Cooperativism weaves alliances to transform the present – Athenaeum

The day took place on Thursday, October 2 InterCooperaorganized by the Federation of Labor Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCTC), with the aim of promoting collaboration between sectors, consolidating inter-cooperation and building new shared stories to grow the social and solidarity economy.

The event gathered more than 80 cooperatives representatives of various fields such as culture, technology, architecture, communication, mobility or health, among others. Sectoral experiences were presented and spaces for dialogue were opened to explore alliances, detect shared challenges and generate new opportunities for collective work.

During the morning, special emphasis was placed on intersectoral exchange dynamics which favored conversations about ecosocial transition, sustainability, digitization, feminism, occupational health and cooperative communication strategies. From these conversations, proposals emerged such as:

• The creation of a joint audiovisual set.
• The development of shared digital tools.
• The drive for free software and ethical technological infrastructures.
• The exploration of a “cooperative Tinder” to promote collaborations.
• The proposal of new meeting formats to deal with specific challenges.

The importance of the internal sustainability of the cooperatives: guarantee decent wages, make reproductive work visible, take care of the teams and build shared leadership. The debates put on the table the need to map existing resourcesfoster trust between cooperatives and grow the movement beyond the usual circuits.

With a dynamic and participative format, InterCoopera established itself as a useful space for growing inter-cooperation, making visible the impact of cooperativism and generating links that can translate into transformative projects.

From the Ateneu Cooperatiu del Baix Llobregat, we celebrate initiatives like this one, which highlight the collective strength of our movement and commit to building a fairer, more democratic economy rooted in the territory.