Reflecting on the 🧩 #MondayTalks Webinar Series 

Following the successful conclusion of the 🧩 #MondayTalks Webinar Series, the webinar report and recordings are now available!   

The 3-episode webinar series by Cooperatives Europe and ALDA Balkans brought together speakers and participants from all over Europe, and highlighted a modern cross-sectoral cooperative business model and its economic and social potential on the local communities across the Western Balkans. 

 📚 Read our Webinar Report  

Interested in the full insights and key takeaways from this webinar series? The webinar report is now available.  

Download the full webinar report 

💻   Missed the webinars? 

Webinar 1 – Beyond business as usual: how to cooperatively advance a local democratic economy 

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The first webinar on May 19th explored the history of the cooperative movement in post-Soviet countries and opportunities for people-led businesses in the region with Vivian Woodell, Vice-President at Midcounties Coop and Board Member of Cooperatives Europe. 

Zoran Kordić CEO and Co-Founder of Zelena Energetska Zadruga (ZEZ), an energy cooperative, provided a country focus on cooperative entrepreneurship in Croatia together with a fresh perspective and recent cooperative trends across the region. 

 Webinar 2 – The Balkan Perspective: Community-led economy 

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The second webinar on May 26th delved deeper into the regional context. Alis Mustafa, Project Manager at Partners Albania for Change and Development, emphasised the importance of advocacy for an enabling environment for the social economy given the persistent policy gaps.

Sasho Angelovski, Acting Regional Director at We Effect Europe, provided crucial insights into the policy dimensions of cooperative development and the use of the cooperative business model to unite smallholder farmers in the rural areas. His emphasis on systemic change resonated throughout the discussion. 

Webinar 3 – The Balkan Perspective: From ideas to local impact: a practical guide  

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The last webinar of the series on May 23rd included cooperative case studies from the housing, energy and financial sectors, the UN perspective on cooperative development in the agri-food sector and the impact of youth-led and -centered cooperatives in fostering strong communities.  

Ana Džokić, Cooperator and Co-Founder of STEALTH unlimited and Management Board Member of MOBA Housing SCE (European Cooperative Society), shared her experience addressing Serbia’s housing crisis through cooperative solutions.

Victoria Ayvazyan, International Rural Development Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Office for Europe and Central Asia (FAO REU), brought a regional perspective to the discussion, emphasising the role of cooperatives in bridging urban-rural divides and in filling the gaps and needs where public policies or traditional businesses cannot. 

The series concluded with Anna Loscalzo, Co-Founder of Tatabox Officine Studio and President of Cooperatives Europe Youth Network (YECN), whose work with young people demonstrates the transformative potential of cooperative models for community building. 

This article has been co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of Cooperatives Europe and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.