ILO holds second regional advisory committee to share updates on strengthening the social and solidarity economy in Asia project

The project’s national researchers and regional advisory committee members exchanged around the progress of the research on the social and solidarity economy in Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Vietnam on 6 February 2023.

News | 14 February 2023
The 2nd regional advisory committee meeting of the 2nd phase of the project on strengthening the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in Asia was held online on 6 February 2023. It provided research progress updates on Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Vietnam.

Ms. Heejin Ahn, Technical Officer at the ILO’s Cooperatives Unit informed the participants that the project builds on the Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy, adopted at the 110th International Labour Conference in June 2022. She noted that a possible UN Resolution on Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development may be coming in April 2023. She shared the key milestones of the project including national advisory committee kick-off meetings and project briefing sessions held in Cambodia, Mongolia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan in November and December 2022. The ILO also co-organized and facilitated a session on Accelerating Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals through the Social and Solidarity Economy on 14 December 2022, as part of ESCAP’s Business Innovation for the SDGs Forum in Bangkok, Thailand.

The national researchers from Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Vietnam provided updates on the research progress, and a summary of the national advisory committee kick-off meetings. They provided feedback from their respective national advisory committee meetings. The national response has been encouraging, with key stakeholders recognizing the relevance of the SSE in their countries noting the lack of adequate policies and programmes, and the lack of awareness and evidence base on the size, impact, limitations, and potential of the SSE.

During the meeting, conducting a policy mapping exercise to identify policies that are relevant to the social and solidarity economy was suggested. It was noted that a targeted government entry point to promote national ownership and policy dialogue on the SSE is needed. Participants to the meeting pointed out to examining SSE entities’ contribution to crisis response and long-term crisis resilience of communities. The regional advisory group members also reflected on what regulatory measures should be in place for SSE entities to scale up and grow.

The next regional advisory committee meeting of the project is scheduled in May 2023. The findings of the research will be shared in an international conference in November 2023 that will take place in Bangkok, Thailand.

Strengthening the social and solidarity economy in Asia – phase 2 project, funded by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Republic of Korea aims to contribute heightened 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, Vietnam.