Cooperatives with a modern appearance shape the future of regional agriculture as well as commercial enterprises and secure the local financial supply of small and medium-sized businesses. In the International Year of Cooperatives, IGA is drawing attention to the strengths of the cooperative legal form as a modern and sustainable business keeping with the motto “Democracy demands participation – involving members – securing the future”. The following will discuss the question: “How can modern communication methods be used to better involve members in the cooperative decision-making process and thus secure the future of regional agriculture and the local financial supply of medium-sized businesses?”
- From an academic perspective: Senior Researcher at the Institute for Nonprofit Management at WU Vienna, Florentine Maier, who describes the cooperative as a “school of democracy”, and the head of the Competence Centre for the Management of Cooperatives at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Richard Lang.
- Tangible examples from cooperative practice will be presented by Walter Pardatscher, Managing Director of the Association of South Tyrolean Fruit Cooperatives
- And Michael Dandorfer, Member of the Board of Münchner Bank eG and GVB District President for Upper Bavaria.
2025 IGA Conference
Democracy demands participation
Involving members – Securing the future
21/11/2025 Raiffeisen Association Bolzano, South Tyrol