·
This Monday, in the 32nd
edition of this award, held in Bilbao, which was attended by the Vice President
and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Diaz, who participated
through a video and with the presence of the second
vice-lehendakari and Minister of Labour and Employment of the Basque
Government, Idoia Mendia; the president of ASLE, Kepa Olivares; and the manager
of ASLE, Jone Nolte
·
This award seeks to recognize
individuals, companies and institutions around the world for their defense and promotion
of the social economy.
Bilbao, November 22, 2022.- The president of the Spanish Business
Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES), Juan Antonio Pedreño, received
on Monday the International Social Economy Award ´Txemi Cantera´ 2022 from
ASLE (the business association that brings
together the Labor Societies and Investee Companies of Euskadi).
This award, which
this year celebrated its 32nd edition
in the Yimby room in Bilbao, seeks to
recognize people, companies and institutions from around the world for their
defense and promotion of this business model. Chaired by the Second
Vice-Lehendakari and Minister of Labour and Employment of the Basque
Government, Idoia Mendia; The award
ceremony included the interventions of
the Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social
Economy, Yolanda Díaz, the president of ASLE, Kepa Olivares; and the manager
of ASLE, Jone Nolte.
During the same,
the professional career of Pedreño and his work as "one of the greatest
exponents in social economy organizations" were valued, as stated by the
jury, which determined that the winner has managed to "integrate in a cohesive way all the enty of the social
economy, enabling a space for understanding and joint dialogue at the state
and international level".
The jury also highlighted that Pedreño promoted in 2011 the first Social
Economy Law, in addition to achieving, during his mandate, the creation for the
first time of a Ministry of Labor and
Social Economy.
The Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social
Economy, Yolanda Diaz, stressed that "great changes require capable
people like Juan Antonio Pedreño willing to address them" "During
these years of work, you have always accompanied us with your tireless
enthusiasm to make the social economy visible, placing it at the center of the
concerns of the Ministry".
The second vice-lehendakari
and Minister of Labour and Employment of the Basque Government, Idoia Mendia,
said that " the
commitment to the social economy is a matter of conviction and therefore, for
2023, a budget increase of 21% has been planned. He added that Juan Antonio
Pedreño is a visionary for the ability he demonstrates every day to make
visible the social economy at the state and international level, an economy
that reinvents itself whenever there are difficulties.
"Pedreño
has contributed decisively to the internal cohesion of the different entities
of the Social Economy, and has placed the social economy on the highest political
agenda, as had not been done to date," explained Jone Nolte, manager of ASLE and secretary of the jury. "It has
made it possible for the Spanish model of social economy to be considered a
benchmark in Europe, beyond the social and solidarity nature of this business
model," he added.
The winner, Juan Antonio Pedreño pointed out that the
arguments reflected by the jury have been able to materialize "thanks to
the generosity of each and every one of the organizations that make up the
social economy and that belong to CEPES; to renounce small plots for the
benefit of the whole and knowing that this joint benefit would again result in each of the
entities" and referred to a quote from Henry Ford: "meeting is a
beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success".
"The result of doing so, of the generosity with which it is done and
of the application of the values of the social economy have been key to placing
the social economy and each of its entities in the current moment we live: at the
center of policies and institutions," he concluded.
A CAREER DEDICATED TO THE SOCIAL ECONOMY
Juan Antonio
Pedreño has been president of CEPES since 2008; ´Social Economy Europe´ since
2015; UCOMUR (Union of Cooperatives of the Region of Murcia) since 1986; and
UCoERM (Union of Teaching Cooperatives of the Region of Murcia) since 1998. In
addition, he was president of the Spanish Confederation of Associated Work
(COCETA) since 2005 for 14 years.
Degree in Chemistry from the University of Granada, with a postgraduate
degree in Cooperativism and Social
Economy from the University of Murcia
and Master from the University of Manchester, Pedreño (Los Garres, Murcia, 1957), he leads since 2015 ´Social Economy Europe´,
the institution that represents the social economy in
Europe, where he has launched the first
European Social Economy Plan, a plan
approved by the European Commission that pursues the promotion of this business
model with the aim of increasing the weight of the social economy within the
gross domestic product of Europe.
