Legacoop Fvg's midterm meeting addresses the issue of housing

Almost 200 thousand members, both male and female, who, in terms of production value that almost reaches 2 billion euros per year, express the largest aggregation of Friuli Venezia Giulia from an associative point of view . A privileged observatory on the cooperative movement and, consequently, on the economic performance of the territory.

These are the numbers that opened today, June 30, at the Kulturni Dom in Gorizia, the midterm meeting of Legacoop Fvg , the association that brings together the largest cooperative enterprises in the region. Today was an important moment because "the midterm budget - clarified the president of Legacoop Fvg, Michela Vogrig - marks that change of pace that began in 2023 and that we have often hoped for". Numerous authorities were present, from the mayor of the city Rodolfo Ziberna, to other municipal administrators of the region, passing through regional councilors of the majority and opposition, regional party secretaries, representatives of trade unions and trade associations and the cooperative world.

The choice on Gorizia

The choice of Gorizia as the location for the Legacoop Fvg assembly was not a coincidence. “Not only for its geographical position,” explained Vogrig, “but also for what it symbolically represents. In the city where the Iron Curtain once stood, today it is possible to understand what it means to live the border, not as a limit, but as a possibility, no longer as an element of division but as a space for creation . A candidacy that had the merit of uniting the two cities in a common intent, placing cross-border collaboration at the center of a broader project, ensuring that a historically divided but culturally interconnected territory like this one, could transform a border that was once a symbol of division into a bridge of cooperation and dialogue.”

The Assembly and the Palestinian Theme

“This year too we celebrated important birthdays,” Vogrig recalled in his report, “from the 80th anniversary of Camst, one of the most important cooperatives at a national level in the collective catering sector and with over 10,000 members, to the 80th anniversary of the small consumer cooperative of Torreano, which with its 390 members plays an essential role for the community from which it was born, to the Css Teatro Stabile di Innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia, an important reality that 40 years after its birth confirms itself as a cultural reference point at a regional level and beyond.” Hence the applause for the very recent decision of Coop Alleanza 3.0, a member of Legacoop, for having taken a stand on the dramatic situation in Gaza by withdrawing some Israeli products from its shelves. "A way - Vogrig always commented - to forcefully ask for the cessation of hostilities and the distribution of food through independent organizations. An initiative that comes from the bottom, from the members, because Coop Alleanza 3.0 is a democratic organization, the largest consumer cooperative".

A growing system

The cooperative system, as President Michela Vogrig recalled, is “rapidly evolving, varied, dynamic and complex and continues to find its way to grow, especially in sectors such as production and services, social, consumption, but also in tourism and culture ”. Central, among many, is the theme of energy with the support of Renewable Energy Communities , as a concrete form of energy democracy and impact on communities, in a path that, “thanks to the Part-energy cooperative – explained Vogrig –, places us as a trailblazer with 20% of the national market, with the first Italian seaside and hydroelectric community, in a consolidated path also thanks to the signing of agreements and conventions such as the one with Anci Fvg”.

The theme of living

The topic discussed in the round table organized on the occasion of the assembly was particularly heartfelt. A moment of collective reflection designed to strengthen the role of cooperation in developing innovative and inclusive solutions for the well-being of local communities on housing policies and territorial attractiveness . Moderated by Michela Vogrig , the panel was attended by Cristina Amirante , regional councilor for Infrastructure and Territory, Matteo Busnelli , vice president of Legacoop Abitanti, Simone Gamberini , president of Legacoop, Giovanni La Varra , professor of Architectural Composition at the University of Udine, and Alessia Rosolen , regional councilor for Work, Training, Education, Research, University and Family. Before them, the Honorable Irene Tinagli , economist and president of the European Parliament's special committee on the housing crisis , also spoke via the connection. She described the housing phenomenon as a "pressure cooker that risks exploding - she explained - if we do not intervene quickly at a national level, as well as at a European level, with long-term interventions, but for which it is necessary to start working concretely right away because the longer we delay, the more the problems will worsen. In this sense - she concluded - the cooperative system can offer concrete answers in calming market prices and providing answers to emerging needs".

The theme of living in Fvg

In this context, even Friuli Venezia Giulia is not exempt from the phenomenon of the housing emergency, even more amplified when compared to the weakest segments of the population. In December last year, according to a survey by Cisl Fvg, there were 9,231 unfulfilled requests for social housing. In Italy, there were 319,000 families waiting for a social property, in Friuli Venezia Giulia more than 7,000. And yet there is no shortage of vacant homes, which could be reconverted: we are talking about almost 7 million properties in Italy, equal to 30% of the homes registered, and the same percentage is also found in our region, affecting both cities and peripheral areas, such as the mountains, now dramatically depopulated. In this context, the issue regarding young people is even more worrying. “The data speaks for itself – comments Vogrig – : in the last 10 years, over 30 thousand girls and boys have decided to leave. It is a phenomenon that does not slow down and that, as highlighted by various studies, is driven not only by economic motivations but by the overall quality of the working context, as well as the economic and social context in which companies find themselves operating . Investing in the attractiveness of our territory, in policies that allow living in the city at affordable prices even for the youngest, seems more urgent and necessary than ever . It is no coincidence that today we have decided to address a crucial issue such as housing, from different perspectives; from the attractiveness of the territories to housing policies, from the technical and regulatory tools, certainly indispensable, to imagine which model of development of the territory we want to invest in and, above all, what role we want to have as a cooperative movement, because cooperation can be a strategic ally, managing to hold together economy and rights, production and inclusion, development and social justice”.

Experts, cooperators and politicians in comparison

Hence the proposal of Legacoop, brought as an example in the speeches of the national president Gamberini and the vice president of Legacoop abitanti Busnelli . A housing plan that responds to the housing emergency that affects large segments of the population , especially in large urban areas, in full coherence with the models and guidelines recently defined by the European Union. It is a matter, as they have clarified, of building 20 thousand homes in ten years with an intervention of 4.9 billion euros, to be allocated to rent or assignment for enjoyment at sustainable rates, with a model that includes public-private partnership, the activation of specific financial instruments and actions supported by public and private resources, national and European, through the creation of a platform as aggregator and manager of these resources. All in full coherence with the models and guidelines recently defined by the European Union. “ It is urgent to arrive in this country at the definition of a housing plan – Gamberini underlined –. We would like to give our contribution and make available our cooperative experience in the housing sector both to the national government and to the Italian regions and municipalities, participating as stakeholders in the construction of a national housing plan aimed not only at the most fragile social groups typical of social housing, but, above all, at groups of the population that struggle to find a home at affordable prices especially in the metropolitan and urban areas of greater socio-economic dynamism”.

Proposals also shared by regional politics. “It is necessary to work on many different contexts – explained Amirante –. The first theme is to review urban planning laws, limiting land consumption and regenerating the existing. Then there is the theme of the gray band, I am thinking of student workers, but not only, where the theme of public-private partnership is very important, and which we wanted to address with the latest bill, enhancing the role of Ater, the Third Sector and cooperation”. A commitment that is in step with another department, the one led by Rosolen who, in her speech, underlined how "the issue of housing must necessarily interconnect with everything that revolves around it, starting with services. In the next 10 years - the councilor explained - we will have 13 thousand fewer young people, 33 thousand fewer young working adults and 33 thousand more elderly people. The issue of housing impacts all of this, from students to people who leave their homes empty because, for health reasons, they are forced to turn to private facilities for assistance".