The Future is Collective Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 2025

Network level Each affiliate organization elects representatives to the International Congress, the governing body for StreetNet. Every four years, the congress elects the 15 members of the International Council, that meets annually, to act as leadership for the alliance. A subset of the council, the Executive Committee, meets quarterly and consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer (office-bearers), as well as two Member Auditors. The congress also appoints Regional Focal Points and Sub-Committees to support the organization with advocacy work and specific functions, such as human resources and workers’ education.Action level StreetNet brings together 62 affiliate organizations. These are membership-based organizations with at least 500 members and include national unions, national federations and city-based associations and alliances. Most of StreetNet’s membership (70%) is composed of women, and the organization is deeply committed to women’s leadership and gender justice.Supporting level StreetNet is supported by an operational team, which is led by the International Coordinator and consists of staff members. Vision: StreetNet envisions a future where street and market vendors and hawkers selling goods and services are legally recognized workers, empowered, democratically organized, living with dignity and enjoying decent work. Method: StreetNet’s organizational structures are designed to represent the interests and concerns of nearly one million members across the globe. These structures create a “bottom-up” inverted hierarchy and consist of four decision- making bodies: 1) the International Congress is the largest body, meeting every four years and consisting of 1-10 delegates from each affiliate organization based on the number of members, 2) the International Council is elected by the congressional delegates and provides direction and oversight for the organization between congress sessions, 3) the Executive Committee, a subset of the council members, then meets quarterly to carry out the strategic plan, and 4) Regional Focal Points, which facilitate horizontal communication in the region among the affiliates and focus on advocacy platforms for demands. Through these structures. StreetNet has developed a list of key demands for which they advocate at the national, regional and global levels. These demands include: recognition as workers, inclusive social dialogue, decent working conditions, extension of social protection and a just transition to formality. Principles: StreetNet adopted its constitution in 2002 and has made four amendments in subsequent years. In the document, StreetNet outlines several key principles, including 1) the types of organizations that are eligible for membership (member-based organizations with more than 500 members, encouraged to merge at the national level), 2) the aims and objectives of the organization (a strong emphasis on promoting the leadership and interests of women, youth and low-income members), 3) the structures making up the organization (a 50% quota for women’s leadership), and 4) a fee structure to ensure that StreetNet is financially independent and sustainable. Practices: StreetNet’s constitution outlines the orders, procedures and terms of reference for conducting meetings, electing officers and forming special structures such as Regional Focal Point organizations, the Youth Committee and the Worker Education Committee. These procedures represent the values and interests of the organization, in particular, that the voices of women, youth and low-income members are elevated in deliberation and decision-making. For example, the presiding officer of a meeting is called upon to: 1) encourage less self- confident delegates, particularly women, youth and those disadvantaged through language, disability or lower levels of formal education, to express their views freely in the meeting, and 2) discourage the domination of meetings by individuals. Through these practices, StreetNet ensures that the members’ activities are consistent with the principles that they seek to promote.Collective architecture The collective pathway The Future is Collective: Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 49