In Donostia – San Sebastián ASSET centre has been created, a space dedicated to the Social Economy in which innovation, sustainability and community cohesion will come together.
“ASETT is one more means to build a society that, without renouncing economic development and wealth creation, puts people at the center. It is a long-term, joint and proactive view that collaborates in the construction of a Basque Country that is more internationally integrated, supportive, cohesive, inclusive and egalitarian”, said different representatives of the Institutions.
This centre will be a “catalyst” for structural change to promote a transformative business model that will create quality employment and a collaborative ecosystem that integrates universities, enterprises, public institutions and international networks, which was born with global vocation, along with the decisive support of the cooperative sector. Thus, “both collective entrepreneurship and the distribution of benefits will be promoted in a democratic way”, as well as “innovation and entrepreneurship, providing innovative tools for sectors such as youth cooperativism, cooperative housing, labor inclusion and digital platforms”.
International Year of Cooperativism
The launch of ASETT coincides with the International Year of Cooperativism, which provides “the opportunity to make visible and promote” cooperativism as a business model of “sustainable, inclusive economic and social development rooted in our land”, positioning the Basque Country internationally as a world reference. Thanks to prominent figures linked to the social economy, such as researchers or economists who will form the international advisory board of the avant-garde hub, “experiences from many places will be collected, so that Donostia, the Basque Country, Spain and Europe will become, in a way, the epicentre of global thinking on the social economy”, explained Mikel Torres. Vice-President of the Basque Government, who has participated in the opening with Yolanda Díaz, Vice-President and minister of Labour and Social Economy of the spanish government, the general deputy of Gipuzkoa, Eider Mendoza; the mayor of Donostia-San Sebastián, Eneko Goia; the president of the Higher Council of Cooperatives of the Basque Country, Patxi Olabarrieta; the president of the Spanish Business Conference of the Social Economy, Juan Antonio Pedreño; and virtually, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Employment and Training, Roxana Minzatu.
