Athens UniverSSE 2017 Congress : no one left behind!

The Congress has 7 thematic zones that cover all the areas of Social and Solidarity Economy. In each thematic there will be discussions, presentations of initiatives and labs.
The thematic zones are:

1. Concepts, forms and fields of social solidarity economy and cooperativism
   The universe of S.S.E is characterized by a vast range of operations that work in various sectors of the economy, such as food , education, trade, new technologies, alternative financing, communication, tourism and more.
   Horizontal management, role distribution, labour relations, conflict management, social and economic sustainability, networking, marketing strategies, social impact and decision making process are some of the challenges that we want to discuss! And of course some questions: Social Economy? Solidarity Economy? Cooperative Economy? Social Entrepreneurship? What about Sharing Economy?
2. Responsible consumption, production and climate change
   The globalized neo-liberal system seeks to maximize shareholder profits to the detriment of human and planetary resources, leading to climate change and severe social damage. The broad vision of solidarity economy is based on sustainability and this implies the relocalisation of production and consumption (food, renewable energies, goods, services, culture…) as specified in Sustainable Development Goal 12. Solidarity economy, by implementing this approach, (re)builds solidarity at all levels, empowers citizens to create and implement alternatives in direction of food sovereignty, reconnects rural and urban society, and significantly contributes to fighting climate change (SDG 13).
3. Practices of SSE on social integration with a special focus on refugees’ issues
   Crisis management or empowerment policies for social groups experiencing exclusion? Can SSE transform the design and implementation of social policy in the direction of solidarity? How is “social work” affected in the context of crisis and what does the mutual help model imply? Bright examples of social solidarity initiatives towards refugees as housing projects from self-organized initiatives and social entrepreneurship will be presented.
4. Social innovation: Research, technology, education and tools for SSE
   A fundamental part of the social innovation occurring in the solidarity economy is its pedagogic character. Pedagogic in the ways that education-related movements practice teaching and learning and, more importantly, in the way that take part in a movement with transformational impact on the personal, societal and political levels.
   This session would like to explore how social innovation and knowledge production and sharing is practiced in the SSE: How assemblies act as an educational method and how novel pedagogic methods incorporate democracy as educational principle? What is the role of technology for the capturing and reproduction of the manifested social innovation and how the knowledge produced on the ground can be systematised and distributed? What new forms of research and educational institutions are bred by a practice based in solidarity and collective well-being in relation to the public, private and third sectors?
5. Commons: Approaches and practices on digital, natural, urban, cultural common goods
   The movements for the defense, recuperation and development of Commons, consist of a growing wave of practices of mutuality and a proposal of a social and economic model of organization beyond the state and/or market bipolarity. This thematic aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences and self-management of Commons by the communities of their users in various fields – from the natural resources (water, land, food, energy etc.) to digital commons and from the urban space to knowledge production. Moreover, it hopes to enrich the discussion that already has started around the conception of institutional and legal frameworks for the establishment of Commons, in the prospect of radical social transformations.
6. Public policies (local, national, European level) promoting SSE: From whom, for who, what for.
   Recently, a series of framework laws have been introduced in various countries of Europe (and not only Europe) with the intention to recognize Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), to regulate a number of issues related to the respective entities belonging to the universe of SSE, to define the way through which the state at its various levels (central, regional, local) interacts with SSE.
   To what extent the new public policies enable or restrain the transformative potential of SSE? Are the necessary conditions for the creation of a public space between SSE and the state assured? Are there any examples of local governance with a radical direction? How are local communities involved with the design and implementation of policies affecting their everyday life?
7. Open space / Free zone
   This thematic is created in order to host any discussion, presentation, lab that does not fit in the above categories.
   Hundreds of groups, that are on the SSE field across Europe, will join the Congress to discuss, exchange practices and experiences, create tools that will inspire the Society and plan all together a common future.
   Our Goal is to Democratize Economy, Emancipate Society and Empower Change.

Our motivation is to include in the Congress as many key players in the field of SSE as possible.
Spread around Europe there are many different groups linked to SSE that are working on a local or a national level. In order to build a stronger network in between these groups we want to create a space of cooperation. So this summer in Athens the UniverSSE2017 congress will take place. It will be the meeting point for people, collective ventures, SSE organizations and groups all around Europe, who work to promote and enhance SSE. Based on the 7 thematic spaces of the Congress, we will discuss and exchange experiences, ideas, expertise and conclusions around SSE and decide on the next steps to implement strong cooperation on a European level. 

