The Film Festival Social and Solidarity Economy started in Gaia, at MANIFesta 2016, and will soon be in Lisbon. The program of Gaia was warmly received by the Cooperativa 3+ arte, a space of creation, attentive to the community, where a wide variety of artists finds today the opportunity to develop and share their works.
This was the place where the Turkish short movie “Extraordinary People”, directed by Orthan Tekeoglu, and the Brazilian documentary “Palmas”, directed by Edlisa Peixoto, were exhibited. The first was exhibited on the 9th of November and the second on the 10th.
Between the creativity and the resilience of people living in the most isolated areas, we see the birth of alternative solutions for the daily problems, always without neglecting local wisdom. Actions that make clear that there is no possible development without evolving the communities which will directly benefit from it.
In this sense, the Turkish whistled language (kus dili), created by the inhabitants of Ku?köy, located in the north of Turkey, responds to a need to communicate in an area of difficult access. Likewise, the Brazilian Bank “Palmas”, created by the residents of Conjunto Palmeiras, in Fortaleza, has helped them finding an alternative for their savings, consumption and credit necessities.
It is this effervescence that touches, amazes and unquiet us. Between the strength of exchanged images and ideas, while feeling cozy and warm, surrounded by smiles and savoring a delicious tea, these examples of life have deeply moved us and have called for our attention, and for a deeper reflection about our reality. The reality which is around us, right next door…
What kind of citizens do we want to be? What kind of world do we want to build? And what if the target was 2030? At the workshop organized by the Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr (IMVF) on the 9th of November, within the framework of the Project SSEDAS – Social and Solidary Economy, during the MANIFesta, in Gaia, students of the master in Sociology of Porto University together with professionals from various areas – like Psychology of Education, Social Service, Local Development and Childhood Education – have striven to give answers to these questions.
Accepting the challenge put forward by Paulo César Costa, participants reflected on how Social and Solidary Economy can contribute to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Goals which are wide-ranging and ambitious towards the necessity of achieving 169 specific targets while also monitoring complex indicators, in order to achieve the desired and necessary balance between the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development.
On the one hand, the education for citizenship has the potential to contribute to the awareness raising on the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda, as discussed and adopted at the United Nations level, and can also contribute to the awareness raising about the Social and Solidary Economy which is often closer to people and, therefore, occupies a privileged position to match available resources with existing needs.
As far as the Solidary Economy is concerned, Education needs to be more focused on the collaboration (helping to discover the place of each one) rather than on the competition that tends to leave behind those who have more constraints.
On the other hand, with regard to Development Cooperation, prioritizing community participation as well as understanding the school as a place of aggregation are both deemed essential to properly involve the community in all the matters that concern it.
Fair Trade, included in the 12º SDG – sustainable production and consumption – was one of the solidary economy’s aspects the most emphasized during the workshop’s group work. At the same time, reference was also made to the important work carried out by the cooperatives, for which the profitability of resources and of local policies will be decisive, either for the continuity of their actions either for the creation of new opportunities.
Por Âmago Multimédia