6th edition of the Oriental Regional Forum on the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) 

A delegation from United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) led by its Secretary General, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, and including UCLG Africa’s Capacity Building Officer, Dr. Najat Zarrouk, is taking part from May 23 to 30, 2025 in Oujda, in the 6th edition of the Oriental Regional Forum on the Social Solidarity Economy organized under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI – May God assist him. 

The 6th Oriental Regional Forum on SSE provided the setting for the closing seminar of the gender equality promotion project (Projet PEG) run by the Belgian NGO Echos Communication in the Oriental Region of Morocco, in the Boucle de Mouhoun Region in Burkina Faso, and in the Kaolack Department in Senegal, in partnership with the Oriental Development Agency, Mohammed 1er University in Oujda and UCLG Africa, with funding from the Kingdom of Belgium. 

The seminar, which was attended by around a hundred people at the headquarters of the Oriental Regional Council in Oujda, was attended by: 

-African partners: representatives from the Oriental and Fez Regions in Morocco, the Boucle de Mouhoun Region in Burkina Faso, the Kaolack Department in Senegal, the Nawa Region in Côte d’Ivoire, Assaba and Trazart in Mauritania, representatives from Mohammed 1er University in Oujda and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, as well as representatives from cooperative and civil society organizations; 

-As partners from the North, representatives of the Belgian Embassy in Morocco, the Belgian Agency for International Cooperation (ENABEL), and the Agence Grand Est Solidarité et Coopération pour le Développement (GESCOD) from France. 

The PEG Project has demonstrated that the SSE can be one of the most powerful levers for promoting gender equality and the economic empowerment of women and young people, provided that it is an integral part of sustainable and inclusive development policy and strategy at territorial level, and that it benefits from a favorable legislative framework and institutional environment at national level.  

The SSE must not be seen as a crutch to keep alive those left behind by the globalized economy. On the contrary, through the structuring of cooperatives and their greater participation in economic life, it must be an effective means of reconciling economic and social development, so that no one is left behind. For example, in a country like Belgium, the SSE represents 351,000 jobs, or 12% of total employment in Belgium, and has grown by 9% over the last 10 years.  To achieve this progress, the government has put in place an appropriate legal and institutional framework and mechanisms to strengthen the structuring of the SSE as well as its financing, including through the involvement of the private sector.  

The PEG Project has also shown that the SSE should be seen as a major axis for structuring South-South and triangular South-South-North decentralized cooperation, the latter being able to draw on the immense potential represented by the African diaspora living within the local authorities of countries in both the North and South. 

The PEG Project has shown that the involvement of artists has proved an effective way of getting the message of gender equality and the economic empowerment of women and young people directly to people, whatever their level of education. By invoking people’s symbolic universe and feelings, art is a powerful medium for communication and mobilization. For this reason, a traveling exhibition of the works of the artists selected for the PEG Project is planned in the three African regions covered by the PEG Project, as well as in Belgium for the partners from the North. 

On May 23, 2025, the official opening ceremony of the 6th edition of the Oujda Regional SSE Fair took place, with speeches by the President of the Oriental Regional Council, the Wali of the Oriental Region, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, and the Representative of the Belgian Embassy in Morocco. 

The Forum associated with the Show is a privileged framework for exchanges of experience on South-South decentralized cooperation between the Presidents of the Regional or Departmental Councils partnering the Oriental Regional Council, as well as with the institutions and organizations accompanying them, such as the Oriental Development Agency, Mohammed 1er University, UCLG Africa, the NGO Echo Communication, ENABEL or GESCOD, among others. 

The 6th edition of the Oujda SSE Fair saw a sharp increase in the number of cooperatives present, with 270 exhibiting compared with 100 for the 5th edition.   

The Oriental region boasts 10,000 cooperatives, including 6,500 women’s cooperatives and 1,500 youth cooperatives, including in the field of new technologies.  

The work of the Forum continues at the site of the 6th edition of the Regional SSE Fair in Oujda with the organization from May 26 to 30, 2025 on a series of activities focusing on:  

⁃ peer learning for cooperatives;    

⁃ Social Marketing to build an authentic image and gain visibility;    

⁃ women’s leadership, a force for territorial transformation;    

⁃ Territorial Coaching, a device to support the economic empowerment of women and young people;    

⁃ the role of the media in promoting the SSE;    

⁃ access to financing for women entrepreneurs.