Fostering an ASEAN Community through Solidarity-Based Community Enterprises

ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) in 2015 adopted the theme “Our People, Our Community, Our Vision” which reflects the overarching spirit of Malaysia’s Chairmanship, namely to create a truly people-oriented, people-centred ASEAN comprising all areas of political and security cooperation, economic growth and socio-cultural development. In this context the Asian Solidarity Economy Council and the Global Movement of Moderates hosted a Pre Asean Summit Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on April 25, 2015 at the GMM Conference room in Kuala Lumpur Around 60 people from various countries participated at this RTD representing government, civil society, community based enterprises, social entrepreneurs, academics and the private sector. Also participating were organisations like the ILO, UNDP (Malaysia), World Fair Trade Organisation (Asia), Pacific Asia Resource Centre Inter-peoples’ Cooperation (PARCIC), COMMACT International represented by the India chapter and ASLI Malaysia.

ASEAN had a fruitful discussion and this documentation arises as a fruit of this participatory process of sharing, deliberating and drawing out an agenda for the future of community based enterprises in the ASEAN region. This document entitled “Fostering an ASEAN Community through Solidarity-Based Community Enterprises” is divided into three parts:

Part one documents the Joint statement issued by ASEC & GMM on April 25, 2015, the executive summary of the findings, and the Seven Point Strategy for integrating community based enterprises in the ASEAN Economic Community.

Part Two is a comprehensive summary of the panel presentations and deliberations which serves as an essential resource material. And finally

Part Three provides more details of the presentations especially the framework paper presented by Dr Ben Quinones. It is important to note that the earlier ASEC publications entitled Sowing the Seeds of Solidarity Economy (2012) & Developments in Solidarity Economy in Asia (2013) document the growth and development of solidarity economy at the grassroots in this region as the people’s response to the dominant business model which marginalizes and alienates the vast majority of the people. Solidarity economy is an altenrative economy that is people empowering, and promotes equitable share of economic growth as well as sustainable use of the natural resources.

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It is hoped that this publication will further strengthen the academic and policy discussions on the relevance of community based enterprises as a key vehicle for the realisation of the ASEAN goal of building an inclusive, people to people ASEAN.

It is ASEAN’s vision that both policy makers and academics will study this document and in the coming months provide the space for the further articulation of community based enterprises as a catalyst for not just realising the goal of sustainable development but see this as a key component in building a peoples’ ASEAN.

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