Who we are
RIPESS Europe – Solidarity Economy Europe, was born from the synergy produced by the meetings of the Globalisation of Solidarity organised by the intercontinental network RIPESS Intercontinental, the first of which took place in Lima in 1997. The 4th International Forum of “Globalisation of Solidarity”, Lux’09, which took place in Schifflange in April 2009, led to the launching of a dynamic by establishing trust and shared-knowledge between networks of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) at continental and intercontinental levels. During this meeting, Eric Lavillunière (INEES) and Christine Gent (WFTO) initiated the structuring of a European RIPESS platform.
In Barcelona, in 2011, RIPESS Europe was born. It included representatives of networks from Belgium, Catalonia, France, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Germany.
News from Europe—
Ruby van der Wekken: Food as a Commons, Cornerstone of Systemic Change
Ruby van der Wekken is part of the food cooperative Oma Maa (“Our Soil”), located in the Helsinki region of Finland. For over 16 years, this cooperative has worked toward food sovereignty through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model that brings together producers and consumers in a collective effort to transform the food system. The cooperative produces organic and vegan [...]
RIPESS at the Nyéléni Forum: For an Economy Serving Life, Not Profit
RIPESS, represented by Souhir Inas from the Réseau Marocain de l’Économie Sociale et Solidaire (REMESS), took the floor during the Nyéléni forum to share the political contexts facing its members and allies in their territories: Today, the world stands at a crossroads. We face overlapping crises: growing inequality, crushing debt, militarisation, climate disruption and ecosystem collapse. However, instead of turning [...]
Dražen Šimleša: Solidarity Ecosystems, From Local to Global
From Croatia, Dražen Šimleša brings to the Nyéléni Forum the experience of Recycled Estate, a living community and eco-social education center in permaculture, located 25 km from Zagreb. In a context where rural areas are losing population and much farmland remains uncultivated, this space has become a laboratory for the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) in service of food sovereignty. [...]