Joana Dias Pereira (IHC) and Rui Henriques (CHAM) were awarded the 2023 António Sérgio Cooperation and Solidarity Prize, in the Lusophone Studies and Research Category, for their book “História do Mutualismo nas Ex-Colónias Portuguesas” [History of Mutualism in Former Portuguese Colonies]. The award ceremony took place on Wednesday 24 January at Voz do Operário.

The award-winning work was the result of a collaborative project between the IHC and the União das Mutualidades Portuguesas, coordinated by Joana Dias Pereira, and sought to “identify the extent of the dissemination of the mutualist model in the territories of the former Portuguese colonies, its capacity for institutional adaptation and resilience, without disregarding the ancestral practices of informal reciprocity between local communities”. It can be downloaded, in open access, at this link.

Speaking to the União das Mutualidades Portuguesas, Joana Dias Pereira explained that “they carried out an exhaustive survey of the associations that were recognised by the colonial authorities” and also “research into colonial ethnography to identify the associations that were not recognised”. They concluded that mutualism was present in all the organisations, demonstrating that “it is a practice of collective action that cuts across different cultures and different geographical, economic and political situations”, including the colonial one, where it played an important role.

The António Sérgio Cooperation and Solidarity Prize is awarded by CASES – Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social [António Sérgio Cooperative for the Social Economy] and, in the 2023 edition, it honoured seven projects in five different categories. Created in 2012, “it is intended to honour the persons and institutions who, each year, have most distinguished themselves in areas relevant to the Social Economy”.