What is Social Solidarity Economy?
Today, perhaps as never before, more people are becoming aware that capitalism has turned our lives and our planet into a commodity. A system that is environmentally unsustainable and socially unjust, and that it is not able to guarantee the happiness and dignified life conditions of all persons in any place on the planet.
Social Solidarity Economy includes a wide range of practices that span economic, social, environmental, political, communitarian or holistic dimensions.
News—
The Kandy Declaration: A Collective Roadmap for Systemic Transformation
From 6 to 13 September 2025, more than 700 delegates from over 100 countries gathered in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum for Food Sovereignty. Peasants, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, fishers, feminist movements, youth, workers, and activists came together to renew the global struggle for justice, dignity, and life — giving birth to the Kandy Declaration: A Collective [...]
A founding date for the solidarity economy: 30 years since its first public appearance
On 18 October 1995, the document Pour l'économie solidaire (For Solidarity Economy) was published in the French national daily newspaper Le Monde.On the morning of October 18, I was in France on a France-Quebec collaboration mission in the field of employment. Before boarding the train (or the metro), I bought the edition of the day. I had a very pleasant [...]
Ana María Condori Fernández: Seeds of dignity and fair trade from Bolivia
From the Altiplano and the colonization region of Alto Beni in Bolivia, Ana María Condori Fernández, an Aymara woman, arrives at the Nyéléni Forum with a story shaped by resilience, organization, and hope. Her journey began in childhood, herding animals and working the land under conditions of extreme poverty. Later, as a domestic worker in La Paz, she endured exploitation [...]
What is RIPESS?
RIPESS is a global network of continental networks committed to the promotion of Social Solidarity Economy. The member networks themselves (Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania) bring together national and sectorial networks, thus ensuring strong territorial anchoring.
The combined local and global scope gives RIPESS legitimacy to promote SSE, foster intercontinental cooperation, and advocate at different levels. RIPESS members believe in the importance of the globalisation of solidarity, and the ability to build and strengthen an economy that places people and planet at the centre of its activities.
