Call for Papers | 2nd International Conference Social Solidarity Economy & the Commons

The 2nd international conference “Social Solidarity Economy & the Commons: Contributions for the deepening of Democracy” will be a meeting point for researchers, activists, public officials and social entrepreneurs   involved with social and solidarity economy, governance of the Commons and new social movements in different parts of the world.

The conference will take place from the 6th to the 8th of November 2019 at Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon, Portugal. The goal of this conference is to be an open and interdisciplinary space for exchange of knowledge and socio-political experiences on the deepening and widening of democracy and the promotion of social solidarity economy and the governance of the Commons in different parts of the world.

The conference is organized by the Centre for International Studies (CEI-IUL), with the support of the Department of Political Economy of ISCTE-IUL, the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C) of the School of Natural Sciences of the University of Lisbon and the Solidarity Economy Incubator of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL, Brazil).

We are hereby launching the conference’s call for papers, posters and panels, which includes information about its organization, the topics addressed and cost of participation. We will send regular updates about its organization by e-mail and through the social media accounts of CEI-IUL (Facebook and Twitter). Any questions regarding the organization of the conference or participation can be sent to  ssecommons.cei@iscte-iul.pt.

Thematic fields

In response to the contemporary political, economic, and environmental crisis, various social movements and government programs are developing alternatives to the socio-economic status quo and representative democracy by mobilizing endogenous practices and resources, as well as promoting synergies among grassroots civil society initiatives and progressive governments.

Within these movements stands out Social Solidarity Economy and the Commons. This international and interdisciplinary conference aims to publicize and promote research on forms of participatory governance promoted by social movements and governments to overcome the challenges that communities, governments and organizations currently face by promoting Social Solidarity Economy and Commons-based strategies of governance.

This year’s edition of the international conference “Social Solidarity Economy & Commons” focuses on conceptual and normative frameworks that support the development of cooperative and sustainable alternatives to neoliberal capitalism and strengthen civil society and the state through participatory democracy.

We invite researchers, activists, public officials and social entrepreneurs to submit papers, posters and panel proposals based on research projects or concrete activist, economic or public policy initiatives. The topics include social movements, processes of knowledge production and diffusion, public policies and alternative strategies of economic governance based on Social Solidarity Economy, as well as the democratic and collective management of the Commons.

We aim to promote an interdisciplinary perspective at the theoretical and methodological level, for which we invite academics and practitioners to debate these topics from the perspective of civil society organizations, enterprises and governments.

The goal is to present and discuss theoretical and empirical research that promotes a convergence of concepts and strategies between scholars, entrepreneurs, activists and public managers. In order to promote interdisciplinarity, methodological diversity and empirical pluralism, the conference is structured around five thematic fields:

  • Social movements, Social Solidarity Economy and the Commons: Initiatives of social solidarity economy and commons-based governance promoted by “old” and “new” social movements, including degrowth, ethical and solidarity-based finance, movements for the decolonization of knowledge and livelihoods and the promotion of epistemological, cultural, functional, sexual and gender justice, diversity and inclusion;
  • The contribution of Social Solidarity Economy and Commons-based governance to the deepening and widening of Democracy;
  • The application of Social Solidarity Economy and Commons-based governance to urban regeneration and rural development, with a focus on initiatives and programs aimed at revitalizing rural and urban spaces through the promotion of local economies and supply chains, as well as the commoning of public spaces;
  • Social Solidarity Economy, the Commons and the development of inclusive social technologies: This thematic field focuses on research projects, social movement strategies and NGO or policy programs, developed with social solidarity economy initiatives, which combine local knowledge with technical and scientific expertise, with the goal of developing replicable and socially transformative products, technologies and forms of governance;
  • The application of Social Solidarity Economy and Commons-based governance to adaptation to climate change, by promoting the transition to renewable energy, agroecology, sustainable water management, among other sustainable technologies.
Proposal Submission Guidelines

Paper, poster and panel proposals can be submitted in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish. However, the language of presentation shall be English.

Proposals should have a maximum length of 800 words and indicate the thematic field of the conference they shall be included, as well as five keywords. The deadline for submission is May 31 2019.

The email address for proposal submission is  ssecommons.cei@iscte-iul.pt.

Proposals should include:

a) Title;

b) Thematic field;

c) Theoretical or empirical question and literature review;

d) Summary of methodology;

e) Main argument;

f) Summary of conclusions and implications for research, activism, practice or policy-making;

g) Main references.

After the conference, the organizing committee will launch a call for chapters of an edited, open-source volume of the collection of ebooks of the Centre for International Studies (CEI-IUL). All the authors who presented papers, posters and panels at the conference will be invited to develop their presentations into publishable manuscripts for peer-review.

Obs: We will offer translation services (English/Portuguese) only during the opening, closing and keynote sessions.

Important dates
  • Deadline for proposal submission – May 31 2019
  • Notification of authors – June 15
  • Deadline for registration (conference presenters) – October 6
  • Deadline for submission of complete presentations and posters – October 10
  • Publication of final program – October 15
  • Deadline for registration (non-presenters) – October 20
  • Beginning of the conference – November 6
Conference registration

Site: https://ssecommons.cei.iscte-iul.pt/

  • Professors, researchers and other professionals)  – € 100, 00
  • Students (Proof of enrolment in a higher education program required)* – € 50, 00

Members of Solidarity Economy initiatives and community development organizations (documentary proof or letter of reference from the organization required) – FREE

*Registration is FREE for students of ISCTE-IUL, FCUL and UFAL

Organizing committee
  • Ana Margarida Esteves (CEI-IUL)
  • Rogério Roque Amaro (CEI-IUL)
  • Maria de Fátima Ferreiro (Departamento de Economia Política, ISCTE-IUL)
  • Raquel Silva (CEI-IUL)
  • Leonardo Leal (CEI-IUL; Universidade Federal de Alagoas– UFAL)
  • Gil Pessanha Penha-Lopes (Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, FCUL)

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

CEI IUL

CEI-Iscte (Centre for International Studies) is a university-based multidisciplinary research center at ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL). CEI-Iscte aims at promoting interdisciplinary research in Social Sciences, International Relations and Economy, focusing in its areas of geographic specialisation: Africa, Asia, Europe, and Transatlantic Relations.

Leave a Reply