In 2008, during the INAISE conference in Quebec, participants adopted the network charter. This charter represents INAISE’s principles and claims that to be able to benefit from development, we should run our business activity in a more ethical and socially responsible way. In a worldwide perspective where the United Nations redefined the Objectives of Sustainable Development for a more equilibrated development, targeting inequalities and poverty, INAISE’s project gains in acknowledgement and relevance. It is by generating financial empowerment of the most vulnerable populations with an offer of ethical products with responsible conditions that a development respectful of people and planet will be reached. This ideal finality is however not out of challenges that social finance organisations are confronted to. This year, the INAISE international conference has the objective of studying the role played by social and solidarity finance in contributing to the sustainable development of the planet. What are the contributions of SSF since the last 25 years? What are its promises? What are its challenges?

Register for the International Conference on Social and Solidarity Finance

Within the following six themes, we will try to answer these questions.

• Theme 1: Financial tools for the empowerment and economic development
• Theme 2: Cooperatives and their role in social economy
• Theme 3: Family farming and value chains
• Theme 4: Social economy and sustainable development
• Theme 5: Social economy and women entrepreneurship
• Theme 6: Foundations as a support in social economy

For questions about the conference, please send an email to montreal2016 at inaise.org

1:00pm to 2:00pm Eastern Time

This webinar, organized by the People, Power, Planet Partnership (P4), will draw from the experiences of Germany, Denmark, Ontario and Nova Scotia in answering the following questions: What policy tools have been successful (and not so successful) in proliferating CE development? What are the key elements of an effective CE policy? What jurisdiction-specific factors must be considered in the design of a CE policy?

As jurisdictions across Canada are increasing their commitment to addressing climate change, this webinar can start a very timely conversation on effective energy policies that encourage community engagement.

Register for Effective Policy Tools in Supporting Community Energy Development

AGENDA:

1:00 - 1:05: Welcome message from P4 co-leads and webinar outline
1:05 - 1:10: CE Policy: How is it different than a RE policy and why does it matter?
1:10 - 1:20: Policy Best Practices from Germany and Denmark
1:20 - 1:30: The Canadian experience with CE: Ontario and Nova Scotia
1:30 - 1:45: Jurisdiction-specific factors to consider in designing a CE policy: The case of New Brunswick and Alberta
1:45 - 2:00 : Q&A

ABOUT:

The "People, Power, Planet Partnership (P4): Best Practices and Knowledge Mobilization in Community Energy Development" was formed to assess, document and share the experiences and lessons of community energy developments across Canada and beyond, with the goal of increasing the level of awareness and rate of implementation of such projects nation-wide. Launched in May 2014, P4 is a two-year research and knowledge mobilization initiative generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The project's co-leads are Dr. J.J. McMurtry from York University and Dr. Judith Lipp, Executive Director of TREC Renewable Energy Co-operative.

11am Eastern Time | 10am Central Time

Brought to you by the Rural Policy Learning Commons (RPLC), Migration Research Team

Labour mobility is one of the central principles of the European Union (EU). It is an important element not only in relation to economic objectives, but is also viewed as important in strengthening territorial social cohesion and social inclusion. The emphasis on the free movement of labour – between occupations and of workers between regions and countries in the EU – is perceived as a mechanism for ensuring a good match between the skills and experience of workers and the jobs they hold, as well as an important characteristic of an effective labour market. The presentation will provide an overview of recent trends in rural migration in the EU and a discussion of some of challenges in reconciling labour mobility and social cohesion/inclusion.

RSVP by Monday, March 21, 2016

Contact Michael at 204-571-8585 or BlatherwickM at brandonu.ca

Presenter

Philomena de Lima is a Sociologist and the Director of the Centre for Remote and Rural Studies at University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness College. She has a particular interest in exploring the complex and intersecting relationships between ‘communities of place’ (rural places in particular) and ‘communities of interests’, challenging normative assumptions about rural places and communities and giving voice to diverse groups who are ‘othered’ on various grounds. She has applied her interests to issues such as belonging and intersectional identities, transnationalism, migration, ethnicity and race, poverty and social exclusion and mental health.

