The overall objective was to establish a European network of cooperatives that train their members in cooperative culture through visits and direct exchanges between cooperative members. 1) To identify the relevance of ‘learning trips’ as a means of transmitting cooperative culture to people of different profiles, levels and nationalities. Our cooperatives welcome a wide variety of people, some of whom are not familiar with training. They rely on encounters and exposure to otherness to transmit cooperative culture. The innovative learning method that we sought to transmit and promote in this project was the experience of ‘learning trips,’ a form of training accessible to all. 2) To prepare the structuring of a longer-term ‘European cooperative culture route’ project and its expansion to other European actors. Among the seven principles that define cooperatives is a mission to educate their members and encourage exchanges between them (intercooperation). The idea is to expand these encounters to the European level and build a network that facilitates exchanges.
Cooperatives are based on the commitment of their members. In worker cooperatives, each employee is called upon to exercise the ‘dual role’ of employee and member. This requires a real learning process in terms of shared responsibility and the democratic management of a socio-economic tool. In other words: - We need to train our members in cooperative culture and the practice of democracy, regardless of their profile and level of education, to enable them to exercise their ability to commit and take on responsibilities. - To this end, we offer formal training courses for knowledge acquisition, but we also need meetings with other practitioners of cooperation in . Every year, SCOP Ardelaine organises visits to cooperatives for its members, and in recent years it has expanded these meetings to Europe in partnership with other cooperatives in its region. - The Erasmus+ programme provided the means to move to a higher level by establishing a partnership between a French, an Italian and a Spanish cooperative, in order to initiate the creation of a European network.