At the end of each year, we ask co-op and mutual leaders from around the world to reflect on their organisation and sector – and this year, on the UN International Year of Cooperatives theme: Co-ops Build a Better World. Read the December 2024 Q&As here.
How do co-ops build a better world?
What lies ahead in the United States will push countless people into crisis. Worker co-operatives and adjacent solidarity enterprises can offer stability and economic support. In the face of challenges, we need to build coalitions grounded in clear-eyed realism and steadfast hope.
What should the International Year of Cooperatives achieve – and how is your organisation working towards that?
As we prepare for the International Year of Cooperatives, PCC will focus on its core pillars: research, education, policy, and global community organising.
In education, we’re launching activities like an online seminar on the socialist roots of the co-operative tradition, grounding our work in history while imagining new futures. We hope to continue our courses for farmers, supporting those who sustain communities worldwide. In May, we’ll host events in Australia, starting in Melbourne and reaching other cities. We will also focus on our work with PCC Thailand, with the goal of strengthening workplace democracy in rural Thailand.
Our research and policy efforts continue through our fellowship program, with an emphasis on expanding our focus on the Global South. We’re gearing up to select the 2025/2026 cohort (get in touch if you think you’re the right fit). We’re also documenting the failures and successes of platform co-operatives globally to better understand what works and where. These efforts are about more than research – they’re about building pathways for real impact.
In the spring, PCC will release its impact report, a project we have been diligently working on for some time.
In 2025, we’ll publish Solidarity Tech in the Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, with guest editors including myself, Prof Johanna Mair, and Prof Mark Graham.
Our academic programming builds on years of work – reading groups, seminars, and initiatives that foster intellectual and community growth.
Community organising remains central to what we do.
Key events include the PCC 2025 conference in Istanbul this fall, in collaboration with NeedsMap, with a call for papers addressing critical research gaps in the digital solidarity economy. The focus will be on Europe and Asia.
How do we do all this? We’re guided by a simple yet powerful principle: we surround ourselves with smart, kind, and generative people who inspire and sustain our motivation, committing fully and working with unwavering consistency. We are here for anyone interested in co-operative principles and the digital economy. So, we ask you: What part will you play?
