The Forum on Cooperative Platforms was organized by La Coop des Communs on 11 October 2019 in Paris, France. To counter the prevalence of international platform giants, an increasing number of alternative platforms are being formed with the aim of bringing economic benefits and positive externalities in local communities and strengthening collaboration and solidarity.

The Forum brought together representatives from the public sector, researchers specialized in commons, and practitioners engaged in cooperative platform projects in order to share challenges and opportunities for these emerging models of platforms.

In the first half of the Forum, cooperative platforms in three sectors, namely food supply chains, tourism and housing, mobility and logistics, were presented by practitioners. Following the presentations, participants discussed technical issues faced by these cooperative platforms (e.g. data governance, labour laws, financing) with inputs from La Coop des Communs and other stakeholders in the ecosystem. In the second half of the Forum, a series of roundtables were organized with practitioners, researchers and representatives from France and other European countries to discuss the prerequisites for a conducive environment for the development of platform cooperatives.

A specialist from ILO’s Cooperatives Unit, Mr. Guy Tchami, participated in the event as a panellist at a roundtable on putting platforms at the service of citizens based on positive externalities that they can bring about. He emphasized the role of platform cooperatives in the context of a changing world of work. He highlighted the role of the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE) as it relates to the platform economy. He noted that the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work mentions both cooperatives and SSE. He also mentioned ILO’s current research on platform cooperatives.

A draft declaration was presented and discussed during the Forum. The document aimed at promoting support policies for platform cooperatives providing key prerequisites for a conducive ecosystem. Further to suggestions and recommendations received from the participants the draft declaration was also shared with participants in the Platform Coop Brussels event that took place in the following week. The adopted declaration is available here in English and French.