RIPESS Intercontinental is updating its logo today, and we wanted to share it with you. Over and above the simple change of an image, we wanted to show what we represent today, and the values and purpose of work.

 

We believe that the new look conveys our identity and essence: we are a coordination of networks anchored in territories, connected through solidarity and a shared belief in social and economic justice.

 

We started working on the new logo last year, in a particularly difficult context: the Covid-19 pandemic outburst at the beginning of the year, and populist movements have continued to rise around the globe, building on the despair that is caused by the increase in social and economic inequalities. Because we know that social solidarity economy is a powerful solution in fighting this crisis, we called on our continental and sectorial networks members, reorganized internally, and all worked together on a new strategy. Our objective is to strengthen our call for greater international solidarity and justice and to support the empowerment of our member networks, from the local to the global.

 

Our logo is thus marked by the context in which it was born. And its every line is highly significant:

It is composed of six elements representing the six continents where our members around the world are anchored. Although geographically dispersed, our members work hand in hand to build the systematic transformation of our economic and social systems that we so urgently need to reduce and eliminate existing injustice and discrimination.

Each color represents a different continent: yellow stands for Latin America and the Caribbean, blue for Europe, red is for Africa, green for Asia, black for North America and grey for Oceania. Those colors symbolize the uniqueness of each network, as well as the incredible diversity of their local members’ networks.

If you look closer at the elements of the logo, you will see that they represent people holding their raised hands. They symbolize the solidarity of all people who work around the world for a better, more just and sustainable future for all people. They also allude to our fight for equity and a more sustainable world though international advocacy, alliances with other movements and cooperation between our members.

Finally, the round shape of the logo refers to our planet. Indeed, solidarity economy places people and the planet at the center, and thus reminding us to treat our Mother Earth respectfully.

 

Today’s logo launch is the symbolic beginning of a new chapter. We believe that we will be able to address the challenges facing our societies today, and that we will keep on building sustainable and just solutions for a better tomorrow. Like we have been doing for the past 25 years.