Connections: advancing the global social solidarity economy agenda in New York
24 September 2026 · 09:00–11:30  
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, New York City

Register TODAY

RIPESS Intercontinental, together with the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and the US Solidarity Economy Network (USSEN), will co‑organize a movement‑led gathering on 24 September 2026 during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC. The event will bring together international SSE networks, New York and US cooperatives, community organizers, and movements working on housing and land, food sovereignty, care, migrant justice, racial justice, climate justice, informal work, waste‑pickers’ rights, circular and digital cooperative economies, and democratic governance.

The session will also include a dialogue with representatives of the Government of Spain and UN DESA and speakers affiliated with USSEN, WIEGO, the Global Platform for the Right to the City (GPR2C), and URGENCI, creating a space for exchange between movement perspectives and institutional actors engaged in the implementation of UN General Assembly resolutions 77/281 and 79/213 on the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE).

A critical moment for climate justice and democratic resilience

The gathering takes place at a time when climate action requires more than technological solutions or financial commitments. The climate crisis is inseparable from deepening inequality, extractivism, insecure work, dispossession, and unequal access to land, housing, food and care. Advancing climate justice demands economic systems that redistribute power and resources, protect common goods, strengthen community resilience and place care for people and ecosystems ahead of profit.

The SSE contributes to climate justice and democratic resilience when it expands community control over housing, land, food, work, care, finance, waste and digital infrastructures. This event asks how public policy, international cooperation and multilateral processes can support — rather than instrumentalize or depoliticize — the collective practices that make the SSE possible.

Objectives

The gathering will:

  • Present and discuss a political reading of the 2026 UN Secretary‑General’s Report on the SSE, including key findings, gaps and recommendations.
  • Identify movement priorities and risks for future UN resolutions on the SSE.
  • Make visible concrete practices and political demands of SSE movements as essential evidence for implementation of resolutions 77/281 and 79/213.
  • Create a space for mutual learning among international networks, New York/US organizations and allied movements.
  • Strengthen relationships with grassroots, abolitionist, anti‑authoritarian and transformative movements.
  • Develop a shared movement framing of the conditions required for the SSE to advance social justice, climate justice, democracy, ecological sustainability and collective self‑determination.
  • Identify practical next steps for continued collaboration among RIPESS, CUNY School of Labor, USSEN and participating organizations.

Agenda

09:00–09:10  
Welcome and political opening  
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and local hosts
09:10–09:40  
The UN moment: recognition, gaps and movement questions  
Spanish Government · RIPESS · UN DESA
09:40–10:20
Movement dialogue: Building economic democracy from the ground up  
USSEN · WIEGO · URGENCI · GPR2C
10:20–10:40
Research and academic insights: building alliances.
Community Worker Ownership Project and Human Rights Agenda
10:40–11:10  
Breakout / plenary: What must a movement‑rooted SSE agenda deliver?  
Collective identification of priorities for implementation of resolution 79/213
11:15–11:30  Closing reflections and next steps

Participants and contributors

  • Rebecca Lurie, Community Worker Ownership Project (CWOP), CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
  • Jaime Iglesias, Commissioner of Social Economy, Government of Spain
  • Sandra Moreno Cadena, Executive Secretary, RIPESS Intercontinental
  • Andrew Allimadi, Social Affairs Officer, UN DESA
  • Sonia Dias, WIEGO
  • Melanie Bush, USSEN
  • Kate Anstreicher, Glynwood Center for Food and Farming – URGENCI
  • Rob Robinson, Global Platform for the Right to the City
  • Marc Edelman, Hunter College & CUNY Graduate Center

Part of RIPESS’ broader engagement in New York

This gathering is one of several activities in which RIPESS will participate in New York during the week of 21–26 September, alongside academic sessions, movement dialogues, climate‑related events and high‑level UN discussions on the Social and Solidarity Economy. Check the dedicated web note with the full agenda of RIPESS’ participation during the week (coming soon).