By Éric Lefebvre (Chantier de l’économie sociale), Éthel Côté and Yvon Poirier (Canadian Community Economic Development Network – CCEDNET)

The Centre de la francophonie des Amériques organized a meeting in Cap Haitien, from April 30 to May 2.

The objective of this meeting was to promote the discovery of approaches and practices of social and solidarity economy (SSE). For the Centre, solidarity and social economy draws its strength from the heart of collective sustainable development practice and contributes to building a more just and equitable world.

French is the 4th most widely spoken language in the Americas, coming respectively after Spanish, English and Portuguese. As a minority group in the Americas, it turns out that the SSE could be an indispensable tool in many communities.

In addition to representatives from Quebec and Canada, there were participants from Louisiana, Guadeloupe and Haiti.
The idea of setting up a network for the exchange of information on SSE in the Francophone areas of the Americas is seen by participants as very relevant.

We, from the Chantier de l’économie sociale and the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNET), both members of RIPESS North America, were partners of the Centre in holding the meeting.