The 8th Mont Blanc Meetings were organized in Archamps, France from 6 to 8 December 2017 by SSE International Forum. Founded in 2004, the Mont Blanc Meetings has been bringing together leaders of SSE enterprises (cooperatives, mutuals, foundations, associations and other social enterprises) from every continent to promote the visibility and international recognition of the SSE. The 8th edition of the meeting focused on the new efficiency of the SSE, based on a view where performance is also qualitative and not only quantitative and monetary. The event sought to discuss how SSE presents a plurality of social, environmental and civic, but also economic.

Attended by over 300 participants from more than 25 countries, the event was organized around a series of plenary sessions and workshops, all aiming at exploring different aspects of the SSE’s efficiency, from solidarity finance and democratic governance to social and economic inclusion. The agenda of the event is available here.

The ILO was represented by the Deputy Director-General for Policy, Ms Deborah Greenfield, and the Director of the Enterprises Department, Mr Vic van Vuuren. They provided ILO’s points of view on the main issues confronted by the SSE at the international level, and its relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Two ILO Specialists in Social Economy and Local Development also attended the event to take stock of the various points of views and experiences shared during the sessions. They also attended the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF)’s Europe Policy Dialogue which took place the day before on the theme “Transformative Partnerships between Local Governments and SSE actors”. The programme of the event is available here. In addition numerous side meetings with partners such as the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity Economy of Luxembourg, the Social Economy Europe and the International Association of Investors in the Social Economy (INAISE) were held to discuss the opportunities for future collaboration.