The Cooperative Work Authority organized a workshop entitled “The Role of Cooperative Work in Development and Economic and Social Empowerment” within the implementation of the second mid-term plan for the Italian project “be the Impact”.
The representative of the Cooperative Work Authority, Mr. Fouad Kharma, Director of the Projects and Cooperative Guidance Department, welcomed the male and female participants from the partner institutions from the women, youth and grassroots sectors, which constitute one of the levers of civil and cooperative work in the governorates of the country.
Kharma added, "The Authority seeks to consolidate the concept of cooperative work in all sectors and geographical regions in a way that contributes to strengthening the steadfastness of citizens by improving the level of income and production."
The workshop reviewed the reality of cooperative work in Palestine and talked about the importance of cooperative work in economic and social empowerment.
In the same context, Mr. Muharram Barghouthi, President of the Palestinian Youth Union, stressed the importance of cooperative work in the youth sector, which constitutes the driving force of any society in the world. Pointing to the high levels of unemployment among Palestinian youth and their urgent need for cooperative work models that contribute to accelerating the process of employment and integration into the labor market.
For her part, Ms. Rana Zakarneh, representative of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, said that women were able to set bright examples in the cooperative and craft work sector, which contributed to empowering women economically and thus giving them the ability to participate effectively in public life.
The Director of the Projects and Cooperative Guidance Department at the Cooperative Work Authority discussed the Authority’s vision and work programs that contribute to consolidating the concepts of cooperative work, and the mechanisms for developing models for cooperatives that achieve the desired goals at the level of individuals or groups.
Meanwhile, Director of the Authority’s Registration Department, Jamal Abu Latifa, reviewed the procedures and mechanisms used to register cooperative societies, and the legal and procedural requirements.
The workshop included an introductory video presentation about the Cooperative Work Authority, its vision, goals and strategic plan aimed at strengthening cooperative work in Palestine.
The workshop concluded with a set of recommendations, represented by repeatedly organizing similar awareness-raising workshops in order to spread cooperative thought in new sectors, organizing field visits to informal youth and women’s groups in order to encourage them to register cooperative societies, and coordinating efforts among various actors in the cooperation sector in order to achieve Optimal use of resources and to avoid conflict and duplication in their work.
It should be noted that the Cooperative Work Authority is the official government body responsible for regulating and supervising the cooperative sector and was established pursuant to Decree Law No. (20) of 2017.
The Authority’s vision is based on creating a productive cooperative sector that has financial independence, an operator and a contributor to the national economy, and achieving concepts of social and economic justice by mobilizing the capabilities of the cooperative sector and its contribution to sustainable development.
Source: Maan News Agency