Asian Alliance for Solidarity Economy

The Pactes Locaux are a collective of actors, founded in 1998.  In 2005 they became an officially registered NGO. Between 2007 and 2009, they worked on the approach of open capitalisation based on the broad theme of “Democratic participation and territorial anchorage”. This was the preparation for the International Forum of Lux’09, the IVth Meeting for the Globalisation of Solidarity of RIPESS  (workshop 7), organised in Luxemburg by INEES, the European Institute for Solidarity Economy.

The Pactes Locaux mobilised on a voluntary basis, over and above the members’ own individual activities to reach a specific objective. Their contribution to both French and European discussions has been original, and is based on their significant territorial achievements in dealing with key issues of today’s society. They held five regional meetings supported by a European working Platform. Expert practitioners presented their work at territorial level: work and employment issues in Poitou-Charentes, responsible tourism in Auvergne, local development and solidarity economy in Luxemburg, social cohesion and well-being in the urban environment of Fontenay-sous-Bois, rural/urban solidarity and the associated economy in the metroposiation of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

This contribution has now been duly recognised. It is an element that allows the members to propose the “learning journey” approach as a tool for learning from each other in a variety of contexts. It is a horizontal practice that helps build bridges between generations and develop an understanding of stakes as well as constructing responsible territorial actions. The meeting that was held on December 1st in Poitiers (France) ended the Lux’09 cycle. It also helped to confirm that our projects resonate with other territories.

This process jointly served the following ends:

-    The Lux’09 Forum (cross-cutting and internationalisation of Workshop 7)

-    The FPH (dissemination / discussion of a new approach to œconomy, territories as actors, institutional connections)

- Of the members and associate partners

- The people responsible for developing the dynamics of Asia 2013 have adopted the territorial anchoring of solidarity economy; they now consider us as partners.

The positive evaluation of Lux’09 provides a lever for the future. The Pactes Locaux are a small, open collective. They are not party-political affiliated or members of any institutional organisation. Their recognition reaches beyond what they represent in terms of membership. They remain a small dedicated team, united by what they have learned and their determination as civil society, to  take on reposnibility and change the system..

The Pactes Locaux intend continuing their work on European territorial cohesion. They hope to work on themes and in areas where their members and associate partners and those interested in taking part in the future, can work together. They hope to do this by demonstrating how reality and the expertise gained from practical know-how can help to illustrate, discuss and propose new ways of organising solidarity that can have a considerable impact and help open doors to solutions to the current crisis.

8.5 million jobs have been lost in Europe since 2008. In France, 1 million people will lose their job-seekers allowances in 2010. Exclusion is becoming the rule rather than the exception. The institutions are not supporting those actors involved in hands-on work. Things are becoming increasingly difficult. The Pactes Locaux will not succeed on their own. The question is how to preserve our individual freedom, while supporting each other and serving the interest of all? Learning to work as partners involves a legitimate confrontation of ideas and genuinely working together.

This means being realistic and taking stock, the better to position the collective. The members of the collective have decided to:

- Continue the commitment to work in those territories and networks that make sense to them, and where they are already present

-    Provide each other with mutual support in their respective activities, with priority support for the in-depth projects

- Promote the “Learning Journey” approach as an awareness-raising framework for learning, co-operating and bringing together local actors

- Jointly work on developing means of paid work

- Specifically aim to contact elected local representatives: future local councillors, intercommunal elected representatives, members of collective approaches such as Districts, Agenda 21s, social networks…. The current context favours a return to things local, which is fundamentally important to sustainable development, employment, peace etc… It also shows what a huge deficit exists in the ability to accompany progress and pull together as a system, rather than pulling strings from above or the outside. This is true in all fields: economic, political or alternative approaches. This missing link, the interface between branches and different levels has yet to be created if we are to reach a better understanding and effectively implement an operational approach to restructuring our territories

- Become and remain, active partners in FPH, RIPESS Europe and in French and European territorial networks,  activities and events

- Continue working on consensual aspects of Workshop 7 “Democratic Participation and territorial anchorage” (Forum Lux’09, April 2009) in Europe, and prepare for the Asian Solidarity Economy Forum in Kuala Lumpur in 2011 and “The Road to Manila 2013” (the Vth International RIPESS Meeting).

