Description:

In a world of increased data and value concentration, where the labor force is engaged in a struggle for better terms of inclusion and the continued preservation of hard won labor rights, alternatives not only further the possibilities for fair and decentralized value distribution but also promote greater worker/producer autonomy, and long term livelihood and local sustainability. Whether they be crypto-currency communities in Argentina, traditional weavers’ cooperatives in India foraying into e-commerce, or young entrepreneurs in Africa hacking the development challenges of the continent, world over, collectives and individuals are constantly innovating to renew the original promise and potential of the platform economy – economic and social cooperativism, equity and solidarity. Lessons from these initiatives prove invaluable, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has thrown light on the issue of immense worker precarity in the gig-economy and highlighted the need for more equitable value distribution among actors in the digital economy. In the inevitable global economic downturn right on the heels of the pandemic, there will be an urgent need to look towards creating viable paths to recovery in the digital economy outside of mainstream capitalism. Against this context, this session will delve into the potential and challenges for social enterprises and worker/producer led platform models. The choice of a ‘Birds of a Feather’ format for the proposed workshop allows for a highly interactive and issue-centred participation. In this proposed session, we will bring together experts from research, government, civil society and private sector. Speakers will draw from their backgrounds in on-ground collective organisation efforts, entrepreneurship and cooperativism to ideate and discuss how the original promise of the digital can be harnessed for developing viable and sustainable models of social and economic solidarity. A tentative methodology for the workshop is provided below with details of how discussions will be facilitated; • Introductory remarks by moderator (5 mins) introducing the topic and the speakers • Lightning talks by speakers using one illustrative story (10 min x 3) ▪ Sofia Scassera, World Labor Institute will shed light on the lessons from the new forms of labor and producer collectivization ▪ Fabien Anthony, AfricaGen will elaborate on alternative digital enterprise models being developed across the African continent and the challenges faced by independent entrepreneurs ▪ Simel Esim, International Labor Organisation will speak on the role for policy support for cooperativism • Follow up Q & A session by moderator using prompts and questions collected from social media channels (30 mins) • Open floor discussion with audience inputs (20 mins) • Concluding remarks from speakers (5 mins)