Education for the sustainability of cooperatives: experiences and possibilities
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Education for the sustainability of cooperatives: experiences and possibilities
The President of the Espriu Foundation, Teresa Basurte, took part on 19 September at the 24th Symposium of Unimed medical cooperatives in Brazil's West Central and Tocatins states (SUECO).
Organised by the I.COOP Cooperativism Faculty in Cuiabá, the symposium featured a panel debate at which international experts, among them the Espriu Foundation's President, emphasised the need to invest in cooperative education as a way of guaranteeing sustainability and fostering the creation and development of cooperatives.
Within the context of the gathering, which focused on innovation and how to be disruptive without forfeiting the cooperative essence, Ms Basurte set out the experience of the Espriu Foundation's cooperatives in the healthcare sector, highlighting their commitment to serve society, as reflected in the absence of a profit motive which means that any surplus generated each year is reinvested for the benefit of members, users, healthcare quality and technological innovation, thereby guaranteeing the sustainability of the system.
During her address, Ms Basurte recounted the strategy and the different training initiatives undertaken by the organisation, asserting that "at the Espriu Foundation we believe that training is a key element for the sustainability of the system. The best way to guarantee the future of our institutions is to explain the cooperative culture which steers the way we deliver healthcare".
Taking advantage of her time in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, the President of the Espriu Foundation had the chance to visit the Espaço Cuidar facility of the Unimed cooperative in Cuiabá, dedicated to medicine and care for the elderly, and home to psychology, speech therapy, nutrition and physiotherapy units.
Accompanied by Dr Onofre de Souza, President of the Organisation of Cooperatives of Mato Grosso OCB/MT, she also visited the facilities of the recently opened Unimed Hospital in Rondonópolis, managed by a cooperative made up of 133 doctors and caring for 48,000 users.
Ms Basurte lastly paid a visit to the premises of OCB/MT to discover at first hand the training initiatives run by the I.COOP Cooperativism Faculty.
