definition of the SSE which needs to be operationalized in legal and statistical terms. The implementation of the UN GA resolution around the world, but especially in the Global South, will also benefit from the establishment of a group of friends of the SSE, she emphasized. Such a group of Member States can help accelerate the efforts in raising awareness, sharing of good practices, and financing of the SSE, she concluded.
She also reported that the ILO was already working on an ambitious follow-up strategy and a seven-year action plan, noting the creation of two working groups: one on statistics and the other on financing the SSE. She also pointed out the need to involve young people in the social economy model, to promote greater participation of women, especially in new growth sectors, and to improve the financing of the SSE.
The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, spoke to highlight the capacity of the social economy to tackle the major challenges facing Europe and humanity as a whole, among which he particularly stressed climate change. He also pointed to the need for a development model that would make economic growth fully compatible with decent employment and just transitions, noting that social inequalities put development and democracy itself at risk. To this end, he considered that the SSE could be a significant part of the solution.
The high-level panel also included the Spanish Secretary of State for Employment and the Social Economy, who highlighted the Spanish social economy model which, in areas such as the Basque Country, represents ten percent of the economy. Also taking part in the high-level panel were the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, representatives of the European Parliament and of Spanish and European associations of social economy enterprises.
The Congress brought together around 600 policy makers, practitioners and experts and was also attended by the head of the ILO cooperatives unit, Simel Esim, and the director of the Office for Spain, Félix Peinado. The event consisted of four plenary sessions and five thematic workshops, as well as visits to social economy enterprises and numerous parallel activities, and concluded with the signing of the San Sebastian Manifesto, a document to continue making progress in the implementation of the Social Economy at European level.
ADG Seppo noted that the UN GA resolution includes the same definition of the SSE which needs to be operationalized in legal and statistical terms. The implementation of the UN GA resolution around the world, but especially in the Global South, will also benefit from the establishment of a group of friends of the SSE, she emphasized. Such a group of Member States can help accelerate the efforts in raising awareness, sharing of good practices, and financing of the SSE, she concluded.
She also reported that the ILO was already working on an ambitious follow-up strategy and a seven-year action plan, noting the creation of two working groups: one on statistics and the other on financing the SSE. She also pointed out the need to involve young people in the social economy model, to promote greater participation of women, especially in new growth sectors, and to improve the financing of the SSE.
The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, spoke to highlight the capacity of the social economy to tackle the major challenges facing Europe and humanity as a whole, among which he particularly stressed climate change. He also pointed to the need for a development model that would make economic growth fully compatible with decent employment and just transitions, noting that social inequalities put development and democracy itself at risk. To this end, he considered that the SSE could be a significant part of the solution.
The high-level panel also included the Spanish Secretary of State for Employment and the Social Economy, who highlighted the Spanish social economy model which, in areas such as the Basque Country, represents ten percent of the economy. Also taking part in the high-level panel were the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, representatives of the European Parliament and of Spanish and European associations of social economy enterprises.
The Congress brought together around 600 policy makers, practitioners and experts and was also attended by the head of the ILO cooperatives unit, Simel Esim, and the director of the Office for Spain, Félix Peinado. The event consisted of four plenary sessions and five thematic workshops, as well as visits to social economy enterprises and numerous parallel activities, and concluded with the signing of the San Sebastian Manifesto, a document to continue making progress in the implementation of the Social Economy at European level.