Contacts.

-    President : France Joubert: +33 (0)6 70 001 467; francejoubert@wanadoo.fr

-    General Secretary: Martine Theveniaut: + 33 (0)4 686 99 288; martine.theveniaut4@orange.fr. Extended in-depth projects: project leaders.

-    France Joubert: +33 (0)6 70 001 467; francejoubert@wanadoo.fr. Employment and activities, social territorial dialogue: what alliances in/between territories?

- Alain Laurent:   +33 (0)5 61 624 68 ; beira.cfp@wanadoo.fr. Tourism and responsible territories: How can they converge?

- Bruno Racine: +33 (0)6 70 160 489; brunoracine@free.fr. What governance for developing territorial cohesion?

Martine Theveniaut: + 33 (0)4 686 99 288 martine.theveniaut4@orange.fr. «The road to Manilla 2013»: solidarity and territory, an international process.

- Peter Wollny: +33 (0)4 68 318 729; pw@base-sur-audois.fr. ICTs – a vector of democracy and initiatives for collective territoiral  projects

Headquarters: 5 rue de Cadène F – 11580 Alet les

By Judith Hitchman

Firstly, happy new year to you.

I fully concur with the idea of this tranfer, and wholeheartedly agree that the communication issues need to be discussed

For the last five years or so I have sporadically played a part in helping facilitate communication within RIPESS between English & French speakers, (Spanish is not one of my own work languages) both in translating and also as you know in organising interpreting for the whole Lux09 meeting.

The communication in any international network plays a crtical part in the success or failure to grow & have a socially relevant impact. It is therefore paramount that we develop both tools and a team to support RIPESS on the road towards 2013.

There are a certain number of tools, such as electronic fora and newsletters that can help. Concerning the fora, they are difficult to manage, because people need to be motivated to moderate them and to make contributions. My own feeling is that they work best on short term projects (which can be multiplied). Francoise Wautiez has a lot of experience in that. The one moderated by Martine Theveniaut before your Tokyo meeting worked well, because she uploaded a lot of contributions… Those in the count-down to Lux09 were not so successful… Contributions also tend to be in the language in which the Forum is launched, and tend not to cross the language divide naturally, so translation & summaries are required.

Newsletters (particularly global ones) can only work if people effectively contribute from their regions. Eric Lavilluniere who I have included on this list, as a RIPESS EU representative and organiser of fora & newsletters has a lot of experience & can input good ideas.

One key question (a perpetual one) is how to balance voluntary contributions in terms of the work required (a lot with the need to pay the bills, so the network & those participating in the work can meet the objectives, and and finding the requisite funding for the work. For those who are salaried workers, the voluntary issue is easily sorted. For those wo are retired, likewise. For the rest of us (and most interpreters/translators fall into this category) there is an on-going dilemma of commitment versus the need to pay feed the family/pay the bills etc, which means that we sometimes are/are not able do the work.

Many networks are in this situation today. The Via Campesina has created a pool of volunteer translators that is sufficiently big to get everything translated into all 3 key languages all the time. The Assembly of Social Movements is trying to do the same, and has just started to publish a monthly newsletter in EN/FR & ES. What seems to be happening is an increase in effective communication. But the key to this is to either succeed in building up a core team of translators that is big enough (very difficult but not impossible) or raise funding to pay a dedicated team to do the work.

Having analysed some of the communication issues, I do think they still require some thought and organisational as well as financial support! However i want to say that I shall do all I can to help as much as possible.

Best wishes.

