The national advisory committee was held in a hybrid format in Hanoi, Viet Nam on 30 August 2023 to create a shared vision, objectives, and plan for undertaking the study of the social and solidarity economy in Viet Nam.

Ms. Ingrid Christensen, Director of ILO Viet Nam opened the session by noting the social and solidarity economy entities, built on the values and principles have a proven track record of being effective means toward building resilience and addressing pressing issues. This project is relevant and timely in Viet Nam, given the recent adoption of the revised Law on Cooperatives 2012, and the government’s policy on promoting the collective economy.

Ms. Heejin Ahn, Technical Officer introduced the Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy, adopted at the 110th International Labour Conference in June 2022 and the UN Resolution on Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development adopted in April 2023. The Resolutions provide a global definition on the social and solidarity economy, and its role in the achievement and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Ms. Ahn introduced the regional project to better understand social and solidarity economy landscape, to create and inform policy dialogue.

The two consultant teams, Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA), and Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) presented the national work plan for Viet Nam. The VCA noted that there is no umbrella legislation or policy on the social and solidarity economy while some forms of SSE entities such as cooperatives, mutuals, and social enterprises have legal and policy provisions. The VCA also noted that there is lack of understanding and recognition of the SSE in Viet Nam, including reliable, harmonized statistics on the social and solidarity economy. The CSIP team plans to conduct surveys and interviews to assess social enterprises, women-led SMEs, household businesses and household businesses, both operating in formal and informal sectors against the seven principles of the SSE.

National advisory committee members - representatives of key Ministries, practitioners, and researchers advised the national teams to clarify the scope of the study, including a national definition of the SSE to help policymakers identify and support genuine SSE entities. They also advised the teams to increase the number of respondents to ensure reliability and representativeness of the sample; and align the study with the government’s priorities, including poverty reduction, rural development, and social inclusion for minority/ethnic groups. They also showed interest in learning about lessons learned and good practices from other countries.
The next advisory committee meeting will take place in early December 2023. The findings of the study will be presented at the regional conference in Bangkok, Thailand in mid-March 2024.

Strengthening the social and solidarity economy in Asia – phase 2 project, funded by the Ministry of Employment and Labour, Republic of Korea aims to contribute to increased awareness on the SSE’s contribution to decent work and sustainable development and create policy dialogue in five countries in Asia and the Pacific - Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Thailand, Viet Nam.