The second Mondragón City Challenge shall take place in line with the proposed phases and dates set out below.
10/09 - 28/10
Phase 0: registration of international teams
International teams will propose an idea for a cooperative business project To take part in the second Mondragón City Challenge, students from secondary schools, intermediate/higher education or university students must:
- Put together a team of between 2 and 4 people.
- Choose a challenge to tackle from among the following:
- Technical and digital challenge: digitisation, cybersecurity, etc
- Health and social challenge: pandemic risks, health system,etc
- Energy and climate challenge: sustainable and smart mobility, etc
- Describe the idea of the business project that the team would like to develop in a maximum of 20 lines. It must be built on a cooperative management model.
- Register on the www.mondragoncitychallenge.com website by filling in the form before October 28, 2022.
29/10 - 16/11
Phase 1: selection of 20 projects by the technical jury
The technical jury, made up of Leartibai Fundazioa and Saiolan, experts in driving the creation of new businesses, will select the 20 projects with the greatest potential for development from all the proposals received. They will be published on the www.mondragoncitychallenge.com website on November 17, 2022.
19/11 - 06/02
Phase 2: the 20 teams that qualify will develop their projects
The 20 teams selected will develop the idea for their cooperative business project launched during the registration period. To this end, they will work with the following guidelines (download "Guidelines for the Cooperative Business Project").
Tutors from ASEKOOP (Asesores Seniors Cooperativistas) and the Association of Friends of Arizmendiarrieta will be involved throughout the process, and will support and assist the teams selected, based on their extensive experience as former managers of various cooperative companies.
The organisation will be responsible for assigning a tutor to each group based on the experience that each one can provide. Likewise, training shall be given throughout the process to broaden the range of tools available and enhance the quality of each project.
February 6 will be the last day for submitting the final document via the website.
08/02 - 08/03
Phase 3: selection of 6 finalists by the professional jury
The professional jury will thoroughly analyse each of the 20 projects using common assessment criteria.
The quality of the project, its suitability in terms of fulfilling the objectives, coherence with the cooperative management model chosen, the possibility of realising the idea and its originality will be assessed.
The 6 finalists of the second Mondragón City Challenge will be revealed on March 8.
09/03 - 16/04
Phase 4: preparation of a defence by the 6 finalists
The 6 finalists will have from March 9 to April 16 to prepare the final defence of their projects, which will be held on April 21.
Each team will have a maximum of 8 minutes to present their proposal and aspects such as communication skills, support resources and/or material and the quality of responses to questions asked by the professional jury after their presentation will be assessed.
Presentations must be submitted in advance to the organisation, with a deadline of April 17.
17-18/04 - 20/04
Phase 5: cooperative itineraries and activities of the 20 teams in Mondragón
The 20 teams that qualify will enjoy a variety of activities and socialising to enrich the experience. The organisation shall be responsible for funding the travel and accommodation of the teams that qualify in the municipality of Mondragón, the home of cooperativism.
The participants will also get the chance to gain first-hand knowledge of the activity of a cooperative company through Cooperative Itineraries and to learn about the specifics of democratic management governed by the principle of equality and equity among partners. Participants shall also receive advice from professionals in relation to their project.
21/04
Phase 6: defence by the 6 finalists and selection of the winners at the final in Mondragón
The Amaia Municipal Theatre in Mondragón will be the venue for the second consecutive year for the final the Mondragón City Challenge. On April 21, 2023, the 6 finalists will defend their projects and the professional jury will announce the winners.
The event shall be attended by the 6 finalists accompanied by their classmates, the jury, the tutors, the mentoring companies, the other teams that did not qualify and the promoters of the competition. Other types of activities shall also be held to make the day more enjoyable.