By Martine Theveniaut, General Manager of the Pactes Locaux

October 2009

A network of people, open to Europe and the world, committed to a collective process of internationalisation

- Priceless intellectual social capital

o High quality relationships that are often lasting

o A long experience of exchange between peers

o A shared framework of reference

o Active affinities based on the territorial approach

o “Portfolios of alliances”

The opportunity of the “Lux09” Forum transformed the resources first into objectives, then into actions.

- The Fourth International Meeting of the Globalisation of Solidarity was hosted in Europe in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, in April 2009.

- The Pactes Locaux were members of the Steering Committee, and proposed a European preparatory Platform for Workshop 7 called “Democratic Participation and territorial anchorage”.

2007-2008 were dedicated to organising and holding “Regional Meetings” (Learning Journeys)

- They were hosted “in situ” by participatory organisations that openly presented their territories, their partners at all levels to an outside delegation from the Pactes Locaux.

- All meetings were organised to meet the same specifications. They took place in different regions and on different themes: employment, tourism and territory, local development/solidarity economy, neighbourhood solidarities, economic solidarity between urban and rural communities.

⇒ Examples of opening up to other regions

The reports on the regional meetings and synthesis are availableon line : www.pactes-locaux.org

Nord Pas de Calais: 9th –10th January 2009, the final regional meeting “Metropolis and their adjacent territories, linking solidarity and economy”

Hosted by the local Development Council of the Saint Omer district:

Refusing to be fatalistic means making the most of available resources and leads to:

- An endogenous economy, linked to sustainable development: tourism, farming, cultural heritage, renewable energies

- A solidarity economy and public/private partnerships that are levers of innovation

- Provision of high quality local services to maintain and attract permanent residents

Refusing fatalism involves promoting the art of

- Learning to work together

- New forms of logic

- Organising a new approach to business: legal tools, tax incentives, risk management, platforms of activities….

Refusing fatalism means organising. The meeting is perceived as an opportunity to:

- Develop dialogue between rural areas (a horizontal approach)

- Consult with local and Regional authorities and other neighbouring areas before taking decisions (a vertical approach)

- Aim at building a mutual agreement on how best to share urban/rural resources in a more balanced way

- Contact: accueilpaysdesaintomer@gmail.com

Grand Duchy of Luxemburg: Objectif Plein Emploi (Objective full employment): This structure is a network of 820 employees whose jobs can not be delocalised, as well as 400 volunteers, all working towards local development, solidarity economy and the European promotion of a 3rd economic space.

It is based on:

- Refusing social exclusion: the NGOs mobilise to help young people enter the job market in a geographic area of post-industrial restructuring, and with national support to fight unemployment. The OGB-L Trade Union is a key actor.

- A two-tier network:

1- Local networking: The local, regional and branch Centres for Initiatives and Management, which all exist on an appropriate scale

2- A general management centre, OPE, that provides resources and management, support and advisory capacity. It is organised in various departments.

- Projects are anchored in the districts. They include the delivery of services, NITC,environmental management etc. The Government supports all this, as it meets clearly defined needs: it creates jobs, and provides greater well-being for local inhabitants.

- Originally a prototype, there has now been a shift to creating a specific legal framework. Together with the European Institute for Solidarity Economy (INEES), OPE has achieved recognition of this third economic space within Luxemburg. The legalframework will include a new specific form of NGO. (Government Declaration 07/2009).

- This partner is associated with the post-Lux’09 initiatives of the Pactes Locaux:

- Contact :Ben Goerens, OPE goerens@ope.lu

Contacts for the Pactes Locaux: France Joubert, President: + 33 (0)6 70 00 14 67

francejoubert@wanadoo.fr

Martine Theveniaut, General Manager Telephone + 33 (0)4 68 69 92 88

martine.theveniaut4@orange.fr

Address: 5 rue de Cadène, F- 11580 Alet-les-Bains

English translation: Judith Hitchman.

by Martine Theveniaut

April 2009 :  LUX’09 was the culmination of two years of preparation for Workshop 7. The  theme was: “Democratic participation and anchoring the other economy at territorial level.” Workshop 7 was prepared by regional territorial visits and used a «collective intelligence» process over a 2 year period. This was part of an EU work platform, hosted by the French network Pactes Locaux, a collective that has existed since 1998 (www.pactes-locaux.org).

