CSEHub E-Bulletin - Vol 1 No 2 - July 06

Welcome to the second bulletin of the Canadian Social Economy Hub (CSEHub) for the National Research Program on the Social Economy (funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council). Over the next five years the CSEHub will be sending out bulletins on a regular basis providing updates on the work of the CSEHub and its Nodes.

Announcing the First International CIRIEC Researchciriec_canada.jpg Conference on the Social Economy   Plan to reserve October 22 to 24, 2007 to attend the Conference. Meet with colleagues from around the world to hear the latest research on the Social Economy and discuss its implication for public policy and the development of Social Economy organizations. Theme: Strengthening and Building Communities: The Social Economy in a Changing World This Conference is for researchers, senior practitioners and government officials (elected and civil servants) and will be held at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria. The Conference will have four sub-themes:

  • The Social Economy in communities: an international view
  • The Social Economy and governance
  • The Social Economy facing globalization
  • The Social Economy facing the reconfiguration of the State

A Call for Papers will be sent out in late September 2006. For more information on the Conference, check the website www.socialeconomyhub.ca/conference The Fairmont Empress Hotel has made rooms available for conference participants at a special conference rate ranging from $99 to $139 per night. Make sure you reserve your room in advance to get access to these rates. empresspic.jpg In addition to the two days of conference, pre-conference study tours will be held to Social Economy organizations in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. This Conference is organized by the Canadian Social Economy Hub, CIRIEC International and CIRIEC Canada. CIRIEC is the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy. It has branches in a number of countries and its headquarters is in Belgium. www.ulg.ac.be/ciriec and www.uquam.ca. In 2006, CIRIEC will be celebrating its 60th birthday as an organization. CIRIEC publishes working papers and Annals of Public, Social and Cooperative Economics. The Annals are available through Blackwell Publishing www.blackwellpublishing.com The working papers are available through CIRIEC.

Social Economy and the Federal, Provincial, First Nations and Local Governments: One-Day Forum A one-day forum will be held on October 25, 2007 following the First International Research Conference on the Social Economy to discuss the role of the federal, provincial, First Nations and local governments in the Social Economy. This forum will build on the knowledge gained from the CIRIEC conference to engage policy makers, practitioners and researchers to discuss the implication of the Social Economy for each level of government. This Conference will also be held at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria BC. The Canadian Social Economy Hub, in partnership with the BC/Alberta Node and other partners is organizing this Conference.

Canadian Social Economy Hub news Welcome to Khan Rahi the Coordinator for the BC/Alberta Node (BALTA) and to Valoree Walker, the Coordinator for the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada (SERNNoCA). The Public Policy Facilitating Committee has as mandate to:

  • Suggest priorities on public policy research topics to inform the development of public policy for the Social Economy.
  • Facilitate collaboration among the Nodes, Hub and others as they undertake public policy research.
  • Foster exchanges of information between governments and the nodes on public policy issues.
  • The Committee is currently identifying research priorities to impact public policy.
  • An important component of the Canadian Social Economy Hub’s research work is to involve international observers who provide information and suggestions from their own work in their respective countries. A process is currently underway to select the international observers. They will be invited to participate in the next in- person meeting of the Canadian Social Economy Hub board.

    ciriec_turkey.png CIRIEC Congress in Istanbul, Turkey

    The 2006 Congress of the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC) was held from June 19 to 21, 2006 in Istanbul Turkey. The theme of the Congress was to consider how the public, social and co-operative economy might contribute to creating a more responsible solidarity-based economy within an era of increased globalization. The Congress was held in Turkey as this country begins the process of becoming a member of the European Union. Turkey has a strong agricultural co-operative sector. The Social Economy in Europe is made up of many more participants than in most parts of Canada with trade unions, municipalities and state governments involved. The European Union Secretariat in Belgium is also a key player in the research and promotion of the Social Economy. Is globalization providing more of a role for Social Economy organizations or less of a role? This was the topic of a number of sessions. Of particular interest to Canadians was the presentation by Avner Ben-Ner from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Professor Ben-Ner argued that developments associated with globalization tend to erode some of the comparative advantage of non-profit organizations in providing a trustworthy alternative to for-profit organizations. Conversations with delegates from many countries revolved around what is happening in Canada on the Social Economy and the Canadian government support for research in this area. Discussions on who should be providing “general interest services” or common good services generated a lot of interest. Just like in Canada, governments are devolving services to market or social economy organizations.

