In Catalonia, platform cooperativism has been seeking to consolidate its space for years. With the will to question a digital model increasingly concentrated in the hands of large technology corporations, initiatives such as Jamgo, FemProcomuns, or Coopdevs emerge as alternatives that place people and the community at the center. Faced with an internet marked by monopolies, data extraction, and economic dependence, these projects advocate for another way of understanding technology and a different metric of success, based on social impact, democratic governance, and collective return.

Dr. Sacramento Pinazo-Hernandis has developed an extensive research career in the field of gerontology and collaborates with national and international organizations in analyzing the challenges arising from population aging. She is part of the board of directors of the Pilares Foundation, which works in the comprehensive care of the elderly. For decades, she has been researching how to build more inclusive societies for all ages and highlights the need to provide new solutions, such as those offered by care cooperatives.

In an increasingly aging society, where the needs for care for the elderly, dependent, or disabled are growing, the care sector faces the challenge of responding to a growing demand without reproducing the job insecurity that has historically accompanied these jobs. 

The health and well-being of workers is mandatory in companies. The occupational risk policy addresses health issues from a prevention perspective, and many organizations outsource a service that looks after the physical and mental health of their employees. 

During the eighties, cooperative succession was commonplace to save companies in times of crisis. The often risky bet favored the continuation of the economic fabric. Not all survived, of course, but the workers' struggle mobilized the workforces to become cooperatives, save jobs, and change the rules of the economy.

Until the return of the headquarters of Banc Sabadell last year, Caixa Guissona was the second Catalan financial entity, surpassed only by Caixa Enginyers. Today it is the third, with a classic banking model, which keeps and lends money and with little weight of services and, therefore, of commissions. With a network of five offices, results that grew by 23% last year, to 19.3 million euros; the cooperative of the BonÀrea Agrupa group has its sights set on Girona, the only province where they are not present, explains the general director, Martí Bravo (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1992), who works at the entity, where he started as an office employee, 11 years ago.

Maika Granados tried up to three times for a social rental for the ground floor of the Florida neighborhood in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, where she has lived for years with her three children and husband. There was no way for the vulture fund that owned the property or the municipal social services, who had signed "all the vulnerability reports in the world" for her, to heed her pleas. Family income made it impossible to access an apartment on the open market, not even in this neighborhood with a very degraded housing stock: rents already exceed 1,000 euros, and a room, 700.

Every purchase is a decision that goes beyond what we put in our basket. We decide what kind of food system we want, and also what kind of territory and future we want for our farmers. In a time marked by global uncertainty and climate challenges, choosing local products and supporting agricultural cooperatives is a clear and tangible way to shop with purpose.

"For five years I've been waiting to see if I get any notifications, if someone knocks on the door, or if someone comes up the stairs to kick me out. Now that's over and I feel privileged. But it shouldn't be like this." This is Juanjo speaking, a historic activist from Meridian City, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Barcelona. Its history shows the housing crisisHaving experienced all the stages of this problem firsthand, today, however, he has reason to celebrate: the Sostre Cívic cooperative and the Tenants' Union have announced their first joint purchase, that of the apartment where he lives. neighbor and activist. With the acquisition of the property, the organizations emphasize, a double objective is achieved: eviction is permanently prevented, and the apartment is guaranteed to be part of the public system, for social and affordable use.

Suara is a non-profit worker cooperative, a leader in the personal care sector. In 2024, the cooperative served nearly 150,000 people through a professional team of 5,861 employees, 1,797 of whom are members.

Located in the old Can Batlló warehouse, renovated and donated by Barcelona City Council to the Bloc4 Association and which today still retains its former industrial appearance.² which aims to contribute to the development and socioeconomic transformation of the city of Barcelona and the entire Catalan territory through raising awareness and promoting cooperativism, the incubation and acceleration of cooperatives, the promotion of intercooperation, local and international connections, and alliances with other cultural, educational, and business stakeholders.