« The severity of the crisis is an opportunity to review the fundamentals of the economy by reconnecting it with the other dimensions (social, environmental …) at an appropriate level: the territory, and placing the individual as a central starting point for analysis and action. A holistic view is possible at this level
(conclusions of the Workshop 7)

This is not the end but a new beginning for moving forward.

The objective is to consolidate spaces that link discussion to action, and that developed or mobilised on the road to LUX’09.

National and European : “ Communication Day “, 1st December 2009, in Poitiers.

Title: “Civil society in developing territories : thinking, organising and producing together »

How to :
•    “re-adapt” ideas and suggestions from the Lux’09 Forum and Workshop 7 to the current situation
•    develop our approach the French Regional elections in March 2010
•    progress in the context of the EU Territorial Cohesion Project
•    include the prospects outlined in the White Paper of the Committee of the Regions on multilevel governance  (current consultation until November).

Regional and local.

This can be achieved  by :
•    developing concrete ways and means of implementing the proposed improvements
•    developing relationships based on exchange and mutual support, both formal and informal
•    the twinning of actors in different territories, partnership programmes, and monitoring.
•    It also aims to showcase progress made and across-the-board links that exist between various themes, and experiments. It hopes to do this on a greater scale, and highlight the new institutional approaches that were pinpointed in the preparatory phase.

International level :

Territorial grounding is a fully-fledged line for preparing the Asian Solidarity Economy Forum that will take place in November 2009 and also for the International Forum for the Globalisation of Solidarity scheduled for 2013.

This forum is an initiative of:
• the Asian Alliance for Solidarity Economy (AA4SE) (www.aa4se.org), the principal partner of the 5th Forum of the Globalization of Solidarity in Asia in 2013,
• the Pactes Locaux (France) (www.pactes-locaux.org) this collective has accepted the responsibility for implementing the consensus reached in Workshop 7, with the support of the FPH.

The Forum is the first step to implementing the conclusions adopted in Luxembourg on 25th April 2009, at the Lux’09 Forum. It is also the starting point of a process of collective work, that aims to gather evidence and volunteer resource persons on all continents interested in taking part in the work program of the W7TF, for 2010 to 2013.

The territorial approach to local or regional initiatives is given the highest importance in order to balance or supplement the thematic (or sectorial) approaches.  Territories are becoming a major player in the organization of solidarity. As this way of thinking is still not common, the approach is one of demonstrating what exists: illustrating, discussing how best to make proposals on the basis of an audit. This is a prerequisite to:
· convincing people that solidarity economy is able to become a sustainable alternative to neoliberal capitalism in general
· jointly engaging in strategies for change to face the challenges of responsible globalization.

The on-line Forum is open from August to the end of October 2009, and hopes to pursue the identification of regional achievements to obtain “an aggregative effect”. It also hopes to programme “learning journeys” to various continents to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach and to draw lessons in methodology and strategy for 2013.

by:

Judith Hitchman
Yvon Poirier
Martine Theveniaut
Editorial Team
International Newsletter on Sustainable Local Development

As we announced last April, the entire Editorial Team attended the Lux’09 Meeting. From our perspective, this meeting was a success, especially since several working groups are taking action on proposals elaborated during workshops.

We wish to invite you to visit www.lux09.lu to view the results of thirteen thematic workshops as well as the final Declaration.

Since we were involved from the beginning in organizing Workshop 7, Democratic participation and anchoring the SSE at a territorial level for another economy, and since it is the essence of the mission of our Newsletter, we wish to share the preparatory process of the workshop and its main results.

We are very satisfied with this result, especially as in many other workshops, the concept of local development, which for us means territorial anchoring was present. In conclusion, in the vast majority of sectors of activity, whether responsible consumption and fair trade, solidarity finances, food, energy, housing, etc., the importance of the local level or territorial anchoring is a constant.

