The Ibero-American Network for the Promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy (RIFESS) held the Seminar ‘From Global Policies to Local Development’ on September 5 and 6. It brought together representatives from government institutions from various Ibero-American countries, responsible for promoting the social economy in their respective territories. The Executive Coordination of the Network is led by the National Institute of Social Economy (INAES) of the Government of Mexico.
The main objective is to strengthen the Network, as many actors in the international arena are currently joining forces to achieve sustainable, inclusive, and fair development worldwide. These strategies converge with the aims and principles of the Social Economy. Initially, the network is made up of 6 countries and hopes to increase the number of member states in the future.
The Network enables the exchange of experiences and the creation of international strategies. It also allows for broader and more direct action, with better capacities to carry out its work both in national institutions and international organizations.
Representatives from the World Economic Forum, the OECD, the UN Inter-Agency Task Force for Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), UNCTAD, the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF), former Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, Sparkassenstiftung, the Andalusian School of Social Economy, Social Economy Europe, the International Cooperative Alliance, the Mondragón Corporation, the Government of Spain, CEPAL, and the Ibero-American General Secretariat participated in the seminar.
Since January 2024
The Ibero-American Network for the Promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy was established last January with the goal of sharing the development of public policies initially in the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Spain.
Professor Juan Fernando Álvarez, from CIRIEC-Colombia and the Ibero-American Observatory OIBESCOOP, coordinated the signing of this Network with Commissioner Víctor Meseguer (Spain); the director of the Special Administrative Unit of Solidarity Organizations (UAEOS) of Colombia, Mauricio Rodríguez; the General Director of the National Institute of Social Economy (INAES) of Mexico, Juan Manuel Martínez Louvier, and the national secretary of Solidarity Economy of the Government of Brazil, Gilberto Carvalho.
