Priscilla Mazenotti
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília – For the first time, a conference bringing together the government and civil society is being held to discuss ways and means to provide incentives for what is known as the "solidarity economy." According to the Ministry of Labor, in Brazil there are currently 15,000 solidarity economy endeavors underway employing one million people. The endeavors have one thing in common: they create jobs - by individual efforts, through associations or cooperatives, or by worker groups that take over failed businesses.

The conference, which ends tomorrow (June 29), will tackle the problems of worker management, micro credit through community banks, production networks and the construction of an economic model for sustainable development that is democratic and socially just through the efforts of associations and cooperatives.

According to Paulo Singer, of the Ministry of Labor, the conference is an opportunity for the players to reach a concensus on social policy.

Translation: Allen Bennett