Youth Cooperative Forum in Bulgaria: «Youth and Cooperative Governance»
On September 30, a youth cooperative forum on «Youth and Cooperative Governance» was held in Sofia (Bulgaria). A delegation from the COOP Ukraine headed by Oleksandr Shumanov, Executive Director of Ukrkoopspilka, took part in the event.
This time, the meeting, organized by the Central Cooperative Union of Bulgaria, discussed issues related to youth, in particular their involvement in the cooperative movement and in the management of cooperative organizations. They also talked about the development of the youth cooperative movement, establishing communication between generations, and finding new ways and directions of work.
Youth development and support is one of the strategic priorities of Cooperatives Europe. And the European Commission’s intention to appoint a Commissioner for Intergenerational Equity shows that the topics of prioritizing future generations and addressing youth issues are gaining in importance at the European level. Our delegates had the opportunity to make speeches and presentations at this esteemed forum, in which they highlighted the activities of Ukrainian cooperatives and the state of the youth cooperative movement in the context of the war. They also spoke about the many problems and griefs that the war has brought to the life of Ukraine in general, and to the activities of consumer cooperatives in particular. After all, a huge number of young people, including cooperative workers, voluntarily stood up to defend their homeland, and many young people and children were forced to leave the country to escape the war. Ukraine is currently experiencing an acute demographic crisis. And those who live and work in Ukraine, even in the rear regions, suffer from massive shelling by the Russian army on a daily basis, and many cooperative properties have been destroyed. Sooner or later, the war will end and the post-war future will be built by the young. That is why it is so important that there are many active young men and women in the cooperative ranks – they will determine the future of the cooperative movement. In order to interest and attract young people to their ranks, the experience of international organizations and the ways of encouraging and motivating young people that exist there are extremely important for Ukrainian cooperators. In general, the participation of Ukrainian cooperators in the youth forum in Sofia and communication with European colleagues is a new experience for us, an opportunity to realize what we are doing right and what we need to abandon or improve. In Sofia, the representatives of the COOP Ukraine visited a number of enterprises that are part of the Bulgarian cooperation: a balneological hospital, bottled water plant (the third largest in the country in terms of production), a supermarket and a warehouse where cooperative products are sold and stored.
The meeting in Sofia resulted in the signing of the Youth Forum Resolution, in which all participants of the European youth cooperative movement committed themselves to actively working for the benefit of cooperation and promoting the principles of the cooperative movement.
