May 1, 2008: "What's the Economy For Anyway? The Case for a Solidarity Economy", Springfield College, Springfield, MA
The Center for Popular Economics facilitated two workshops with around 60 students at Springfield College. We discussed what the economy should be for and looked at how the U.S. economy is failing to deliver in many important ways. We discussed the need for a different economy that promotes the welfare of people and planet. We looked at the principles and framework of the solidarity economy and used the Stepping Stone exercise to explore many of the real examples of the solidarity economy in action. One student commented after the workshop that this was the most interesting class of the semester!
May 29-30, 2008: "What's the Economy For, Anyway? The Case for a Solidarity Economy and Social Wealth" Highlander Center, TN
We are really excited about this opportunity to work with the Highlander Research & Education Center which has a long and venerable history of bringing together generations of activists to share, learn and strategize. This regional workshop brought together organizations based in the South and Appalachia that are involved in economic justice work. It provided an opportunity for these activists to share their experiences and challenges. We drew on these discussions to raise the question, What's the economy for, anyway? We l introduce the solidarity economy as a framework that can bring together many of these struggles for a better world. The workshop focused also on social wealth and the common property resource management strategies, especially in light of how so many Appalachian communities have been heavily dependent on resource extraction. We ended with small group discussions of how to put what we talked about into practice and to identify next steps.
There has already been a follow up Solidarity Economy meeting in Knoxville. See A Different Citizen Panel
Support provided by the Forum on Social Wealth and the Ford Foundation
June 2-July 10, 2008: "What's the Economy For, Anyway? The Case for a Solidarity Economy and Social Wealth" an online course offered by the Center for Popular Economics. "The Economy" is often portrayed in the media and by politicians as a force of nature that we must adapt to or perish. But we all make our economy tick. Shouldn't we have a say in how it is run and to what purpose? This online course raises the question: what purpose do we want our economy to fulfill? We look at the emerging global solidarity economy movement and its potential to provide an alternative economic development framework. We'll look at social wealth as a key component of the solidarity economy. Social wealth includes natural and social resources such as the air, the care economy and knowledge. For more information please visit: http://www.populareconomics.org/WTEF_Online_Course.html
Support provided by the Forum on Social Wealth and the Ford Foundation.
June 20-22, 2008: "Solidarity Economy and Worker Cooperatives", Democracy at Work Conference, New Orleans
We will be involved in several events at this conference, organized by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
"Uplifting and Strengthening our Community: Through Alternative Economic Development and Action" Showcase of Cooperatives. Come learn about different kinds of cooperative businesses around the country, and how they serve or can serve communities of color and low income neighborhoods. SEN will join in on a Gulf Coast-wide discussion of alternative economic development strategies, the solidarity economy, and what it would take to pursue more alternative strategies for economic renewal in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Introduction to the Solidarity Economy
"What's the Economy For Anyway? Why We Need a Solidarity Economy" will provide participants with:
- A clearer understanding of the failures of the dominant economic model and the need for an alternative.
- Understanding of the solidarity economy (SE) - principles, the global SE movement including the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network, concrete examples of the SE.
- Exploration of the relationship between the SE and the cooperative movement.
March 19-22, 2009 "Solidarity Economy Forum," University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA organized by the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network.
This will be the inaugural conference of U.S. SEN. We had originally planned to hold it in New Orleans in December but had to change both the time and place for various reasons. Holding the Forum in the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts will make the logistics much easier as well as enable us to showcase the wealth of solidarity economy practices in the area. See Pioneer Valley Solidarity Map.
April 29 - May2, 2009: "International Forum on the Globalization of Solidarity", Luxembourg, organized by RIPESS. This will be the 4th International Forum. The last one was held in Dakar in 2005 and drew together 1,200 participants from 63 countries. The Institut Europeen d'Economie Solidaire (INEES) has taken on the responsibility being the lead organization for the conference planning. See INEES Newsletter No. 10 for more information.
