Links from Social Economy Summit

Union de Productores Agricoles (Quebec) UPA-DI

http://www.upadi-agri.org/
Created in 1993, UPA-DI is the  International Development (DI) branch of UPA, a syndicate for agricultural producers in Quebec. They promote the family farm as a model for sustainable development.  Their mission statement is to execute cooperative agricultural projects in the South; provide consultation to national and international organisations on international cooperation and agricultural development; and to distribute information to Quebec producers on the importance of international solidarity.  They emphasize capacity building efforts through the support of producer-controlled democratic organisations, the development of systems appropriate to conditions and markets of Southern countries, and the formation of local leaders.
They see cooperatives as a way for these producers to realize their rights and improve their conditions.  They also focus on education and women’s rights.

CECI-Uniterra

Philippe Fragnier
Programme Officer
3000 Omer-Lavallée, Montreal, QC H1Y 3R8
T 514 875 9911 E264
F 514 875 6469
phillpe@uniterra.org
www.uniterra.org
International cooperation program creating partnerships betweens organisations in the South and in Canada. They aim to reduce poverty by 50% by 2015. They focus on many sectors, one of which is rural and agricultural development. Under this agenda, they are working on developing fair trade in the Americas, namely raising camelidae in Bolivia and improving fair trade and responsible tourism in Guatemala.
Their actions centre over a few different issues, namely: HIV/AIDS (they have projects in Botswana, Burkina Faso, and Malawi), basic education (wih positive feedbacks into improved  health and quality of life). They have projects in Africa and Asia, (in Ghana they have a program to increase the number of girls attending school), health and food (in Mali, project to increase access to health services, in Bolivia, project to increase access to safe drinking water, in Nepal, to decentralize community health servies), agriculture and rural development (food security, fair trade, and protecting natural resources), private sector development (to reduce poverty), youth programming (provide structure for youth to increase their personal success), gender and development (increasing women’s access and control of resources, and promoting women’s rights through broadening knowledge..)

CUSO

Hugo Montecinos
Repentant-Quebec Outreach
5505 st-laurent suite 3018 Montreal, QC H2T 1S6
T 514 276 8528
hugo.montecinos@cuso.ca
cuso.org

Mirko Gamez Arias
Project Unit officer
Calle Cuba esq Brazil
Edif Mercedes No1406
Piso 12 Dep 12 D
Casilla Postal 7049, LA Paz, Bolivia
T 591 2 2245868
mirkogamez@entelnet.bo

 International Cooperation organisation aimed at getting canadians involved in fighting poverty, human rights violations, HIV/AIDS, inequality, cultural loss and environmental damage. Their goals are to provide Canadians opportunities for volunteerism, to create links between groups to fight social injustice, and to increase public awareness. They have existed since 1961, and are mostly funded by CIDA. They favor open dialoque and exhange between themselves and partners in the South over a paternalistic approach to finding worthwhile development projects to which they can contribute.

CISO Centre international de solidarité ouvrière

Marie-Noelle Roy
Chargée de projets
565 Crémazie Est bur. 3500 Montreal, QC H2M 2V
t 514-383-2266
roymn@ciso.qc.ca
www.ciso.qc.ca
CISO works towards improving international solidarity. Their approach it to help workers here and abroad stand up for their rights, better working conditions, and improving democracy and justice.  This is achieved through Quebec’s union movement, distributing information and creating projects overseas.
They currently have two projects underway, one in Niger, the other in Algeria.  They are both focusing on helping workers’ unions in those countries fulfill their maximum potential.

SOCODEVI Société de cooperation pour le développement international

Réjean Lantagn
Directeur general
850 avenue Ernest-Gagnon bur. 160, Quebec, QC G1S 4S2
T 418 683 7225
r.lantagne@socodevi.org
www.socodevi.org
Created in 1985 as a way for cooperatives here and in the South to share their experiences in the development sector. Their mission is to further the sustainable development of partner countries through the work of the different member cooperatives. Its members institutions are: Agropur (agri-food), Citadelle, Maple Syrup Producers' Cooperative (agri-food), Fédération québécoise des coopératives forestières (forestry), La Coop fédérée (agri-food), Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec (funeral services), Fédération des coopératives québécoises en milieu scolaire (services and products offered to students), La Capitale, mutuelle de l'administration publique (insurance and financial services), Promutuel (insurance), SSQ, mutuelle de gestion (insurance and financial services), L'Union-Vie, compagnie mutuelle d'assurance-vie (insurance and financial services). 
Their expertise is in the creation of commercial alliances, development of local communities, installation of product processing facilities, marketing of goods and services, project management, setting up and strengthening of cooperative and associative enterprises, support-advice for business management, and transfer of knowledge and technology.  They  follow the policies inherent to gender and development, environmental impacts as well as sound commercial policy (which involves the strengthening of commercial activities of partners, supporting alliances between local and international members, and promoting/encouraging exportation of Canadian goods and services).

CECI Centre for international studies and cooperation

Marilena Bioli
Program Officer
 3000Omer-Lavallée, Montreal, QC H1Y 3R8
T 514 875 9911 E258
marilenab@ceci.ca
www.ceci.ca
The following is their mission statement: "CECI fights poverty and exclusion; it strengthens the development capacity of disadvantaged communities; it supports initiatives for peace, human rights and equity; it mobilizes resources and promotes the exchange of know-how. "
They recruit allies for international cooperation, provide training on issues related to development, raise funds for development and humanitarian projects, carry out public engagement activities, manage development projects as well as humanitarian assistance and reconstruction initiatives. They were founded in 1958 and are well regarded.  CECI joined with WUSC to form Uniterra.

