This event was organized as part of Social Economy Month. This was the second edition of the event, and the first edition was held in 2017. It was eagerly anticipated by the ecosystem given the opportunities for sharing and networking that it presented.

Today, Annick Tremblay, Social Economy Officer, will tell us about the success of this edition.

According to Ms. Tremblay, the theme was changed slightly from the theme in 2017. For this year’s edition, the theme of the event was Inspire – Unite – Undertake. It was under the influence of these three words that the team focused on reflecting on and establishing a programming that would provide as many tools and as much adequate information to the participants as possible.

The SEGIP was intended for community economic development officers, representatives of Indigenous social economy enterprises and representatives of non-Indigenous social economy organizations.

The objectives were as follows:

• Promote the social economy.
• Promote networking between community players, players in the social economy of Indigenous Peoples and those of the partners of the Quebec social economy ecosystem.
• Strengthen Indigenous social economy enterprises through the sharing of tools and expertise.

Programming

The programming was designed to enable participants to acquire a wealth of information that can be useful to them in the context of their work. It featured conferences, panels, presentations, testimonials, workshops, sharing circles, a film on cooperatives as well as a showcase of the First Nations Identification brand.

The event was launched by Ms. Sedalia Kawenno:ta’s Fazio, a Mohawk from Kahnawake, who offered the opening prayer, which was followed by addresses from dignitaries who were attending the event.

The following activities were in the spotlight during the two days of the event:

– Retrospective and evolution of the social economy among the First Nations and Inuit;

– Panel on the wealth of the social economy and its benefits;

– Testimonials: inspiring collective enterprises and initiatives of Indigenous peoples;

– Workshop: social economy governance, a determining component;

– Conference: responsible management, a winning condition for a social economy project;

– Interview on funding strategies in the social economy of Indigenous peoples;

– Closing activity: vision of the future for the social economy of Indigenous peoples.

A highlight of this edition of the Gathering is that it allowed community economic development officers, entrepreneurs, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous social economy organizations in the social economy ecosystem to network and exchange. We are particularly proud to have been able to count on the collaboration of the Cree and Inuit pôles in terms of organizing and participating in the event.

The participants mentioned that it would be appropriate to hold this Gathering annually. The event allowed them to engage in rewarding discussions and learn new skills, knowledge and solutions that could be useful to them in the context of their professional duties in terms of better serving their members.

They also emphasized the fact that this event provided them with a better understanding of what the social economy is, in addition to allowing them to meet with several representatives of the financing sector thanks to the presence of these organizations in the kiosks and clinics.

In closing, we would like to point out that the Social Economy Gathering of Indigenous Peoples was made possible thanks to the support of the Chantier de l’économie sociale, the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation, the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie as well as the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Premières Nations et les Inuit.

We would like to thank all the participants who took part in this unifying event! Their contributions were greatly appreciated and made it a resounding success.

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