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    Announcing telelearning sessions on research on the Social Economy The Canadian Social Economy Hub and CCEDNet are organizing a series of telelearning opportunities for practitioners. The objectives are to:

  • familiarize practitioners with the research;
  • provide a forum for practitioners and researchers to communicate;
  • engage practitioners with researchers in discussions on the research;
  • help practitioners understand how the research will impact public policy and practice; and
  • allow practitioners to connect across regions on specific research topics of interest.
  • The telelearning sessions will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month. The dates for the first three telelearning sessions are: Thurs September 28 (English) Thursday October 26 (French) Thursday November 23 (English) Sessions will alternate between French and English. Calls will last about 1 hour and a half and begin at Noon Eastern time. Topics for the call will be chosen from among the following:

  • Defining the Social Economy
  • Public Policy and Social Economy Research
  • Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Women-Centred Social Economy
  • Aboriginal Social Economy
  • Immigrants and the Social Economy: Research from Metropolis and CSEHub
  • Local governments
  • Mapping and Portraiture
  • Building up social economy organizations, best practices from the research
  • Social Economy and Health Care
  • The first session will be on Thursday September 28, 2006 at noon Eastern Standard Time, THEME: Defining the Social Economy Presenter will be announced shortly. Sign up now to participate in this telelearning session: register@socialeconomyhub.ca

    Social Economy Center for Southern Ontario The Southern Ontario research centre is headquartered at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. This research centre officially opened on March 2, 2006. Check out their website for a list of organizations participating in their research work. The centre has two directors (Laurie Mook and Jack Quarter) and an executive committee that includes Darryl Reed from York University, Denyse Guy from the Ontario Co-operative Association and Michael Hall from Imagine Canada. This research centre has structured itself in five research and practice clusters:

  • mapping the size and scope of the social economy in this region;
  • understanding the impact of the social economy;
  • improving the capacity of social economy organizations (SEOs) to demonstrate the value of their activities;
  • developing public policy; and
  • extending theory.
  • For more information on the Social Economy Centre and for a list of their projects, go to www.sec.oise.utoronto.ca

    ICA Folkfest in Victoria The Social Economy manifests itself in many ways. One of Victoria’s premier events, the ICA FolkFest organized by the Inter-cultural Association of Victoria (ICA), is a social enterprise that has evolved over the past 33 years to a 9-day event with an annual attendance of 150,000. The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria was founded in 1971 to mount the inaugural FolkFest. Several ethno-cultural groups came together to share their cultural heritage with the community at large. ICA now has a broad mandate to: promote cultural understanding, alleviate racism, and develop a broad range of services to immigrants and refugees that include English as a Second Languages classes, counselling, orientation, and advocacy for the human rights of people from all ethno-cultural backgrounds. ICA FolkFest creates 30 full and part-time employment opportunities, utilizes the skills and efforts of more than 1,200 volunteers of all abilities and has a positive impact on the local economy of over $2,000,000. ICA FolkFest provides ethno-cultural groups, craft vendors, small-scale food producers and others the opportunity to market and sell their products. Food booths of the various Vancouver Island ethno-cultural groups are the highlight of the festival and provide much needed revenues for these groups programming. The producers of ICA FolkFest believe in the power of events to enhance social and economic development.

    Social Economy Summit in Quebec Quebec is celebrating 10 years of work on the Social Economy with a Summit and regional fairs of Social Economy organizations. To be held between November 16 – 17 in Montreal, the Summit of the Social and Solidarity Economy will have delegates from all regions of Quebec and invited guests to discuss the gains made in the last 10 years and plan for the future. The Montreal Fair will be held on November 17 to 18 at Marché Bonsecours. For more information on the events of the Summit, check out ww.chantier.qc.ca (in French).

    The Social Economy and the Federal Government The Social Economy portfolio is with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. Diane Finley is the Minister. Each Development Agencies each has its own Minister: Western Economic Diversification – Carol Skelton Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor) – Tony Clement Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec – Jean-Pierre Blackburn Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency – Peter MacKay Northern Development – Jim Prentice The Liberals have appointed Raymond Chanas the Opposition Critic on the Social Economy. Bloc Quebecois critics for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development Ministry is Yves Lessard and for the Canadian Economy Development Agency Jean-Yves Laforest Tony Martin is the NDP critic for Human Resources Social Development and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario. Catherine Bell the Western Economic Diversification Critic, Denis Bevington the Northern Development Critic, Yvon Godin for the Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

    International Day of Co-operatives The first Saturday of July was the United Nations International Day of Cooperatives. This year’s theme was “Peacebuilding through Cooperatives” highlighting the growing significance of these enterprises in promoting peace and development.

    To contact us Canadian Social Economy Hub Project Officer: Annie McKitrick secoord@uvic.ca This Bulletin will appear every month. To subscribe send an e-mail to info@socialeconomyhub.ca