Editorial team Judith Hitchman, Yvon Poirer, Martine Theveniaut with Ben Quinones & Denison Jayasooria meeting with Workshop 7 participants in Southern France

The contributions of Workshop 7: Democratic participation and anchoring the SSE at a territorial level to create another economy.

In the current context of deep crisis of democracy and the growth model, the French association of Pactes Locaux, supported by the Foundation for the Progress of Humankind (FPH) devised a mobile, learner-centered capitalization process, that involved a broad working platform at European level. In December 2007, the preparations for Workshop 7 agreed to hold 5 regional meetings. They were hosted by locally active organizations involved in territorial issues. Considerable progress if the following key issues was made:
• Poitou-Charentes: citizen’s participation and creation of 340 employer’s groups to meet needs, create jobs through the foundation of a European Resource Center (France Joubert)
• Auvergne: responsible tourism, a laboratory for territorial solidarity economy, that is both harmonious and sustainable, as well as being a tool for development for the local population. (Alain Laurent and Jean-Claude Mairal)
• Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: Objectif Plein Emploi is a network of 820 employees in jobs that cannot be relocated as well as 400 volunteers. It focuses on local development, solidarity economy and promoting the Third Sector in Europe (Ben Goerens)
• Ile-de-France (Paris Region): the Equitess Collective in Fontenay-sous-Bois introduced new socio-economic practices that contribute to better together in urban areas. (Christine Bourdel, Françoise Hutinet, Joël Cacciaguerra)
• Nord-Pas-de-Calais: metropolis agglomerations (Lille, Kortrijk, Arras and Calais, Dunkerque, Boulogne) and their adjacent territories: How to organise solidarity and economy, and avoid a fatalistic approach were the watchwords of this meeting. (Bruno Deffontaines and Mireille Charonnat, Development Council of Pays de Saint-Omer, with the rural regions of the Green Zone).

Lux '09 Workshop 7 with Pays Cathare Mayor Eric Andrieu and workshop members from Canada, Ethiopia, Malaysia, and Philippines

The five meetings were concluded in January 2009. The results were highlighted using the same criteria, and charted on a grid. They were discussed between peers and led to concrete proposals. They were enriched and extended at international level between February and April 2009. Thius was done by:
• Using illustrative charts prepared by the speakers and other guest contributors from around the world who were members of workshop 7: Europe, Georgia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Madagascar, Quebec, Chile, Malaysia and the Philippines.
• Hosting an international delegation in the Aude before the Lux09 meeting, from April 16th – 21th : Yvon Poirier and Jacques Fiset (Quebec), Denison Jayasooria (Malaysia) and Ben Quiñones (Philippines), President and leader of the CSRSME Asia (Coalition of Socially Responsible SMEs). This is the organisation responsible for carrying the torch for the 5th meeting to Asia in 2013.

Much material, many questions, suggestions and proposals of great value were gathered through this participatory process (www.pactes-locaux.org). Luxembourg ‘09 is a milestone and a new starting point, as evidenced by the general conclusions of Workshop 7. :
85 people registered, about forty actually were present for all 3 sessions of the workshop:
1) “Illustrate and discuss views from the North.”
2) On the following day, “Views from the South”
3) “Comparing our vision” on the third day and identification of converging ideas and similarities between actors at all levels of responsibility; making joint proposals from local to European and international levels, potential answers through regulations, organisation, co-operation and decisions.

Lux '09 Workshop 7 with Ethel Cote (RIPESS interim coordinator), Yvon Poirer (CCEDNet), and Emily Kawano (Solidarity Economy Network, USA)

Workshop 7 considers the idea of territorial anchoring is of central importance.

