FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group renew agreement to reward the best proposals for knowledge transfer in VET
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FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group renew agreement to reward the best proposals for knowledge transfer in VET

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa, which currently represents more than 500 VET centres in Spain, and the Esprinet Group have renewed for the second consecutive year their collaboration agreement to carry out necessary actions in the field of VET.

This agreement was made for the first time in February 2022 and this year it returns with the aim of rewarding the best proposals for knowledge transfer in VET. In addition, among its objectives is the desire to promote female talent in training cycles where they have little visibility.

The president of FPEmpresa, Luis García Domínguez, states that “for the Association, renewing this collaboration agreement means maintaining our commitment that means that vocational training centres are allied with companies in our productive sectors. Likewise, this initiative allows us to continue our commitment to talent in all areas of VET expressed by women”.

Since FPEmpresa was created in 2012, it has been working to promote and foster vocational training through the exchange of experiences and good practices. In this way, the Association aims to become one of the agents that strengthen the VET system in the country.

“With the renewal of this agreement we reaffirm our commitment to promote key skills and abilities to train the professionals of the future. In particular, by giving visibility to female talent in those professional families of VET where its presence is testimonial”, says Javier Bilbao-Goyoaga, president of V-Valley Advanced Solutions (Spain & Portugal).

Following the renewal of this collaboration agreement, FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group are launching entries for the 2nd edition of the Knowledge Transfer Awards in the field of VET. This call for entries is aimed at any public, subsidised or private educational centre associated with FPEmpresa. The registration period will be open from 13 February until 24 February and can be registered through this link.

FPEmpresa

FPEmpresa is a non-profit association that brings together public, private and subsidised Vocational Training Centres from all over Spain. In the same line, it contributes to create a network of centres able to share experiences, projects that want to develop and promote the Vocational Training System of this country.

FPEmpresa aims to give prominence to Vocational Training in the education system and to strengthen relations between the centres and their environment. The commitment between Vocational Training Centres and companies makes it possible to improve the educational offer for vocational training students and the pathways to integration into the labour market.

In 2019, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training awarded the Plaque of Honour of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise to the Association for promoting VET through collaboration between centres, the exchange of experiences and good practices.

Esprinet

Esprinet is an enabler of the technological ecosystem that, with a strong vocation for environmental and social sustainability, promotes technological democracy. With a

comprehensive offering of consulting services, IT security, services and products for sale or rental through an extensive network of professional resellers, Esprinet is the leading Group in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain and Portugal), the fourth largest in Europe and among the top ten worldwide.

FPEmpresa celebrates 500 associated centres to continue promoting vocational training
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FPEmpresa celebrates 500 associated centres to continue promoting vocational training

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa has surpassed this 16th February the figure of 500 associated centres from all over Spain. This figure is significant for the organisation, as it means that FPEmpresa’s objectives are being met every day.

Since the Association was set up in 2012, it has been committed to giving a leading role to VET in the education system and strengthening relations between the centres and their environment, helping to generate a greater public presence of these in society. Furthermore, the commitment between vocational training centres and companies is essential to improve the educational offer of training cycles and the pathways to integration into the labour market.

Having reached the figure of 500 associated centres, FPEmpresa continues to work to improve VET every day and to ensure its future growth, because the more centres we have, the more authority the voice of the Association will have.

FPEmpresa believes that all the players involved in VET should maintain the efforts made in recent years to raise the profile of VET and, above all, to invest in resources for it. VET centres should be a point of guidance, training and accompaniment towards the labour market.

VET as the first educational option, the greatest challenge for FPEmpresa

With the new VET Law, many of the main objectives have become a reality. A path has begun on which, if the resources invested are sustained, it could become a new VET comparable to its EU neighbours

Given the daily growth in the number of members, our network is committed to VET as the first educational option, as well as being sufficient, free, flexible and accessible to everyone. FPEmpresa also works to bring VET closer to companies and social agents. It is the future of citizens, but also the future of a healthy society and economy.

