2021
International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and others
The report titled "Young people and cooperatives: a perfect match?" is a significant global research initiative led by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) with contributions from various regional offices, the Co-operative College, and the ICA Youth Network. It explores the interplay between youth and cooperatives, outlining the potential role of cooperatives in addressing the unique challenges faced by young people today. The report draws on 420 responses from youth across 20 countries, providing a broad perspective on their experiences and needs. Structured around five pivotal themes—employment, education, (in)equalities, engagement, and entrepreneurship—the report presents an insightful analysis of how cooperatives can enhance youth engagement. It emphasizes that cooperatives can effectively contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly by promoting decent work and quality education. The findings highlight the necessity for cooperatives to improve their visibility and appeal among young people, thereby positioning themselves as viable alternatives for employment opportunities. Additionally, the report offers practical strategies for fostering youth involvement in cooperatives, such as enhancing knowledge about cooperative structures and promoting decent work opportunities. It includes case studies illustrating successful cooperative initiatives that have addressed youth issues in areas of employment and education. Ultimately, the report serves as a compelling call to action, urging cooperatives to strengthen their outreach to young people and implement the recommendations provided to enhance participation and support for youth within the cooperative movement.
The report titled "Young people and cooperatives: a perfect match?" is a comprehensive global research initiative co-produced by all regional offices of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) with support from the Co-operative College and input from the ICA Youth Network. The report is structured into five main chapters, referred to as the five 'E's: employment, education, (in)equalities, engagement, and entrepreneurship. It is based on 420 responses from young people in 20 countries and aims to provide insights into the key challenges facing youth today, and how cooperatives can address these challenges and improve engagement with young people.
The report highlights the potential of cooperatives to play a crucial role in solving the challenges of young people, while also contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 on decent work and SDG 4 on quality education. It identifies strategies to engage more youth in cooperatives, such as improving knowledge of cooperatives among young people, boosting the image of cooperatives, developing genuine youth-oriented structures within cooperatives, and promoting decent work opportunities through cooperatives.
The report also includes case studies and examples of cooperative contributions to employment, education, and reducing inequalities. It emphasizes the need for cooperatives to adapt to the digitized world to better engage young people and suggests that cooperatives need to be more visible as an alternative for employment opportunities. The research indicates that while cooperatives theoretically have the capacity to help youth overcome challenges, there are still obstacles that need to be addressed to ensure this potential is realized in practice.
Overall, the report serves as a call to action for cooperatives to strengthen their support and engagement towards young people and provides actionable conclusions and recommendations for the cooperative movement to promote youth cooperatives, youth employment and participation in cooperatives, as well as education on cooperatives.