The School of Sustainable Mobility enables anyone to become an agent of change within the framework of one of the current global challenges facing our society: achieving sustainable mobility. It does so through flexible online training, which allows students to choose between modules, courses, postgraduate and master's degrees, as well as the analysis and development of real-life cases and projects, and field visits to experience firsthand all the topics covered in the courses.

It's 9 a.m. and, near the Daina-Isard School, families are waiting for the school's doors to open. Inside, the teaching staff is preparing for a new day of classes, and the administrative and service staff have already put everything in its place. The scene is very similar to that experienced every school day in other schools in Catalonia. However, at this school in Olesa de Montserrat, in Baix Llobregat, there is a peculiarity not often seen: the families who are waiting are equal owners of the school. All can participate in the decisions that affect the direction and organization of the school where their children attend.

At number 53 Béjar Street, in the Sants-Montjuïc district, a pair of semicircular canvas awnings catch the eye. They are a deep navy blue: classic and elegant. On one, the word " bistro. In the other, cinemaSince 2013, they have protected the doors leading to the Zumzeig, the only cooperative cinema in Catalonia and one of the few in the entire country. Adrift, a Chinese love epic that won an award at the Seminci Film Festival and is only available in sixteen theaters across Spain. In Barcelona, ​​it's only being shown in Zumzeig and Texas, both with Catalan subtitles.

Imagine an apartment building. As soon as you walk through the entrance, you find a multipurpose room. There are tables, chairs, a sofa area, and a kitchen. You head upstairs. On the first landing, next to the doors leading to the private homes, you see a children's playroom and a bookshelf with all kinds of books. On the second, there's a shared office for teleworking and a reading room. On the third, there's a communal laundry room. You reach the rooftop: there are plenty of lines for clotheslines, a vegetable garden, a rainwater harvesting system, and three or four fruit trees.

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 Barcelona, ​​the cooperative production company Responsabilidad Social Audiovisual (CREARSA) and the La Carbonera bookstore in Poble-sec. In Camp de Tarragona, the Contrapunt musicians' cooperative. In the Alt Pirineu and Aran regions, a good handful of agri-food cooperatives. In Catalonia, hundreds of projects have, at one time or another, taken advantage of the services offered by cooperative athenaeums. They are support offices but also economic revitalization centers, meeting spaces, and think tanks. Since 2016, they have acted as local antennas for a socioeconomic model that seeks to strengthen the economy rooted in the region, with collective, democratic, and transformative projects. Next year will mark ten years since this program was launched with the support of the Department of Business and Labor. During this time, it has generated a 45% increase in the number of registered cooperatives in Catalonia, as shown by the Registry of Cooperatives of Catalonia.

Being efficient and competitive. Recognizing market opportunities before the rest of the money is better. Teaching in the faculties of economics and business is a challenge. However, the landscape is beginning to change, at least. Chair of Social Economy at Tecnocampus-UPF.

Clara Barrio, Miguel Moreno, and Jordi Roig first met in 2007 in a faculty classroom: they had just enrolled in the audiovisual communication program at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. They shared classes for four years, but when they graduated and it was time to enter the working world, each tried their luck separately. Despite choosing different paths, all three faced the same reality. "The market only offered us precarious jobs," they recall today in statements to ARA. To solve this problem, they became self-employed: in 2014, they founded the cooperative audiovisual production company Looky Produccions together in Barcelona. "We did it with a clear conviction: to provide quality jobs, without hierarchies, with decent conditions, and prioritizing ourselves over profits," they continue. Today, they've been around for eleven years, have expanded their team with two more partners—Maiol Díez and Carlos Collazos—and have become one of the leading producers in the Catalan cooperative sector.

The Caixa Enginyers group's shareholders' meeting on Tuesday endorsed the record results achieved last year. The credit, financial services, and insurance cooperative achieved a turnover of €8.581 billion and a net profit of €24 million, a 22.3% increase over the previous year. The meeting approved a 5% share capital contribution and a proposed increase in the Education and Promotion Fund to €1.7 million, a 28% increase over 2023. Today, the entity opened its own office in Vilanova i la Geltrú, bringing its 3rd office to the Garraf capital at the headquarters of the Mútua General de Catalunya.