CaixaBank Dualiza and the various projects with which it promotes vocational training

Over the last 10 years, the Association has organised various projects related to vocational training thanks to the collaboration with its strategic ally, CaixaBank Dualiza. Both entities have worked together to launch noteworthy projects, such as the Convocatoria de Ayudas Dualiza, which to date has launched six different editions; and the Convocatoria de Orientación Activa, whose current edition is the fourth and whose aim is to recognise and support the guidance actions of educational centres towards VET and/or Dual VET.

In addition, every year FPEmpresa has received the support of CaixaBank Dualiza to organise the different VET Congresses in Spain, which aim to promote the VET of the future and share experiences and good practices among schools.

We would also like to thank the Group Esprinet for its cooperation, with which the collaboration agreement has been renewed to launch initiatives such as the VET Knowledge Transfer Award; Coca Cola for participating in ‘Gira Jóvenes’, its entrepreneurship and youth employability support project; the Orange Foundation, the ExE Foundation, CONIF, among others, to continue carrying out projects for and in favour of VET.

FPEmpresa is committed to Internationalisation

The Organisation is committed to Internationalisation in order to share its objectives and values with other European and international educational entities. For this reason, FPEmpresa is involved in international projects and associations, such as the Spanish Service for the Internationalisation of Education (SEPIE) and EfVET (European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training), considered to be one of the most relevant international entities working to promote the quality of VET at European level.

FPEmpresa is also a member of another educational organisation of major international importance, WFCP (World Federation Of Colleges And Polytechnics). Belonging to these entities is not only beneficial for the Association, but also “for our associated centres, which allow them to have references and support in Europe or in other parts of the world”, says the president of FPEmpresa, Luis García Domínguez.

Tenth anniversary and 8th VET Congress

Another of the Association’s notable events was the holding of the VIII VET Congress, under the slogan ‘Building the VET centre of the future’, in Donostia-San Sebastián. More than 650 teachers gathered at this meeting to analyse the future of VET in the country, a record number of attendees for FPEmpresa. At the same time, the Association took the opportunity to celebrate its tenth anniversary, promoting vocational training centres with a future.

In 2010, the FPEmpresa project was presented as an innovation project under the motivation of 83 national VET centres. Two years later it would become the Association that seeks to represent the VET centres of Spain.

To watch the video about the 10th anniversary of FPEmpresa on YouTube, click here.

Finally, we would like to thank all the members who have participated throughout this time in the Boards of Directors and the current members of the Board of Directors, who every day work for a quality and innovative VET and for it to become the first educational option in the country.

FPEmpresa attends the EfVET Executive Management meetings in Madrid
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FPEmpresa attends the EfVET Executive Management meetings in Madrid

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa attended the meetings of the EfVET Executive Management held on 26th and 27th January at the Escuela Superior de Hostelería y Turismo in Madrid. Carlos de Olagüe, EfVET Coordinator for Spain and FPEmpresa Member for Madrid and International, also participated in the organisation of the meeting.

The agenda of the day covered discussions on various topics such as: policy, conference, membership action, finance and projects. However, one of the most prominent topics on the agenda was the preparation of the next European Congress on the island of Rhodes (Greece) from 26 until 28 October 2023. The Congress will include conferences, workshops, visits to VET centres and Market Place (networking meetings), although the theme of the event is not yet known.

The meeting on the 26th was followed by a visit to the facilities of the Escuela Superior de Hostelería y Turismo to learn about good VET practices in the centre.

The meeting on the 27th was followed by a visit to the facilities of the Escuela de la Vid, where José María Rodríguez, Director General of Secondary Education and Vocational Training of the Community of Madrid welcomed the participants, who came from 12 different countries.

Meetings to increase international relations

“The event has been a great opportunity to give visibility in Europe to the quality of vocational training in Spain. Both the Escuela Superior de Hostelería y Turismo and the Escuela del Vid have shown the methodologies and training techniques at the highest level. The Entrepreneurship Classroom of the School of Hospitality and Tourism, equipped with the latest technology, and the attention received by teachers and students have made possible the event with a great international impact,” said Carlos de Olagüe.