These are the reasons that we want to organize the UniverSSE 2017 congress. 
The participation of everybody is crucial in order to achieve the goals described above.
We want initiatives from all countries to be able to participate and share their experiences,  especially groups from countries that face the bigger financial and social problems. 

Everybody has a place in the SSE universe, regardless of the financial conditions, lets not forget that Solidarity is a building block of this economy.

Our main goal is not to leave anyone behind. Through this campaign, we would like to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of members of SSE groups that will share with us valuable practical experiences by participating in the Congress.
As those groups don’t have the means to cover those expenses, the campaign will help them to join, cooperate and plan with us the future of UniverSSE.
Furthermore, a smaller amount will be used to cover administration costs, such as printing material (posters and brochures) that will be used during the Congress and also the cost of production and printing of a booklet with the results of the Congress.
This booklet will be distributed on a European level and it will be a useful reference guide that will help in spreading the information and inspiring more people to join the SSE universe.
Solidarity for us is not just a word, is an everyday practise in all the aspects of our lives.
So we invite you all to help us make this possible!
HELP US BUILD A COMMON SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY UNIVERSE IN EUROPE 

The Greek organization team consists of members of the following groups:
From Athens:

Dock ‘Social Solidarity Economy Zone’
“Dock” is a permanent infrastructure that supports Social Solidarity Economy projects.
Its people are active members in the field of Social Solidarity Economy with constant participation in cooperative ventures, social actions and the networking of the ecosystem.

Hub (Komvos) for the Social Economy, Empowerment and Innovation
Komvos is a collective for the development and empowerment of projects in the field of Social Solidarity Economy. Through the production of programs and exchange of knowledge, it aims at strengthening the operational capabilities of active projects, at the maturation of new projects and the overall expansion of the field of Social Solidarity Economy. Its most recent action was the organization of training seminars for the Social and Solidarity Economy in cooperation with the Simon Fraser University of Canada.

Festival for Solidarity and Cooperative Economy
The Festival for Solidarity and Cooperative Economy, from 2012 until now, contributed in the development of Solidarity and Cooperative Economy in Greece and in its consolidation in people’s consciousness as a reality. Its role is important for the networking of all projects, the synergies and the birth of new initiatives and ideas.

Coordination of KOINSEP in Athens
KOINSEP is the term we use for the social cooperative enterprises in Greece. Their goal is not the profit, but the creation of projects for unemployed workers who with their own forces try, in the crisis, to ensure their daily survival with dignity, while they are presenting another standard of collective living, working and creating.

Nationwide Coordination of Solidarity Schools
It is an attempt to coordinate nationwide the structures involved in education in the field of solidarity, with the primary purpose among others to formulate the accumulated experience. It launched in 2015 with the initiative of the Solidarity School of Mesopotamia, along with the Solidarity School of Keratsini.

Efimerida ton Syntakton – EfSyn (Journalists Paper)
“The newspaper of Editors”, which is issued by the “Cooperative of workers in newspapers and magazines” through the “Independent Mass Media Inc.” and in which the Cooperative is the major shareholder, was formed mainly by former employees of the “Eleftherotypia” and “Sunday Eleftherotypia” – journalists, technicians and clerks- but also former employees of other media.

and from Thessaloniki:

Pro.s.k.al.o.
The Initiative of cooperation for Social Solidarity Economy (PRO.S.K.AL.O.) aims to contribute to an action plan that will establish a comprehensive system of work, consumption and life and will lead to the social liberation of human on a sustainable planet.

People’s University of Social Solidarity Economy (UnivSSE)
This is a self-managed cooperative collective, created in Thessaloniki in 2013. It aims to promote education, training, retraining and information of  the participants in ideas, values and principles of social and solidarity economy, direct democracy and synergism.

Co-promoted by Ripess Eu

RIPESS Europe aims to share best practices and engage in joint actions that can expand and enhance the visibility of the Social and Solidarity Economy.
The network aims to bring together stakeholders and organizations in the social and solidarity economy at the European level with the scope to promote other modes of production, consumption, saving and sharing. The goal is in the end to construct more just economic relations and a more solidarity-based development.