The previous year, during the Florence
European Social Forum, the Workgroup
of Solidarity SocioEconomy (WSSE) had
opened the electronic list fse-ecosol@socioeco.org,
used to coordinate the WSSE workshops
and the European solidarity-based economy
networks in organising events relating
to solidarity-based finance, fair trade,
and so on. The list was reopened to
co-organise the solidarity-based economy
Paris events with the promoter networks
from the rest of Europe. So it was logical
that the WSSE, during a VESS group meeting
in March 2003, was put in charge of
opening another electronic list (fse-vilsol@socioeco.org)
to facilitate the French group's communications.
Over 80 organisations,
many of them participants in the Porto
Alegre and Florence social forums, thus
took the initiative of setting up the
Village with a number
of goals:
- gathering together all European
players and networks;
- providing information on alternative
economic practices and raising their
profile;
- exchanging and putting together
proposals for a different Europe;
- opening discussions with the various
elements of the alternative-globalisation
movement.
The Village drew up
a joint programme comprising
8 seminars and dozens of workshops,
as well as stands, exhibitions, catering
areas, festive evening events and a
market offering fair trade, organic
and crafted products. All of which,
naturally enough, led to a great many
fruitful exchanges between participants.
Eight seminars took
place:
- “From a world we need to submit
to towards a chosen world: Local exchange
systems and regional monetary systems”
has been organised and facilitated
by the workshop Social Money.
- "Alternative ways of building
communities" also organised by
the WSSE.
- another form of enterprise is possible;
- getting involved starting from everyday
life to build another economy;
- fair trade and international trade
regulations;
- the social and solidarity-based
economy and social movements;
- social and solidarity-based finance.
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