LONDON-On November 21 and 22, 2022, Cooperatives Europe is organising the “Young people and the future of cooperatives in Europe” conference in Cardiff. European delegates will gather for a conference exploring the role of young people in the cooperative movement toward the future.
At the same time, the conference will be an opportunity to discuss with members from across the region the strategy of the European cooperative movement to tackle pressing challenges that will impact the future of the movement.
According to the organisers, youth participants will be at the center, give new impulse to the Young European Cooperators Network, and co-decide the path forward. “The event will present a unique opportunity to build ever-lasting Europe-wide relations with peers.”
Why youth involvement?
Cooperatives Europe has supported the European Young Cooperators Network since 2015 and helped the organization of numerous youth events over the past years.
With this event, Cooperatives Europe wants to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of young people, advance democratic cooperative practices that centre the interests of young people, and strengthen intergenerational collaboration.
This is the reason why the event is an important occasion to engage young cooperators to become frontrunners of the movement. “They will be able to connect and work with their peers from across Europe. At the same time, they will have a chance to follow inspirational presentations of cooperative leaders and go into dialogue during the panel sessions and meetings. In the evenings they will be able to enjoy networking with peers at dinner and drinks.”
“The aim of this conference is to think how our movement can be revitalised in a very practical way. Attendees will co-decide, collaborate, and think about new approaches to kickstart the network and equip it for a challenging decade,” organisers say.
Meanwhile, Coop Netherlands is committed to providing its stores with fresh meat – from chicken fillet to beef – that will have at least one star of the Beter Leven quality mark. This means that the animals have more living space and they are free to exercise their natural behavior during their lives.
The cooperative retailer expresses the ambition to make the chain more sustainable by no longer selling fresh meat without the Animal Protection label by mid-2023.
Coop Netherlands has been working hard for years to make its range more sustainable and, together with suppliers, it continuously invests in expanding the selection of sustainable products that are made paying particular attention to animal welfare and the environment.
Jasper de Jong, head of Category Management at Coop Netherlands said: “Our next step is to sell meat with at least one star of the Beter Leven quality mark. As a cooperative supermarket organisation, we are aware of our role in making the meat sector in the Netherlands more sustainable. In our philosophy, one star of the Beter Leven quality mark is really the lower limit for the complete meat selection. Where possible, we even aim for two or three stars. We are both excited and proud to express this ambition and work towards achieving this goal by 2023. Together with our customers, suppliers, and Dutch farmers, we’ll make a difference for animal welfare!”
Anne Hilhorst of Wakker Dier, said, “We like to see that all meat carries a quality mark and we think it’s fantastic that Coop stores share this ambition. That’s good news for the animals and for consumers.”
https://thecooperator.news/crucial-legislation-for-uk-co-operatives-taken-forward-by-government/
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