In San Simón this week, more than a hundred experts from all over Spain will debate the current situation and future challenges of social economy enterprises, in which the collective interest of their members and the general economic and social interest take precedence over capital.
A total of 93 experts are taking part in the VIII. International Congress of Social Economy Eescoop (School of Professional Specialisation in Social Economy, Cooperatives and Other Participation Organisations), the eighth edition of which is being organised by lecturers from the Faculty of Commerce and researchers from the Post-Growth Innovation Lab María José Cabaleiro and Carlos Iglesias.
The theme of the symposium is Social Economy Enterprises: from traditional activity to technological and social innovation, and today's and yesterday's sessions will focus on the "exchange of current lines of research and practical experience developed in this field. The traditional activities related to the social economy, which have been maintained and constantly developed thanks to the cooperative principles, are a point of reference, as well as the emerging activities related to the service sector, from which successful experiences are emerging, favoured among other things by technological innovation".
The programme includes both communication sessions and round tables that will address topics such as social inequality, economic inequality, the decline of democracy and climate change. All in all, the congress is open to all topics related to the values and principles of social economy organisations.
Two days of debate
The congress began yesterday afternoon with an institutional ceremony attended by Belén Rubio, Vice-Rector for Research, Transfer and Innovation at the University of Vigo, Aicha Belassir, Director General of Social Economy of the Spanish Government, Marta Mariño, Director General of Social Economy of the Xunta de Galicia and Professor Carlos Iglesias on behalf of the organisation.
The opening ceremony was followed by a plenary session on O valour da información da Economía Social: Estatísticas e Rexistros, in which Rafael Chaves Ávila (IudesCoop); José Luís Monzón (Ciriec); Carlos Vargas Vasserot (Universidade de Almería) and UVigo professor Carlos Iglesias participated as rapporteurs.
The day was concluded with a first block of parallel sessions organised around three themes: digital transformation, innovation and technology; ecological transition, sustainability and SDG 1 related to ending poverty; and territorial development and employment. Presentations were given on the contribution of agri-food cooperatives to territorial development in Extremadura, on energy communities, cooperativism and decent housing models, on food retailing, on the social economy as a driver of quality jobs in Galicia or on pension premiums as a support tool for generational change among workers, among others.
Today, the day began with the second block of parallel sessions with contributions on three additional topics: ecological transition, sustainability and SDG 2, which is linked to the eradication of hunger; governance, organisational structures and regulation; and social innovation and social cohesion. Throughout the session, there were presentations on new trends in the financing of social economy organisations, the contributions of forest communities to the SDGs, the journey of women in Spanish agri-food cooperatives and the 55-year history of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, among others.
This was followed by a meeting of Eescoop members, which led into a plenary session on tradition and innovation in social economy enterprises, with the participation of Carmen Rodríguez Rodríguez, President of Agaca and Vice President of CLUN, and Manuel Varela López, President of Caixa Rural Galega. The morning was rounded off with the presentation of the Galician social economy strategy EGAES H27 by Marta Mariño Regueiro, Director General of Social Economy at the Xunta de Galicia, and the presentation of the results of the Unesco Chair by Colombia Pérez Muñoz, Director of the Unesco Chair of Social and Solidarity Economy at the Cooperative University of Colombia.
The closing ceremony was attended by Pablo Fernández López, Secretary General of Employment and Labour Relations of the Xunta de Galicia, Gustavo Lejarriaga Pérez de las Vacas, Director of Eescoop and researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid, and UVigo lecturer María José Cabaleiro Casal.