ILO Rural Development Academy 2025 highlights social and solidarity economy approaches

Geneva, Switzerland (ILO News) - As part of the 2025 ILO Academy on Rural Development, held online, the ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit (COOP/SSE), hosted a “Coffee with Experts” session on 30 September.

This elective session examined how the social and solidarity economy (SSE) advances decent work in rural areas. With about 15 participants, mostly ILO constituents, from countries including Ethiopia, India, Ecuador and Senegal, the session focused on sharing global perspectives and local experiences on the SSE’s role in fostering inclusive and sustainable rural development. The discussion highlighted practical ways the SSE addresses rural challenges and strengthens livelihoods.

Waltteri Katajamäki, SSE Specialist at the ILO COOP/SSE Unit, opened the session with an overview of SSE values and principles and organizational forms, consistent with the ILO Resolution concerning decent work and the SSE. He then set out the five thematic pillars of the ILO’s SSE Strategy and Action Plan: care economy, transition to formality, just transition, supply chains and crisis response. The topics were illustrated with real-world examples, from cooperatives providing care services in rural and indigenous communities in the Americas to elimination of child labour through agricultural cooperatives in Africa.

Country perspectives: Kenya and Chile

Lilyanne Velo, National Project Coordinator for PROSPECTS Kenya, shared how SSE initiatives are promoting social and economic inclusion of refugees in host communities, particularly in rural areas, and in line with the ILO Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205). She noted that by linking producers to value chains and markets, these initiatives strengthen livelihoods and foster peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities. Operating predominantly in the informal economy, SSE entities, including cooperatives, associations and village savings and loan associations (VSLAs), deliver essential services including business development services, training, market access, social protection and women’s economic empowerment, thereby contributing to formalization, Velo highlighted.

Juan Jose Montes, Head of the Associations and Cooperatives Division at Chile’s Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, discussed policy efforts to promote the SSE in rural areas, with a focus on the Roadmap developed with the ILO to strengthen associativity and cooperativism. He explained how this process has been grounded in public policy development through social dialogue with SSE actors, framed around the formalization of productive activities and ensuring decent work as a minimum standard. He concluded by highlighting three key elements for success in promoting SSE models in rural areas:

• The importance of social dialogue;
• Policies rooted in SSE values and principles;
• Engagement with international organizations to strengthen policy frameworks.

The session offered participants with an opportunity to exchange experiences, share challenges and explore solutions. By connecting practitioners, policymakers and experts across continents, the Rural Development Academy provided a valuable platform for dialogue on how the SSE can advance decent work and inclusive rural development.