“Rooted in their communities, cooperative enterprises are the business model that best weathered the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent economic recession and remain today a pillar of resilience and innovation to face the tipping points threatening the global population.”—Stéphane Bertrand
COOPERATIVE POWER FACING GLOBAL CHALLENGES
As we celebrate the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, Stéphane Bertrand explains why the upcoming summit in Torres Vedras, Portugal, is set to be a must-attend event for the global cooperative and mutualist movement.
GICS: Stéphane Bertrand, you led the three editions of the International Summit of Cooperatives in Quebec, the first in 2012 at the end of the economic recession, under the theme “The Power of Cooperatives.” How do you assess the situation of cooperatives today, in 2025, in a rapidly changing global context?
SB: In 2025, cooperatives are evolving in a particularly complex global environment. The combination of economic instabilities, geopolitical tensions, and climate crises is testing their resilience and adaptability. However, their model—rooted in the real economy, often local, community-oriented, and based on member cooperation—allows them to navigate these challenges better than many other businesses. Cooperatives are therefore more than ever called upon to play a key role in supporting local and national economies and in providing concrete solutions to these global tipping points.
GICS: Why is GICS 2025 a must-attend event for the cooperative and mutualist movement?
SB: 2025 marks the International Year of Cooperatives, proclaimed by the United Nations. In an unstable global context—economic, geopolitical, and environmental—cooperatives are more than ever called to play a crucial role in supporting local economies. The GICS offers a unique platform to imagine and share concrete, collective solutions.
GICS: The 2025 theme, “Facing Tipping Points Through Cooperative Innovation,” what does it mean to you?
SB: It reflects a critical and challenging moment: the widening inequalities between people, climate change that forces constant and permanent adaptation, international trade tensions that inevitably affect local economies, and the rising costs of inputs that destroy demand and often lead to market closures… Cooperatives, thanks to their resilient model anchored in the real economy, are able to bring solutions where other models fail. Their capacity to listen more closely to their members and clients allows them to respond more quickly to these numerous challenges.
GICS: How is the cooperative model particularly suited to current challenges?
SB: Unlike speculative capitalist models, cooperatives are built on solid foundations. The seven cooperative principles that govern them are a strong basis for growth. Because cooperatives are owned by their members, serve their communities, and are rooted in sustainability, they embody a model of stability and continued relevance in the economy.
GICS: Why was Portugal chosen as the host country for the summit?
SB: Portugal is rich in innovative cooperatives in agriculture, finance, health, and the social economy. Yet they remain relatively little known internationally. GICS 2025 will give them global visibility, provide business opportunities, and create a learning and inspiration space for participants.
GICS: What do you hope participants will take away from GICS 2025?
SB: That cooperatives are not just an alternative economic model, but a major actor in building an inclusive, sustainable, and human future. At the dawn of a new economy that is taking shape, the cooperative model is more relevant than ever. Each person, at their own scale, can contribute positively to this change through their innovative capacity.
