The Asian Solidarity Economy Forum (ASEF) is an initiative of advocates and practitioners who trumpet the call for an ‘alternative and more compassionate economy. It seeks to draw and galvanize the support of national networks of social enterprises towards strengthening the macro and mega systems of solidarity economy. The forthcoming ASEF Forum KL 2011 is the third in the series. ASEF I was held in Manila last October 2007 and ASEF II was in Tokyo in 2009.
ASEF Forum KL 2011 will on providing a platform for advocates, practitioners, academics, policy makers, community leaders and the business community to interact, share experiences and draw upon our collective community innovations for the common good.
Theme:Social Enterprise as a Vehicle for Socio-Economic Transformation of Communities
Venue: Seri Cempaka, No 8, Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Day 1 October 31 2011
Advocates/ practitioners from various continents of the world will expound on the concept and practice of solidarity economy in their respective continents.
The plenary session in the morning of October 31 will be followed by break-out workshops in the afternoon which will focus in more details on the various approaches to solidarity economy already on the ground.
These approaches include fair trade, organic farming, microfinance, territorial anchorage of alternative economy, social currency/ complementary currencies, eco-tourism and the like.
Day 2, November 1, 2011
Plenary sessions in the morning, followed by break-out workshops in the afternoon, will focus on the issues:
1) How do we measure the performance of social enterprises/ solidarity economy?; and
2) How can we promote social responsibility, solidarity and reciprocity among social enterprises/ stakeholders of solidarity economy?
Performance measurement tools such as social performance indicator, social return on investment, CSR compliance, and the like will be featured. Social mobilization tools such as the CHR (charter of human responsibility), social network analysis, building shared vision workshop, and social dialogue toolkit will also be taken up.
Day 3, November 2, 2011
Plenary Sessions will focus on post-forum collective actions among advocates and practitioners of solidarity economy/ social entrepreneurship. These actions include:
(1) the establishment of the Asian Social Entrepreneurs Coalition (ASEC);
(2) the adoption of Value Chain Development Program (VCDP) as flagship program of ASEC
(3) the conduct of CEOs Seminar on Solidarity Economy and Social Entrepreneurship to be sponsored by and conducted in Malaysia on an annual basis; and
(4) the conduct of ASEF IV in conjunction with the RIPESS International Forum on the Globalization of Solidarity Economy in November 2013.
There will be also adjoining activities of ASEF III:
· the Global Chinese Economic Forum, Nov 3 & 4, 2011, and
· the ASEF Trade Exhibit to be sponsored and organized by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cooperatives of the Malaysian government in collaboration with the cooperative movement of Malaysia.