The gravity of the current crisis provides an opportunity to revise fundamental aspects of the economy by connecting them to the other dimensions at the most relevant level. This means at local, territorial level. It implies that people are the central starting point for both analyses and action. At this level it is possible to adopt a holistic vision. Territorial anchoring makes it possible to adopt a transversal, across-the-board approach and achieve joined-up thinking (environment, social, culture, finance, governance etc.). It also allows for the involvement of all social groups, especially the excluded; it is essential that SSE develop socially inclusive policies. This approach is a pillar of the social solidarity economy and will be placed at the heart of the 5th meeting of RIPESS in Asia.

For this concept to be understood and disseminated, the learning approach of the Pactes Locaux is an appropriate tool. It the concrete translation of the expression “experience shapes and takes shape”. The learning journey (as it is called in Asia) contributes to the co-construction of a shared vision of the territory and about the territory. This type of tool needs to be improved and adapted.

Capacity building and training are indispensable. The target groups for this are elected representatives, municipal staff and the civil services in general.
Participation must be the norm, but it must be facilitated by reaching out to the most excluded and the most needy, through listening and dialogue rather than by preaching. This is essential.

Lux '09 Workshop 7 with Denison Jayasooria and Martine Theveniaut

It is important to have facilitators, storytellers and moderators in daily local life. The same applies to effective tools like the African tradition of sitting under a tree to talk things through.
Taken together, all these elements help to establish the link between representative democracy and active democracy.
The networking and exchange of North-South experiences is also important. There is a need to strike a new balance between exchanging experience and knowledge.
The use of regulations, in other words of policies, is inevitable in order to establish links between local, regional, national, continental and global levels.

There were specific proposals that mark the shared will to continue a meaningful dialogue to explore two issues in the framework of the International Asian Forum in 2013:
• What contribution can the territorial, cultural, environmental, and social dimension bring to the various themes that the Forum intends to address?
• What contribution can be made to the development of global projects?
A number of actions have been listed, and are being explored in terms of their potential implementation.

This approach was reinforced in the concluding speech to Lux09 made by Romain Biever, Chairman of INEES (European Institute for Solidarity based Economy), in which he emphasised the following 5 points:
• “continue to conceptualize basic research in the field of economic science;
• continue applied research on various themes through projects because the skills are embedded within the projects;
• emphasise the value of territories in democratic governance;
• strengthen networking;
• enable all citizens to participate, to develop critical thinking, fight dogmatic positions, participate in the media … We must combine these 5 points, and help them to grow from the territories, to become new locomotives. We need to develop a knowledge-based society and create centres of excellence in our territories and internationally. “

Article by Martine Theveniaut

Our Newsletters are available on the WEB:
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Special thanks to:
Évéline Poirier from Canada for the English translation
Brunilda Rafael from France for the Spanish translation
Michel Colin from Brazil for the Portuguese translation

To contact us (for information, feedback, to subscribe or unsubscribe):
Yvon Poirier ypoirier@videotron.ca

About me and my organization

I am a forestry professional working as program officer in Federation of Community Forestry User’s, Nepal (FECOFUN) since 2001. FECOFUN is the largest civil society organization in Nepal having 9 million forest management members who manage more than 1.3 million hectares of forest. These forests are managed by local communities rather than the government. I am fully responsible for coordinating sustainable forest management programs, and facilitating FSC forest certification of community forestry in the rural part of the country. My obective is to help community forest users to manage their resource in a sustainable way so that they can use and reuse them for several years without losing the integrity of the forest status. The mission of FECOFUN is to uplift the economic status of community people as most of them are poor and forest-dependent. FECOFUN undertakes its mission by helping local communities establish, promote and self-manage processing and semi- processing enterprises at grass root level. Most of the raw materials have to be sourced from certified forest to ensure better market opportunity in comparison to other normal products.

There are now 22 certified forests managed by 5000 households in Nepal.  Three handmade paper processing firms and 4 essential oil processing firms solely use these certified forest products and obtain premium prices at final sale.  FECOFUN is striving to scale up this campaign and also attemting to develop its our own brand. In the next ten years, FECOFUN projects to create jobs for 25000 community people through establishment and promotion of local forest based enterprises by mobilizing their own forest resources.

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