The electives of the SSE Academy were designed to be a space for practitioners from all over the world, to debate and share good practices, ideas and models for SSE action in specific fields. The fourth elective, that took place on 16, 17 and 18 November 2021, focused on the role of SSE in the context of South-South and triangular cooperation. It was made available for participants in English, Portuguese, French and Spanish. The elective’s content was coordinated and prepared by Ms. Anita Amorim (ILO) and facilitated by Ms. Juliana Maziero (ITCILO).

During the elective, ILO's work with cities and local authorities on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) projects in local economic development (LED), city-to-city cooperation (C2C) and the SSE was featured. C2C is emerging as a new development cooperation form between cities in the South and in the North, through triangular cooperation) and a tool for implementing LED and decent work.

This form of peer-to-peer cooperation has grown in scope and practice, bringing cities to work together on issues of common interest, exchange knowledge among themselves, and transfer successful practices to new contexts. The innovation element of the SSE brings it closer to South-South and triangular cooperation. SSC allows countries to interact horizontally, promoting solutions that are the result of an exchange of skills, resources and know-how, while engaging in solidarity. SSC complements the North-South approaches, in a dynamic that seeks to promote equality among peoples and States.

During the first day, Ms. Anita Amorim (ILO) presented an overview of the definitions and relations between LED, the SSE and SSC, in the framework of Decent Work. Mr. Leandro Moraes, professor of UNESP Brasil and member of CIRIEC, reflected on the main interlinks and mutual influences between SSC and the SSE.

The presentation by Ms. Amorim is available here: eng - es - pt - fr.

The second day was dedicated to good practices and case studies. Mr. Nuno Tavares (ILO) outlined some good practices of SSTC in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), especially in the field of social protection and elimination of child labour.

Mr. Duncan Chaloba, of the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, explored the dynamics of the South-South Cooperation between Brazil and South Africa and Triangular Cooperation between Brazil and South Africa with the engagement of Portugal and UK.

The presentation by Mr. Tavares is available here: eng - es - fr - pt.

The presentation of Mr. Chaloba is available here: es - fr - pt.

The session of the third day started with a presentation by Mr. Manuel Lapão, Technical Cooperation Director of CPLP, on the importance of cooperation and network creation, using the Portuguese speaking community as an example. Eventually, Mr. Fernando Baptista, ILO Consultant, presented the Social and Solidarity Economy Collective Brain as a collaborative tool to foster SSTC. Finally, Mr. Daniel Nagao Menezes, who participated in several SSE Academies, made a presentation on the legal aspects of SSC in relation to the SSE.

The elective benefited from the active engagement of participants in groupwork and Q&A sessions.

For more information on the 12th edition of the SSE Academy, click here.