The United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) celebrated its 4th Technical Symposium in Montreal, Quebec , the October 2nd and 3rd 2023.
The event, held in partnership with the Government of Quebec, the City of Montreal and the Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins brought together Members (UN agencies including ILO, UNCTAD, UNRISD, DESA, and others) and Observers (global and/or regional organizations that actively promote and engage in the promotion of the SSE in alignment with the UNTFSSE’s aims). This fourth technical symposium reunited global policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, to explore how to effectively implement the United Nations General Assembly resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” (A/RES/77/281), adopted on April 18, 2023.
Since 2020 Diesis Network is a part of the UN Task Force for SSE (UNTFSSE) as Observer. Regular meetings have been held virtually every 2-3 months, and since its creation, the Task Force has held three technical symposia where joint action plans were discussed and agreed upon: Rome in 2016, Trento in 2019, and online in 2021. In this 4th technical symposiun Diesis Network was represented by its Executive President Gianluca Pastorelli. The task force discussed how to support the UN Secretary General in the development of the report, as mandated in the Resolution on `Promoting the SSE for Sustainable Development’.
The event convened approximately 50 participants, comprising representatives from UNTFSSE member and observer organizations, partnered invitees, and esteemed high-level representatives from Member States at the forefront of the SSE movement. It contributed to strengthen UNTFSSE’s team and actions and build on the different members’ and observers’ broader expertise to promote the SSE and implement the UNGA Resolution.
Our takeaways:
It’s now evident that a fresh phase has emerged for our sector: the successful completion of the advocacy phase, reaching key milestones (SEAP and its follow-up actions, UNGA, ILO, OECD resolutions), paves the way for a period of practical implementation. Diesis Network can play a pivotal role due to various reasons:
- Global Outreach: Diesis Network operates on a global scale, aligning seamlessly with the UNITFSSE objectives.
- Focus on Knowledge: Our emphasis on research, capacity building, and peer exchange enables a robust knowledge-based approach.
- Empowering Practitioners: Diesis aims to provide valuable guidance, fostering development within the SSE Ecosystem.
Further actions of UNITFSSE will be focused on implementing the UNGA Resolution, refining the task force’s strategy, and creating a work plan to enhance collaboration and promote collective action.