Press release - 9 September 2009

The 4th Mont Blanc Meetings

The international forum for leaders from the social economy

9-10 November 2009, Chamonix Mont Blanc

The end of the crisis is near, so we are told.  But which crisis are they talking about? Clearly not the food crisis in any case! Witness the one billion people around the world who still suffer from hunger.

The challenge is painfully enormous and is likely to get worse between now and 2050. It requires appropriate responses for the populations concerned, in their own regions, and taking into account the tight inter-connections between the activities and the actors that are already mobilized or can be mobilized.

The issues raised and the solutions implemented or envisaged are hugely inter-dependent., whether they concern the distribution of land, the quality of the soil and water, the potential of local production for  local consumption, the tension between food production and biofuel production, the contradiction between famines in developing countries and over-eating (obesity) in developed countries, etc.

Starting from the presentation of concrete initiatives, the leaders from the social economy (cooperatives, mutuals, nonprofits and foundations) around the world attending the 4th Mont Blanc Meetings will discuss how to get involved in innovative and concrete projects aimed at feeding the planet better.

Existing projects will serve as a working foundation for responding to the difficulties organizations on the ground face in setting up projects or building upon them and creating new partnerships.

Contributions by experts representing international organizations (such as the UNDP, WFP, FAO, ILO, ICA) will help in understanding the world situation, clarifying the food challenges and exploring possible solutions.

A few examples of initiatives that will be examined:

• to enable adequately irrigating crops in places where the conventional means of accessing water are limited, the Canadian NGO “Fogquest” is using nets for capturing water from fog and thus overcoming the scarcity of water;

• creating organic seed banks by the Indian foundation “Navdanya”, founded and headed by Dr. Vandana Shiva, to help fight biopiracy and thus protect seed diversity, the environment, crops and knowledge;

• spreading alternative agricultural practices to pesticides among Chinese farmers by the Chinese nonprofit organization ”Pesticides Eco Alternatives Center”;

• the Cameroon “Citizens’ Association for the Defense of Collective Interests”, which runs public-awareness campaigns among local communities and lobbies government to promote local agricultural production;

• creating organic horticultural gardens as a social and occupational integration scheme by the European network “Jardins de Cocagne”.

Through the values that it promotes, the social economy has a key role to play in feeding the planet better not only because the context of the world crisis demands it but also because the various organizations on the ground are calling upon it to take global action.

Contact: Thierry JEANTET

tel.: + 33 (0) 6 07 28 12 72 or + 33 (0)1 45 74 08 56

e-mail: thierry.jeantet@euresa.org 

About the Mont Blanc Meetings

An international forum for launching projects, taking stands on issues and exchanging ideas

The Mont Blanc Meetings are a transversal forum that brings together leaders from all parts of the social economy, covering every sector and region in the world, as well as experts and officials from international organizations, academics, and representatives from social, political and labor movements.

Featuring a precise theme for each edition (held every two years) and providing a place for discussions, exchanging ideas and developing joint projects, the Meetings aim to offer responses to major current issues and challenges through the development and implementation of concrete projects that are jointly run by companies and organizations from around the world.

Since 2004 when the first Mont Blanc Meetings were held, concrete projects have been set up such as CoopEst, which provides finance to support the growth of social economy companies in Eastern European countries, the development of the biogas sector in the Republic of Guinea and other developing countries, and the International Association of Social Economy Foundations among others.

The Meetings are a chance to show that it is possible to do business differently by putting social responsibility and solidarity at the heart of economic and entrepreneurial activities.