Last Tuesday, around 150 people attended the first territorial conference on the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at the Hommage Hotel in Baie Nettle, to discover the unique potential of this public policy for the benefit of the people of Saint-Martin.
"The social and solidarity economy (SSE) brings together businesses, associations, and organizations that seek to reconcile economic activity and social utility," recalled Élise Bouchard of ESS France. The SSE marks a turning point for Saint-Martin with the officialization of its expansion. Alain Richardson, 1st VP of the Collectivité, affirms that its goal is "to preserve the economic health of the territory" by providing financial support to socially oriented structures: "This form of economy is more representative of the values of Saint-Martin's identity."
Benoît Hamon, former minister and president of ESS France, emphasized its importance for the island: "It's a form of economy that protects the socio-cultural ecosystem. It focuses on the territory: inclusion is the specialty of the social and solidarity economy. It's also about peer-to-peer cooperation."
Prefect Cyrille le Vély welcomes this initiative, which "aims to create a territorial chamber that can help the 1000 associations on the island that are part of this form of economy, and which lack the means to recruit, and therefore to develop."
After a musical break, local entrepreneur Leyla Fazer closed the discussion with a round table: "After years of struggle and disdain for our businesses and initiatives, we are finally emerging from the shadows and seeing the light."
https://faxinfo.fr/en/societe-economie-sociale-et-solidaire-un-modele-adapte-aux-valeurs-saint-martinoises/
