Co-ops can empower young people who feel disenfranchised, delegates were told at a conference hosted by Cecop-Cicopa Europe on 20 November.
Bringing together co-operators, students and researchers, EU and national officials from across Europe, the event explored how co-ops can help young people to gain control over their future.
Representatives from social and worker co-operatives looked at the benefits of democratic decision making, as well as what governments and the EU could do to support the development of co-ops.
The event was jointly organised by Cecop-Cicopa Europe, the European confederation of industrial and service co-operatives, and the European Youth Forum, the platform of the national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations in Europe.
Stephanie Beecroft, team leader for social inclusion at the forum, said during her keynote speech: “We know that young people are the group of greatest risk of poverty and social exclusion in the EU. This means that a large number of young people are facing a lack of full participation in society, a lack of access to their economic, social and cultural rights. Potentially, they cannot access to their right to education, employment, social protection.
“We have seen new forms of work, non-standard forms of works and age-based discrimination that makes it even harder for young people to access social protection. We really need to see a change in the EU, because building a society that works behind people is a better foundation for everyone.”
The conference also included presentations from Tess Lundgren and Peter Brannstrom from Swedish co-operative Urkraft. They explained how their social enterprise helped people with difficulties in obtaining or retaining jobs find new opportunities by combining theory and practical experience and building contacts with local social actors.
Similarly, Danish worker co-op Hustomrerne employs 250 workers across the country. Dating back to 1919, the carpentry business provides jobs and placements for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In Belgium, Molenbike co-operative gives couriers the chance to earn a fair wage and have a say in how the enterprise is run. The co-op provides an alternative to delivery giants Deliveroo and Uber Eats, while expanding bike deliveries. The founding members used to work as bike couriers but were unhappy with the pay received for often long working hours. The co-op pays a minimum of three hours at a gross hourly rate of €22. Members volunteer to do the administrative work required to run the co-op.
Co-operators attending the event also stressed the need for adequate legal frameworks for co-operatives, more visibility in EU policies for the co-operative business model, better access to capital and better design of EU funds to tackle long-term social needs.
Addressing the conference, Amana Ferro, senior policy officer at the European Anti-Poverty Network argued that the European Union should do much more in terms of social policy. She added “Co-operatives provide a sense of ownership, power, control and bring back dignity to vulnerable youth.”
Elodie Fazi, team leader on youth unemployment at the Directorate General on Employment and Social Inclusion of the European Commission (DG-EMPL), provided an insight into the EC’s measures and proposals to counter youth unemployment. She called on civil society organisations to lobby the member states to fully implement the European Pillar of Social Rights adopted at the Social Summit in Gothenburg in November 2017.
Sara Fernandez from the co-operative Ateyavana in Oviedo, Spain, described how the co-op was helping young people experiencing psychological distress to access employment opportunities by working with training centres across the area.
And in Italy, social co-operative Camelot gives migrants, refugees and asylum seekers the chance to learn the language and better integrate.
Participating co-ops also called for a shift from lowest price to quality criteria in public sector procurement to prevent enterprises from reducing wages in order to win bids on prices.
Raquel Cortez Herrera, deputy head of the Unit of Inclusion and Disability at DG-EMPL, said: “The fight against social exclusion is still mainly a member state competence. However, the Commission is very committed to supporting member states’ efforts in working towards these objectives. This support comes in two different forms: policy guidance and financing, through different funding instruments.”
Nikita Sanaullah, policy officer for social inclusion at the European Youth Forum, added: “Reaching those most in need is where we believe co-operatives can have added value. They can provide young people with opportunities based on individual interests and needs.
“Participating in a co-operative can help develop young people’s professional skills, like leadership and entrepreneurship, which are crucial for their career development. But the co-operative model that is based on democracy and participation can also help equip young people for active citizenship in their communities.”
Brando Benifei MEP (Socialists and Democrats, Italy) called for stronger involvement of the co-operative movement in shaping employment policies. He asked the sector to support the efforts made by the European Parliament on the European Social Fund+, an initiative to merge the current European Social Fund with four other funds and programmes to simplify the EU’s tools to fight inequality.
In his closing remarks, Cecop-Cicopa Europe president Giuseppe Guerini added: “Quite naturally, co-operatives have a sustainable dimension, they build capital that will be transferred from one generation to another. They can also be an instrument to solve inequality gaps, where co-operatives are active, inequalities are reduced”.