SOURCE: Rural Policy Learning Commons

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WHY?

To figure out how our alternative economic initiatives contribute to post-capitalist presents and futures. To share knowledge and skills. To get to know each other and consolidate our networks. To feed a participatory action-research project of community economies in the making.

WHAT?

Public conference (program here): SATURDAY APRIL 9TH 2016

This is a full-day, free conference, open to all who believe a post-capitalist world is possible. We will be showcasing:  

1. The Community Economies project, which seeks to contribute to the emergence of a political economy that is focused on practices of economic self-determination, on the idea that “another world is possible”, and that is dedicated to post-capitalist futures;
2. Economic initiatives from across the territories of Turtle Island today referred to as Quebec. These initiatives have in common their foundation on radical critiques of the values and operation of the capitalist economy. They have as their objective the creation of new types of relationships—economic, social, and political—and share a special focus on the values and ethics that underlie our interdependence with each other and with nature;
3. The community economy at Concordia University and beyond that will be producing the event: from the student-run food groups, to the childcare collective, to the alternative media.

Register now for Beyond Capitalism?

Skillshare workshop: SUNDAY APRIL 10th 2016

Those who present at the public conference will get the opportunity to continue the conversation during a full-day participatory workshop on Sunday. Participants will be invited to share knowledge, best practices and challenges with the support of (pro)feminist activist scholars who will facilitate using the tools from Take Back the Economy.

To present send in your proposal now!

WHO?

Activist scholars: Katherine Gibson and Ethan Miller from the Community Economies Collective. Anna Kruzynski and Rachel Sarrasin from the Interdisciplinary Research Collective on Dissent [Collectif de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la contestation (CRIC)].

People involved in economic initiatives: Details on who will be attending to come very soon.

And all other folks who believe that a post-capitalist world is possible!

WHERE?

Tio’tia:ke | Montreal, Concordia University

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Event accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
French-English simultaneous translation
Free childcare – with advance registration

12:15pm to 2:00pm
HEC Montréal
Salon Deloitte, 4th Floor

The need for Indigenous-led social innovation has likely never been greater than it is today. This need is equaled only by the systemic opportunities that appear to be available to foster such systemic change. As a result of nearly 400 years of colonization in Canada, Indigenous communities in Canada occupy marginalized political-economic spaces that perpetuate inequalities in education, health care, income and opportunities, etc. The need for Indigenous communities to effectively assert their Aboriginal and Treaty rights as well as build potential for autonomy and self-governance are imperative.

In the face of these realities, a new window of opportunity for systemic change created by among other things, Supreme Court decisions, the Idle No More movement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a new federal government appear to be providing opportunities to foster Indigenous-led innovation and social change. This talk will draw on the author’s research and experience over the past decade in the fields of social-ecological complexity, social innovation, decolonizing and critical Indigenous research and Indigenous research collaborations to explore the potential for fostering Indigenous-led social innovations in context of corporate/government/Indigenous relations, especially in the extractive resources sector.

A case study of an Indigenous Research Collaboration and an emerging, Indigenous-led social enterprise funded by a major mining company and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant will be used to demonstrate the profound challenges and real opportunities associated with Indigenous-led social innovation.

Register now by contacting crises at uqam.ca

Presenter:

Dan McCarthy is the interim Director of the Waterloo Institute of Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR) as well as an Associate Professor and Associate Director Undergraduate Studies in the School of Environment and Resource Sustainability at the University of Waterloo. Dan’s transdisciplinary academic background has focused on exploring the utility of complex systems-based approaches to understanding and intervening in linked social, ecological, epistemological systems. Dan has strong research interests and partnerships that relate to fostering adaptive capacity, social and environmental justice and social innovation in the context of linked socialecological systems. Dan has worked very closely with conservation and environmental movement organizations in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario as well as more recently, with several First Nations groups in both northern and southern Ontario.

SOURCE: Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales