After the Meetings of Lima, Peru, in 1997 and Quebec in 2001, Senegal hosted the third meeting of the International Conference on the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) in 2005.
This meeting gathered participants from various continents under the motto “empowering people”.

There was a massive participation of young people from all continents (Africa, America, Asia and Europe) in this meeting celebrated in the premises of the « Centre aéré de la BCEAO » of Dakar-Yoff.

During the Bamako Meeting held from the 24th to the 26th of June 2005, which stressed on the “African vision of the social solidarity economy” the youth took the floor to demand the organization of an international youth camp for them to participate in the activities of Dakar 2005 by pointing out that:
Young people are important development agents and operators for the socioeconomic change of our countries;
Young people have innovating capacities which can contribute to sustain development actions and spread them at all levels;
The youth is the living force of any sustainable change.

Knowing that, and in order to carry out concrete actions for the promotion of the social solidarity economy, young people, gathered in the youth camp made their assessment with the participation of representatives of various young people’s organizations.

In their address to decision-makers, public authorities, NGOs, the international community and to the RIPESS leaders, the youth are committed to take-up the challenges they are facing.

They decided for the promotion of the social solidarity economy:
To inform and sensitize on the stakes of the social solidarity economy;
To make advocacy and lobbying action by introducing a petition to the authorities of their respective countries;
To establish a framework of permanent exchange and consultation on the social solidarity economy between young people;
To respect and consider the gender issue in all of the development initiatives.

Regarding the local development, participants in the camp highlighted the following points:
Training and capacity reinforcement for all socioeconomic actors;
Management of the communal environment;
Support to elementary infrastructure construction initiatives by means of human involvement;
Involvement in preventing, managing and solving conflicts;

Regarding popular alternatives, they decided to carry out a sensitization campaign on the following issues:
Democratic management and participation in grassroots associations;
Including subjects on citizenship and human rights in school curricula;
Responsibility of young people in decision-making bodies;
Taking into account teaching children who were not sent to school how to read and write;
Involvement of young people in designing, mapping out, implementation, evaluation and follow-up structures.

In order to achieve the goals set for fair trade, young people are willing to serve as intermediaries to explain to populations the drawbacks of subsidies by Western countries to their farmers on the competitiveness of local products.

They also intend to organize sensitization caravans leading them to far remote areas in order to reinforce solidarity between producers and consumers.

Finally, regarding solidarity finances, young people advocate the debt cancellation and require that this money should be invested in development programs. However, they think that some extra efforts should be done in order to extend the debt cancellation to all of the countries which have been sustaining the development of the Western developed countries.

They also drew attention on the abuses of some Credit and Savings Unions, which are at risk of falling into the same mistakes as classic financial institutions such as high interest rates and heavy collaterals required from proximity service applicants.

The above mentioned actions will be followed by a detailed plan of action involving all the stakeholders of the economic and social life.

The international youth camp is strongly appealing to the initiators of the Dakar 2005 summit to support the plan of action that will be mapped out.

Knowing that all these actions will be vain without the commitment of everyone, particularly young people, participants in the Camp require the RIPESS:
To promote the capacity reinforcement of young people by generalizing training programs and exchange of experiences between various leaders of young people’s organizations;
To effectively involve young people in all projects and campaigns of the social solidarity economy and in all its decision-making bodies.

To that end, and in order to allow them achieve these targets, young people are hereby committed to start off the International Movement of Young People for the Social Solidarity Economy, for the promotion of association and community dynamics for positive social changes centered on solidarity.

« Let’s jointly empower people, by means of their youth ».