“Without a doubt, for FPEmpresa it has been an excellent opportunity to consolidate its international trajectory. In addition, this event was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Directorate General for Secondary Education and Vocational Training and the teams and students of the Escuela Superior de Hostelería y Turismo de Madrid and the Escuela de la Vid”, concluded the EfVET coordinator for Spain.

Finally, the meeting discussed the work of the Thematic Themes (EfVET thematic teams), established in 2018 with the main objective of becoming a ‘Think Tank’, opinion leader and reference point for VET in a specific field. Also, to promote innovation and business opportunities among project members.

Currently, EfVET thematic teams are focusing on the areas of Entrepreneurship, Sustainability through VET, Tourism, VET 4.0, Internationalisation and Learning Mobility and Inclusive Vocational Excellence.

IndesIA and FPEmpresa join forces to promote training in digitisation, data and artificial intelligence
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IndesIA and FPEmpresa join forces to promote training in digitisation, data and artificial intelligence

Over the next three years, companies will need 90,000 professionals with expertise in data and Artificial Intelligence in order to be more efficient and able to compete internationally. In addition, new technologies and, therefore, the skills that employees need to have will evolve at such a rapid pace that they will have to continuously update and recycle their knowledge.

This situation is one of the great challenges that companies and society in general are already facing. And in this context, Vocational Training is one of the most relevant training modalities to train all the necessary talent, both in the Spanish industrial sector and in the rest of the economic activities. In order to respond to these training needs and meet companies’ demand for talent, IndesIA, the association to promote the use of Artificial Intelligence in the Spanish industrial sector, made up of nine of the country’s leading companies (Repsol, Gestamp, Navantia, Técnicas Reunidas, Telefónica, Microsoft, Airbus, Ferrovial and Inditex) and FPEmpresa, an organisation that brings together more than 450 Spanish vocational training centres, have committed to working together.

The aim of this collaboration agreement is to promote the introduction of technologies related to data and artificial intelligence within the educational curricula of vocational training to promote training and employment related to science and technology.

As a result of this collaboration, FPEmpresa will begin to carry out an analysis of the current state of VET in everything related to the data economy and Artificial Intelligence by reviewing various reports prepared by IndesIA, which analyse different professional profiles demanded by companies and the training offer currently available and that which will be needed in the future.

In addition, both entities will collaborate in the development of the “Digitalisation” module, which will be compulsory in all Vocational Training degrees, as defined in the Vocational Training Modernisation Plan promoted by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. This will also mean that both institutions will participate in the training of the teaching professionals who will have to teach this module.

On the other hand, their contribution to the creation and revision of vocational training itineraries to train professionals in the field of the data economy and Artificial Intelligence is also foreseen, as well as the promotion of these itineraries in educational centres throughout the national territory.

According to Valero Marín, president of IndesIA, “it is necessary to focus on training and education if we want to improve the shortage of expert profiles in technologies and achieve the transformation of the country in the long term. The data indicate that there are 200,000 jobs related to science, mathematics, engineering and technology that will not be filled in the next two years”. In this sense, he warns “Vocational Training is a great opportunity to train all this talent in a faster and more practical way, but it must focus on the application of new technologies, which is why we consider this agreement with FPEmpresa to be essential, because thanks to their work we will be able to disseminate the importance of digitalisation in all the centres that make up this entity”.

For his part, Luis García, President of FPEMPRESA, explains “it is necessary for vocational training centres to be prepared to be able to provide quality, up-to-date teaching. Not only new technologies, but also the way of learning is different as the digitalisation of classrooms evolves. It is therefore interesting that the centres adapt their teaching methods to the new teaching tools, such as: virtual/augmented reality, digital environments such as digital twins, classrooms equipped with Industry 4.0 technology, etc.”. On the other hand, he comments “it is essential that a VET student is trained in an environment similar to the one they will later find in the real company and in this sense, IndesIA is for us the opportunity to obtain the knowledge that the large companies that make up the association have in terms of the application of data and Artificial Intelligence in the daily work of an organisation”.

