The influence of the principle of education, training and information on cooperative identity: from the practical consequences of the merely formal application towards the preservation of the essence of cooperativism in the post-pandemic scenario

The promulgation of the Declaration on Cooperative Identity, by the International Cooperative Alliance, represented an exercise in rescuing the roots of the original values and principles that have guided the exercise of the Proven Rochdale Pioneers. In addition to the concept of the cooperative society, the Declaration enumerates the values and the cooperative principles, showing that these safeguard a universal aspect that prevents an isolated interpretation or application. However, the principle of education, training and information is essential to the effectiveness of all the principles and the tenacity of Cooperativism itself. For this reason, putting the fifth cooperative principle into practice in the post-pandemic world is essential for the world to find the appropriate alternatives to overcome the health and economic crisis in which it is involved.