A new international cooperative entrepreneurship competition is now open to young people between the ages of 16 and 24.
Launched on 17 February, the Mondragon City Challenge will see teams of between two and four young people work together to tackle challenges that motivate them. Issues can range from digitisation and cybersecurity to pandemic risks, healthcare or sustainable and smart mobility.
The teams will then pitch their ideas for a cooperative business that would tackle these challenges by pre-registering on Mondragon City Challenge website. Projects that reach the final will have the opportunity to defend their idea in front of a professional jury and compete for prizes.
The jury is made up of technical and professional experts including ICA Director General Bruno Roelants.
The competition is aimed at secondary school, vocational training and university students who will develop their own cooperative project in teams over a period of nine months.
The pre-registration period ends on 7 March. The names of the 20 teams that will go on to the next phase will be published on 23 March.
The competition has two categories - 16-18-year-olds and 19-24-year-olds. The winners in the 16-18 category will win a trip to Europe while the winners in the 19-24 category will get a trip to the Republic of Korea. A prize of €800 will also be awarded for originality.
More information on the competition is available here.
Last year the ICA’s Youth Network ran a Youth Replication Project with the aim of fostering the emergence of a new generation of youth cooperatives. The Network received over 150 applications, nine of which were selected and will be funded with a maximum of EUR 10,000 each. Learn more about the Youth Network’s Replication Project here.