The 6th call for Ayudas Dualiza from CaixaBank Dualiza and FPEmpresa selects the 30 most innovative VET projects in the country
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The 6th call for Ayudas Dualiza from CaixaBank Dualiza and FPEmpresa selects the 30 most innovative VET projects in the country

The 6th edition of the call for Ayudas Dualiza from CaixaBank Dualiza and the Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa has selected the 30 most innovative collaboration projects in the country promoted by 47 vocational training centres in collaboration with companies, which will receive a total of 402,759 euros for their development.

Most of these projects, a total of 19, have been presented by individual centres, while the other 11 have been selected in the network category, characterised by the fact that they are the result of the collaboration of several centres from different territories supporting a single idea.

These 30 projects will involve a total of 66 collaborating entities and 258 teachers through which the learning of 2,320 students will be improved.

Most of the selected schools are state-owned, almost 9 out of 10, while the rest are state-subsidised.

When selecting these 30 projects, the evaluation committee has taken into account that they should be innovative, encourage co-participation between centres, have a social impact, diversify the participating agents, establish coordination and communication mechanisms, contemplate sustainability to provide long-term results, be transferable, facilitate the communication of the achievements and seek to have an impact on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Regarding this last point, it is worth noting that a majority of projects are committed to impacting on the ODS Quality education, followed by Industry, innovation and infrastructure and, in third place, decent work and economic growth.

As for the professional families in which these initiatives will be developed, the majority will be in Mechanical Manufacturing and IT and Communications, followed by Electricity and Electronics and Installation and Maintenance. However, the variety of proposals presented means that 17 of the 26 existing professional families will be represented.

The director of CaixaBank Dualiza, Paula San Luis, expressed her satisfaction that “more and more schools are becoming aware of and participating in the Dualiza Call and that this participation is diverse, both in terms of the content of the projects, the sectors chosen, as well as the ownership of the schools themselves”.

San Luis added that “this variety allows us to offer a real vision of what VET is, but also of what the Convocation is, where we are committed to collaboration between all the agents of Vocational Training with the aim of improving the learning and employability of students”.

For his part, the president of FPEmpresa, Luis García, added that “each of the selected projects is a way of sharing and learning together between companies and VET centres”.

The development of projects that can be implemented in real environments is once again the protagonist in this call, embodied in energy audits in educational centres, replicas of cybersecurity environments with attack and defence of infrastructures, construction of test benches, or applications to facilitate the circular economy through the use of car sharing.

The full list of selected projects is available here.

FPEmpresa’s Board of Directors starts to prepare the VIII VET Congress
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FPEmpresa’s Board of Directors starts to prepare the VIII VET Congress

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association has celebrated the first meeting of the new Board of Directors in Santander. The new members were selected in the General Assembly 2022 of the last month of June. They have been working in their Strategic Plan 2022/2025 and have started to prepare the next Congress. Apart, they have visited the associated center ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’.

The VIII Congress of the Association will be celebrated in San Sebastián the 26th and 27th of October. An event that will join the associated centers of FPEmpresa and organized with CaixaBank Dualiza, main strategic ally of the Association. Also, this congress will focus on the VET centers of the future and will mark the tenth anniversary of FPEmpresa.

Visit to ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’

The second day of the meeting has taken place in the center ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’, whose director is Sergio Silva, FPEmpresa’s coordinator in Cantabria. The center offers education cycles of the Agrarian Professional Family and works with more than 50 companies of the sector. Furthermore, it belongs to Agrocantabria.

During the activity, the visitors have covered the CIFP’s facilities, that has 70 hectares with different uses. Likewise, the managers of the institution have talked of some of the programs, like ‘Friesian goat’s recovery’. In addition, the center is leader in floral art and participates with an association created by the student body to promote the employment in the territory.

