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—
Guatemala moves forward in recognizing SSE: new ILO diagnostic report
The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with Guatemala’s Ministry of Economy, has published the “Summary of the diagnostic and mapping of the social and solidarity economy in Guatemala”, a key document that highlights the transformative role of SSE in the country. The study presents the Social and Solidarity Economy as a set of entities that combine economic, social, and [...]
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights decides that care is an autonomous right
RIPESS celebrates and is pleased to inform that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued its Advisory Opinion OC-31/25, in response to a request submitted in 2023 by the Argentine Republic, affirming that care constitutes an autonomous human right. This opinion, adopted on June 12, 2025, and notified today, August 7, 2025, addresses the content and scope of the right to care, its [...]
Support for the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) framework law in Benin
The African Network for the Social and Solidarity Economy (RAESS) welcomes this process underway. Already, six African countries have adopted such legislation: Cabo Verde (2016), Cameroon (2019), Djibouti (2019), Tunisia and Senegal (2020) and Côte d'Ivoire (2025). Specific public policies and strategies exist in Mali (2014), Côte d'Ivoire (2025), and South Africa (2021). In some countries, such as Morocco, a [...]
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.
