Both entities pledged to “promote interest in the Social Economy as a business management model” at a ceremony held this Monday attended by the Councilor of the Government of Navarra, Carmen Maeztu. For Ignacio Ugalde, HR director of TIF and president of ANEL, this double incorporation “consolidates the Chair” and makes it “a key instrument in the future development of the region due to the capacity it has shown to attract youth and talent”.
Tafalla Iron Foundry signed this Monday its association to the Chair of Social Economy and Cooperativism of the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), together with Laboral Kutxa, to “promote interest in the Social Economy as a business management model through the promotion of research, knowledge and transfer to social and economic agents”.
The incorporation of both entities took place in a ceremony attended by the Councilor for Social Rights, Social Economy and Employment of the Government of Navarra, Carmen Maeztu. The meeting was also attended by the HR director of TIF and president of ANEL, Ignacio Ugalde; Francisco Javier Arregui, vice-rector of Research at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA); as well as the director of the Chair, Sandra Cavero.
Before all of them, Lucas Álvarez, president of the Governing Council of Tafalla Iron Foundry, and the Area Directors of Laboral Kutxa, Eduardo Elizalde and Maitane Bueno, assumed on behalf of their organizations the purpose of the Chair.
In that sense, Lucas Álvarez explained that, with this action, TIF want to withdraw the commitment to the Social Economy and its values. “We begin this new stage with pride and illusion,” he commented. For her part, Maitane Bueno added that Tafalla Iron Foundry “is a good traveling companion” in its desire to “expand the cooperative culture, especially among the youngest.”
REACTIONS
Ignacio Ugalde, HR director of TIF and president of ANEL, considered that the entry of these two new partners “consolidates the Chair” and makes it “a key instrument in the future development of the region due to the capacity it has shown to attract youth and talent”.
He also recalled the support that the UPNA and the Government of Navarra gave to this initiative. “You were the first to join the Chair project,” he said. And he trusted in the forthcoming incorporation of new entities that support the work that the Chair is developing, “especially among the next generations that must take over the direction and management of cooperative and Social Economy enterprises in Navarre”.
Along the same lines, the Vice Rector for Research at the Public University of Navarra, Francisco Javier Arregui, thanked Tafalla Iron Foundry and Laboral Kutxa for the step they have taken. “The University feels linked to the Social Economy and, above all, with the value of being rooted in the territory that defines it and differentiates it from other models,” he said.
Finally, Councilor Carmen Maeztu valued the importance and weight that cooperatives and Social Economy entities have in the region’s business fabric, with more than 1,400 companies that generate approximately 8.5% of private employment, close to 20,000 jobs. “I am sure that actions like this and commitments like the one made today by Tafalla Iron Foundry and Laboral Kutxa are very useful tools to contribute to a more prosperous future in Navarre,” she said.
Maeztu also stated that training “is essential” and thanked, in this regard, the Chair’s commitment to provide the necessary knowledge and skills to people “who will later promote cooperative entrepreneurship, social innovation and participatory governance,” she concluded.
OTHER PLANNED ACTIONS
In addition to subscribing to the aforementioned objective, the new members of the Chair announced their intention to support research projects in various areas related to the Social Economy, cooperativism and the third sector. They also expressed their desire to promote the development of doctoral theses and dissertations on subjects related to the Chair’s activities.
They also undertook to facilitate the participation in the university of people who hold management positions in Social Economy organizations, sign internship agreements and organize visits to companies, as well as continuous training activities, among other initiatives. They also confirmed their support in the promotion and organization of communication and training activities, along with the granting of scholarships and awards.
With this Monday’s event, Tafalla Iron Foundry and Laboral Kutxa join the agreement to establish the Chair of Social Economy and Cooperativism, signed in 2022 by the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the Government of Navarra and the Association of Social Economy Enterprises of Navarra (ANEL). Its incorporation derives from the addendum amending the agreement approved last July by the founding entities, which agreed to open this academic unit to private companies as “co-participants in the financing” and to extend the term of the agreement from two to four years.