“Gather the coordinators of other areas in Cantabria boosts the VET of the community and shows our educative reality”, explains Silva regarding to the meeting of the Board of Directors and the visit. “We feel supported celebrating this event in a small community as ours”, adds.

Apart of the CIFP La Granja, there are other five associated centers to FPEmpresa in Cantabria: IES Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, in Guarnizo; IES Lope de Vega, in Santa María de Cayón; IES Alisal, in Santander; IES Valle de Camargo, in Revilla de Camargo, and CIFP Nº1 of Santander.

The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the fourth mobility of “Creative Skills 21” in St. Gallen
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The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the fourth mobility of “Creative Skills 21” in St. Gallen

The Erasmus+ KA202 project, in which the secondary school Puerta Bonita (center associated with the FPEmpresa VET Schools Association) is a participant, has held its fourth mobility in St. Gallen (Switzerland). An initiative carried out from May 16 to 20 under the title “Creative Skills 21. Improving teaching and learning of 21st century skills for the creative industry”. The project arises with the aim of providing the participating teachers with tools to work “competences for the 21st century” with their students.

Throughout the project, the students have worked with a problem associated with the UN 2030 Agenda on which they have developed a communicative solution to raise awareness and have prototyped it. To do this, they have worked in multinational and interdisciplinary groups guided by two teachers.

Creative Skills 21 between Madrid and St. Gallen

In order to create a time frame that would achieve the objectives, the mobilities have been grouped by pairs of countries. The first mobility organized in Madrid has suggested the problem to the students, who have analyzed it and, consequently, have outlined the objective and recipient of the message, as well as a solid idea. However, in the second mobility, the idea has been prototyped and presented to experts in the field.

Gender inequality related to access to education and social exclusion was the topic proposed at the first meeting. With that idea, the groups have been able to work in St. Gallen.

On the other hand, the teachers have received training in the 21st century skills “collaborative work”, “problem solving” and “the blended learning methodology”.

“Creative Skills 21” has worked with a group of 50 people from 7 Vocational Training centers in Rotterdam, Ghent, Newcastle, St. Gallen, northern Italy, Jyvaskyla, Lisbon and Madrid. An initiative that has allowed members to create a great network of contacts while they have known the Spanish capital and the Swiss capital of the San Galo district.

You can learn about the extraordinary products made by the student groups, from applications for mobile devices to external marketing actions, on the website www.cs-21.eu and the Instagram profile @creative_skills21

The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the DOCE project together with 7 European centers
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The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the DOCE project together with 7 European centers

The secondary school Puerta Bonita, a center associated with the FPEmpresa VET Schools Association, has participated in the Erasmus+ KA226 project entitled Digital Online Creativity Education (DOCE). An initiative that arises from the difficulties in the teaching process that arose during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic and in which new strategies have been designed to deal with online learning. In addition, the DOCE project has been coordinated by the Grafisch Lyceum in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and the secondary school Puerta Bonita has participated together with high schools in the European cities of Jyväskyla (Finland), Newcastle (United Kingdom), Lisbon (Portugal), Ghent ( Belgium), Sankt Gallen (Switzerland) and Verona (Italy).

The Erasmus+ DOCE project has helped teachers to share their own experiences on how they have taught lessons during confinement. A process in which not only theoretical sessions have been organized, but also practical ones telematically. “This exchange of ideas and proposals has allowed all of them to increase their technological and educational updating through the different activities,” said Raúl Martínez, head of studies at the secondary school Puerta Bonita.

This dynamic has contributed to the increase in the collaboration and commitment of the participating institutions through the practice of investigating and exchanging new ways of dealing with digital learning. Likewise, different telematic meetings and one face-to-face meeting have been held in the city of Verona (Italy).

On the other hand, the participating secondary schools and their teachers have established a better contact with the new reality of online learning, creativity and digitization in the field of media and design.

