Cooperativism celebrates its 125 years of life with a Congress where it presents itself as the real alternative to deal with the social and economic crises of the present and the future
Catalan cooperativeism is celebrating its birthday and this year is its 125th anniversary. For this reason, under the motto "We are the real answer to the challenges of today and tomorrow", the Confederation of Cooperatives of Catalonia is organizing the first Congress of Cooperatives in Catalonia, after the democratic restoration.
So, we have an ambitious challenge because we want to be the solution to the economic and social crises of the present and the future, but why do we stand as this real and effective alternative? Mainly, because instead of productivity and competition, we put the three Ps at the center of our activity: People, Planet and Purpose.
Therefore, we opt for an economic model with a clear purpose: to put people and the planet at the center of our action to create more fair, equitable, egalitarian and sustainable societies with both the social and natural environment. For this reason, the cooperative model has in its essence democratic values such as equality, participation and social justice to promote a fairer distribution of resources and the generation of opportunities for all people in the community.
We promote these values from the essence of our governance model, since in work cooperatives like Suara we have a horizontal and democratic organization where decisions about the future of the organization are made in the General Assembly where all working partners participate on equal terms and therefore have the same voice and vote.
Equal opportunities
Another of the pillars of cooperativeism is to generate an economic model where all people have access with equal opportunities. In this context, cooperatives are an example to follow in terms of the promotion of women in leadership positions, as demonstrated by the fact that 53% of the positions on the Governing Boards of Catalan labor cooperatives are held by women.
In the case of Suara, currently, they are a large majority occupying eight of the new positions. A trend that also occurs in the Strategic Management Council, where they are in charge of eleven areas out of fourteen in total.
In addition, we also promote the incorporation of people from diverse origins and, in the case of Suara Cooperativa, it’s 12% of our workforce.
The cooperatives also have a commitment to sustainability and, for this reason, we measure the environmental impact of our activity so that it is minimal for the natural environment. We are aware that the planet's resources are limited and, therefore, we must look for solutions that help us reduce their overexploitation. For this reason, we have an activity aimed at responding to the Sustainable Development Goals that seek to generate business models that ensure the development of societies with actions that also protect the planet.
From Suara Cooperativa we focus on the common good, which is why we work to achieve a positive impact for the community as a whole and the environment. For this reason, we strengthen the local economy with long-term projects, provide decent and stable jobs under equal conditions and encourage citizen participation. With these actions we want to build stronger and more resilient communities, which have a sense of belonging and connection with the territory.
This also allows us to put the community at the center of the action so that it makes its own decisions in the search for solutions to its challenges. As a cooperative and agents of social action, we bet on this participatory model and become people who accompany the community in its transformation process.
For 125 years, cooperatives have been weaving social and economic responses to promote a fairer, more equitable, inclusive and supportive society. We want to keep doing it. For this reason, this Thursday at the Congress of Cooperatives of Catalonia we will have this space for debate, reflection, to meet and reunite to continue threading the needle to our goal and reason for being: the construction of a model social and economic that safeguards and guarantees human rights while taking care of people and the environment. do you join
Laia Bonastra
President of the Governing Council of the cooperative
