The StreetNet International Council, which represents more than 600,000 street vendors globally, will convene in Accra from August 16 to 18 of 2022 to assess the organization’s performance and develop efficient strategies to protect the rights of workers in the informal economy.
StreetNet International is a global alliance of organizations of street vendors and other informal traders, with affiliated organizations in more than 50 countries and representing over 600,000 workers worldwide, with the goal to promote and leverage an autonomous and democratic alliance of street vendors, hawkers, and cross-border traders.
The International Council of the organization, which is composed of 15 representatives elected by the members of StreetNet at their Congress, will hold its annual meeting in Accra, Ghana, from 16-18 August 2022.
The International Council is representative of the global diversity, gender equality, and reach of StreetNet, with members from the Dominican Republic, Azerbaijan, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin, Uruguay, El Salvador, Malawi, Belarus, and Guinea. It is led by President Lorraine Sibanda of Zimbabwe.
With the support of StreetNet’s affiliated organization Union of Informal Workers Associations (UNIWA), Ghana’s first trade union for workers in the informal economy, as well as Ghana Trades Union Congress, this meeting will be an opportunity for the leadership of StreetNet to reflect on its work and discuss new strategies to defend the rights of street vendors and other informal traders.
The StreetNet International staff will also be present in the meeting, led by International Coordinator Oksana Abboud. “This meeting is very important because it is the first physical gathering after a long break,” says Lorraine Sibanda.
“We are going to discuss the work that StreetNet has been doing to combat the effects of the pandemic, but we will also be coming together and celebrating together what we have gone through as leaders, human beings, and members of the StreetNet family.
We have seen our members battle health issues, floods, natural disasters, wars, and unrest.
As we continue to engage as leaders, we will discuss how we can positively impact the work of our members and expand the work of StreetNet, advocating especially for the extension of social protection for informal economy workers”.
