Think youth, think cooperative!

During the European Youth Event (EYE) last week end (May 9th to 11th), the European Youth Forum brought together European experts in cooperatives around the same table. These young people involved in cooperatives, social entrepreneurs and youth organisations came together for a workshop in the YO!Village to officially launch the Youth Forum’s latest publication “Money grows on the trees – Youth organisations setting up cooperatives”.

During the discussion held at the EYE young attendees learnt about co-operatives and what differentiates them from the other business models. A cooperative is an autonomous association of people united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations, through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

The European Youth Forum is convinced that some of the biggest issues facing us today can only be addressed by people co-operating and that youth cooperatives can represent a strong resource for youth autonomy and inclusion. It is crucial to innovate and find new answers to the general slowdown in economic activity and the explosion of social inequalities and unemployment. Giving more space and recognition to cooperatives and social entrepreneurship is one of them.

The cooperative business model can represent a great opportunity for youth organisations to pursue their mission and, at the same time, for generating profit for the sustainability and autonomy of the organisation. Young people attending to the event learnt, through examples such as Sean Farmelo who launched the UK's first student housing co-operative, on how youth organisations could develop their own cooperative and benefit from working together on an equal footing, ensuring an empowering environment.

Read more:

- Our latest publication: “Money grows on the trees - Youth organisations setting up cooperatives”

About the toolkit:

Within the current structures and environment, youth organisations find it increasingly difficult to raise funds. However, this, in the spirit of innovation and adaptation, has spurred the need to create alternative funding sources. Many youth organisations in Europe have already expanded and diversified their fundraising strategies and others are looking to do so. The toolkit is a practical guide as it provides a theoretical background to business, more specifically, of course, cooperatives. It is also a political tool as it urges youth organisations to rethink their fundraising strategies, to encourage them to reposition themselves within a changing environment and to encourage them to start looking at business as a way to promote their mission and advance their work. The content of this toolkit is based on various online resources and professional experiences of our experts and partners. These resources – and more – are referenced at the end of this toolkit.

Speakers at the conference “Think youth, think cooperative!” at the YO!Fest

- Carmen Quintana, Cooperatives Europe

- Diana Dovgan, CECOP

- Lucie Frisova, International Young Naturfriends

- Louis Cousin, Solidarité Etudiante

- Jordi Hubert, EKIDINA

- Ania Ankowska, running a youth cooperative in Poland

- Sean Farmelo, Birmingham Students Housing Co-operative

- Jose Alexander Flores, APRAINORES - El Salvador