Representation of the Americas excels during Global Cooperative Entrepreneurs (GCE) Program, in Manchester (United Kingdom):
Within the framework of the Partnership of the International Cooperative Alliance and the Commission of the European Union, two mentors of the cooperative sector; Jorge Leal from CONFECOOP Colombia, Douglas Bárcenas from NCBA CLUSA, and as representative of youth organizations Andrey Rodríguez of ImpactHub Bogotá, participated on this program.
On a four-day work agenda from March 18th to 21st, GCE launched its first activity in Manchester (United Kingdom), training mentors from members of the International Cooperative Alliance and staff of youth organizations. The activity was directed by Cooperative College UK and within the team of facilitators participated Angela Colebrook, Director of learning and development and Amanda Benson, Coordinator of projects and research of Cooperative College of Manchester.
The training agenda established lines of action to create an active global community of GCE mentors who will work together to support young entrepreneurs interested in establishing cooperatives and developing resources and relevant material for the development of international cooperatives. It also aims to create new partnerships between cooperatives and youth organizations to find innovative ways to work together and foster youth entrepreneurship.
As part of the actions of the Partnership of the International Cooperative Alliance and the Commission of the European Union: "Cooperatives in development: companies focused on people, in action", considers it essential to stimulate the cooperative entrepreneurship of young people around the world This is how #coops4dev🌍 launches the new Global Cooperative Entrepreneurs (GCE) program, inspired by the success of the CoopStarter 2.0 Erasmus project and funded by Cooperatives Europe.
The program seeks the creation of solid partnerships between cooperatives and youth organizations from all regions of the International Cooperative Alliance, cooperative sector as a powerful engine of economic integration and social inclusion, as well as a lever to train young people to experiment and innovate with new models to address the different confrontations faced by the current generation (for example, climate change, migration, automation and transformation of work). Youth organizations represent key actors in the empowerment of young people, especially in their capacity to provide a voice to younger generations and allow young people to become active citizens. This collaboration between cooperatives and youth organizations will contribute to overcoming the challenges and will become a positive catalyst of support for young cooperative entrepreneurs.