In conclusion, the DOCE project has been an opportunity to transfer knowledge and take advantage of synergies in the development of digital content as prototypes that can be used by other teachers and schools.

FPEmpresa and Group Esprinet to deliver the I VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards
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FPEmpresa and Group Esprinet to deliver the I VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association and Group Esprinet have delivered the VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards in an event that has taken place in IES Francisco Tomás y Valiente, associated center to FPEmpresa. A meeting celebrated the Wednesday, 29th June, where the high schools IES Pedro de Tolosa, IES Alonso de Madrigal and IES Centro de Capacitación Agraria have picked up their prizes.

“I want to congratulate to all of you for the quality of the ideas presented, the knowledge to encourage the role of the women and for reflect the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)”, has explained Silvia Sánchez, Marketing and Communication of the Group Esprinet.

Tomás Alonso, vicepresident treasurer of FPEmpresa, has joined in the event and has shown gratitude to the technological for recognize VET in this great project.

The winners to promote the participation in the contest

The winning associated centers of the VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards have appreciated the contest. Between them, José María Pérez, IES Alonso de Madrigal’s teacher, has presented that “to create the group, I have selected students from different VET groups”. This has been due to the need of women in studies as Information Technology or Communications, reason why Pérez wants that his participation in the contest encourage more women the next years.

By their hand, Verónica Crespo and Mar López, teachers of IES Pedro de Tolosa and IES Centro de Capacitación Agraria, have focused on the teamwork done, just like the confidence generated after the Awards.

Finally, the participants have visited IES Francisco Tomás y Valiente, where they have known some projects of the students and the facilities the center has like their Garage Lab.

FPEmpresa and Group Esprinet signed an agreement the last month of February to promote the VET female talent. A collaboration that has developed actions to have an impact on educative system as the session of Marketing and the VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards, where more than a 50% of the participants had been women.

FPEmpresa obtains bronze medal in Awards of Excellence 2022 with SCoopConSS
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FPEmpresa obtains bronze medal in Awards of Excellence 2022 with SCoopConSS

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association has received the third prize in the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ category of the Awards of Excellence 2022 for the European projects SCoopConSS. A recognition delivered by the World Federation of Colleges and Polythecnics (WFCP) in the closing of the world congress 2022 in Donostia-San Sebastián. The people in charge to gather up the prize have been the president of the Association, Luis García, and the vice president treasurer, Tomás Alonso.

Colleges and Institutes of Canada (CICan) has finished in first place of the category. The second has been for Centro de Formación Somorrostro, associated center of FPEmpresa, followed for the Association with the bronze medal. Finally, the organization has recognized to Harare Polythecnic with an honorable mention.

The different categories of the Awards of Excellence 2022 have been: Applied Research and Innovation’; ‘Construction’; ‘Sustainable Development Goals’; ‘Cyber and Data Security’; ‘Teacher Professional Development’; ‘Global Citizenship’; ‘Leadershhip in Diversity and Inclusion’; ‘Indigenous Education’; ‘Lifetime Achievement’; ‘Strategic Leadership’; ‘Outstanding Educator’; and ‘Outstanding Student Achievement’.

SCoopConSS

ScoopConSS project (Social Cooperative Contest for Secondary Schools) is a European initiative where FPEmpresa and other six organizations work together: Camera Commercio Italiana per la Spagna; aCapo Società Cooperativa Sociale Integrata; EGInA Srl.; AKETH-DCT (Developmental Centre of Thessaly); Portuguese Association of Startups (APSU); and Centre of Technical Culture Rijeka.

An initiative that has taken to the associated center, EFA La Malvesía, to participate in an international contest celebrated in the National Festival of Civil Economy of Florence. In addition, SCoopConSS is financed by the European Union in the framework of the Horizon2020 funds.

Furthermore, SCoopConSS objective has been to build a Practice Community for European secondary teachers interested to boost their experience by different method business. For that, the initiative has taken advantage of the cooperative principles of self-help, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.