The Catalan cooperative world joins the UN International Year of Cooperatives

The launch of a card game to promote cooperative principles, the organization of guided tours of the city's historic cooperatives, and the launch of a municipal radio program dedicated to their rediscovery. These are three of the activities that Terrassa City Council has organized in recent months to celebrate a very special anniversary for the world of the social and solidarity economy: the declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations (UN). The event follows an already eventful 2024 for Catalan cooperativism, with the celebration of its 125th anniversary. Now the sector once again has an excuse to fill Catalonia with activities that help strengthen cooperative values among its citizens. The motto set by the UN for this international year summarizes the key message to be disseminated: "Cooperatives build a better world."

"In 2025, cooperatives have a great opportunity to demonstrate that we play an essential role in driving social transformation and responding to challenges such as growing inequalities and the climate emergency," wrote Tomàs Llompart, co-director general of Suara Cooperativa, in his New Year's message. The non-profit organization dedicated to providing care to people is one of the Catalan cooperatives that have joined the UN event, but other major players, such as the Federation of Worker Cooperatives, have also joined. In this case, the organization has developed a social media campaign to raise awareness of the positive impact cooperatives have on communities and encourage the growth of new initiatives. Federation members, such as the Arç insurance brokerage, have quickly joined. "We encourage you to join the campaign with the hashtag #AnyCooperatives2025, because together and in a cohesive manner we will be stronger, achieve greater impact, and therefore, have a greater impact on society," they urge.

The objective of the UN declaration is to highlight the global impact of cooperatives and emphasize their contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this initiative, the United Nations urges Member States to promote the cooperative model, identify its best practices, and review public policies and the legislative framework to foster its development and consolidation.

Beyond cooperatives

In addition to the awareness campaign and the activities being planned by several Catalan city councils and key players in the cooperative world, other organizations have also contributed. This includes, for example, the Barcelona Provincial Council's Municipal Library Network. A virtual bookshelf has been set up where you can browse a selection of books and magazines related to the cooperative world and the libraries where they have copies available for borrowing.

Catalan universities also joined forces and collaborated to organize the third edition of the Summer University of Cooperativism, this year part of the International Year of Cooperatives. Held this week at the Bellaterra campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), it became a space for dialogue, reflection, and the collective construction of knowledge in the service of cooperativism. Promoted by the Confederation of Cooperatives of Catalonia (CoopCat) and the cooperative federations, it also has the support of the Network of Cooperative Athenaeums, the Directorate General of Social Economy and Cooperatives, the ICAB, and Catalan public universities.

With the aim of strengthening the cooperative movement as a useful tool for addressing current challenges, UESCOOP 2025 addressed key issues such as technology, innovation, research, financing, energy transition, and strengthening the cooperative sector. It is an open and participatory initiative, designed to give a voice to all stakeholders in the sector and foster critical thinking. "A space to share shared concerns and needs and promote transformative responses from the cooperative movement," the organizers announced.

Cooperative municipalities

Beyond the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Catalan cooperativism in 2024 and this UN event in 2025, many Catalan municipalities organize annual activities to promote cooperativism. Some are part of the Cooperative Municipalities program, long promoted by the Federation of Worker Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCTC). The municipalities that join become leaders in cooperativism in their region and commit to promoting an annual work plan. This plan may include a specific project or the implementation of various activities, such as conferences, workshops, cooperative entrepreneurship competitions, fairs, studies, and promotional initiatives.

To join the Cooperative Municipality program, local councils must meet three basic requirements: demonstrate a firm political commitment to cooperativism—for example, by approving their membership at a municipal plenary session; support the program's objectives through annual planning agreed upon with the FCTC and local cooperatives, with the necessary resources to carry it out; and contribute to disseminating both their membership and related activities, using municipal communication channels. The municipalities participating in the program include Terrassa, Sabadell, Barcelona, ​​Reus, Amposta, Vic, Manresa, and regional councils such as Anoia and Solsonès.