Ceas (comision Episcopal de accion social) Latindadd (red latinoamericana sobre Deuda, Desarollo, y Derechos)

Humberto Ortiz Roca
Responsible de Economia Solidaria
Av Salaverry 1945 Lima 14, Peru
T 051-1 474 0790 o 472 3714
hortiz@amauta.rcp.net.pe
ww.ceas.org.pe
Their mission is to activate, consult with, promote, and coordinate catholic social teaching at the national level. They want to promote human rights,  helping to enforce justice, democracy, development and peace.  They have two main departments; one on human dignity and the other on solidarity.  The first looks at truth and reconciliation, justice and pastoral penance, the second looks at participatory democracy, land and hostile security, and solidarity economy.

They will be one of the principal organizers with RIPESS (see below) for the Social Economy Forum in Havana, scheduled to take place Feb 2007.

ENDA Ethiopia: Environmental Development Action in the Third World

Azeh Girmai
Country Coordinator
Enda.eth@ethionet.et
They are the Ethiopia branch of ENDA TW based in Dakar (Senegal).  They have activities based on urban popular economy and ecology, environmental education, sustainable farming practices, and communication which they hope will help to alleviate poverty, ameliorate environmental conditions, and improve participatory democracy.  They act as a facilitator for grassroots initiatives such that all projects are created and carried out by the group members, not ENDA ETH itself.  ENDA ETH helps them find the appropriate resources and provides consultation for these projects to be completed. All their actions are therefore done with/through partners.

FEM International (Femmes entrepreneur du Monde)

2150 de Maisonneuve ouest # 703 Montreal, QC H3H 1L2
T 514 570 4161
info@feminternational.org
www.feminternational.org
Not-for-profit organisation based in Montreal that aims to improve the living conditions of women internationally by 1) offering tools to their own economic empowerment (micro-enterprises) 2) providing emotional assistance to disadvantaged women from prostitution and child labour 3) increasing awareness and 4) stimulating international volunteer work to help in international solidarity.  They have four main programmes. These are Go-op (girls out of poverty and prostitution) for which they sell fair trade products made by these girls; BBIP (programmes fondamentaux de formations en affaires) which are business knowledge workshops; MCP (programme de credit et micro-financement); and VIP (programme de volontaires a l’échelle international) which are done through ‘cultural solutions’.  They work in Colombia, Thailand and India.

Reseau international de promotion de l’economie solidaire (RIPESS)

http://www.uqo.ca/ries2001/RIPESS.html
They are a not-for-profit organisation that was formed out of the summit in Lima in 1997.  Their role is to promote social solidarity economy which they see as including: unions, NGOs, micro-enterprises, small business associations, women’s groups, etc. They see themselves as a network since they wish to remain flexible towards the connection between members.  Some objectives include animating participative debates for the summits, creating networks, validating the knowledge of various players, and communicating between groups.

GESQ  Groupe d’Economie Solidaire de Quebec

http://www.uqo.ca/ries2001/conference/Ripess/gesq.html

They were created to follow up in the requirements for the 2nd summit on Rencontre International in Quebec.  They are the amalgamation of the different players in social solidarity economy across Quebec.  Their specific mandate is to promote the globalisation of solidarity initiated in Lima (97) and Quebec (2001), and the prepare/execute the necessary steps for Dakar (2005).

Petites mains : woman, profession, integration

5950 chemin cotes-des-neiges 4e étage, Montréal, QC H3S 1Z6
T 514 738 8989
info@petitesmains.com
www.petitesmains.com

“PETITES-MAINS is a non-profit organization realizing activities in the field of industrial sewing. This is an Insertion Enterprise, member of the Collectif des entreprises d’insertion du Québec.” “The mission of PETITES-MAINS is to help people, mostly immigrant women, single-parents, the unemployed and those receiving welfare. The enterprise encourages these women to come out of their loneliness, to exchange with others, to learn a job, to integrate job market and to live in dignity in the society.”

Transit: les services adaptés

Daniel Berthiaume, MBA
Directeur general
13 025 rue Jean Grou, Montreal, QC H1A 3N6
T 514 642 3250 E 224
Dir.general@letransit.com
www.letransit.com
They are an enterprise that aims to create viable commercial work opportunities for handicapped individuals to ensure them optimal work conditions.

Insertech angus

Agnes Beaulier

Directrice générale
2600 William-Trembley, bur 110, Montreal, QC H1Y 3J2
T 514 596 2842
abeulieu@insertech.qc.ca
www.insertech.qc.ca
Insertech is a non-profit social insertion company that provides services such as assembly, update and computer repair. They also sell new and second hand computers. Training and guidance is offered to local youth as they work in various sections of the company over a 6 month training period.  They also sell refurbished computers thereby reducing the quantity of technological waste.

Recyclage Vanier

Charles Demers
Directeur general
1095 Vincent-Massey, Quebec, QC G1N 1N2
T 418 527 8050
cdemers@recyclagevanier.com
www.recyclagevanier.com

They are a not-for-profit working to protect the environment by recuperating papers, particular confidential papers. They also aim to help the community by hiring disadvantaged personnel who would have difficulty finding other work.