Promoting social inclusion through social and solidarity economy

On June 1st, the ILO participated and presented in the "Conference on the Role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in Reducing Social Exclusion" in Budapest on the institution's ongoing work on social and solidarity economy.

News | 23 June 2017
On June 1st and 2nd, the Conference on the Role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in Reducing Social Exclusion was organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Hungarian Ministry for National Economy in Budapest, Hungary. This event brought together representatives from government, the private sector, social enterprises, academia, civil society and international organizations to discuss the potential of social enterprises and other social and solidarity economy (SSE) organizations to reduce social exclusion. The conference showcased best practice cases of inclusion of disadvantaged groups in the real economy, and included sessions on financial and business support services to foster sustainability of the sector. Furthermore, the conference highlighted policy frameworks supporting social enterprises, with a focus on Europe.

Mr Vic Van Vuuren, the Director of the ILO’s Enterprises Department and the chair of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) , also participated in the conference, presenting in a panel on SSE as means to foster social inclusion. The presentation covered ILO’s ongoing work on SSE, the functions and the role of the UNTFSSE, and the definition and common characteristics of SSE. Furthermore, Mr Van Vuuren highlighted examples of SSE’s contribution to social inclusion, particularly deriving from ILO’s projects in Tunisia and South Africa to create decent work especially for youth through the promotion of SSE.