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To mark the UN declaration of 2012 as International Year of Co-operatives, the Valencian Parliament read out a statement in support of co-operative institutional measures to boost growth.

In Valencia there are nearly 3,000 active co-operatives, employing over 78,000 people and they generate an economic volume of 18,000 billion euros.

On 9 May the Valencian Parliament has released a statement of support for the UN’s IYC, after it was unanimously accepted by all parliamentary groups.

The president of the Parliament and the Board of Spokespersons received a delegation that represented the Valencian co-operatives, led by the Regents of the Confederation of the Co-operatives of Valencia, which showed their willingness to collaborate with the Confederacy and take part in promotional activities.

The institutional statement was to promote the participation of the Valencian co-operatives, through their Confederation, by reflecting on social and economic issues.

It allowed the parliament to be a platform to help improve and expand the tools and resources available to the public in order to promote co-operatives and publicize this way of working to entrepreneurs.

As stated by the President of Confederación de Cooperativas, Emili Villaescusa: "The unanimous decision reflects the support of the Valencian people of a business model deeply rooted and widespread in this area, which includes one in three people in this region.

“It also represents a boost to a unique way of looking at economics, the prevailing attitude of ongoing collaboration, respect and trust in others, as well as pluralism, tolerance and sustainability."

Emili Villaescusa added: "We understand this statement as an acknowledgment of public authorities that co-operatives are an example for equitable wealth creation and employment generation for stable, quality, and we trust that it is a step towards helping increase awareness of the need to promote the co-operative movement."

Since its establishment in 1989, Confederación de Cooperativas is the biggest organisation representing co-operatives in Valencia, and brings together all sectoral federations. During 2012, its challenge is to create conditions which allow people to promote and spread the values of the co-operative, so that it influences the Valencian society and economy, boosting the real economy.

It has never been easy for co-operatives to find their way into the pages of the Globe and Mail, the daily newspaper of choice for Canada's business elite.  But the International Year of Co-operatives has changed all that.

On May 15, the Globe published an eight-page special report entitled "The Power of Co-operatives", sponsored by the Canadian Co-operative Association and the International Summit of Cooperatives and funded by advertising from several major Canadian co-operative organizations.

With a front page bearing the headline "Ethical values underpin global movement", the special report included stories on virtually every aspect of the Canadian co-operative sector, from credit unions to car sharing co-ops; from agricultural co-ops to the role of the Canadian co-op movement in international development; from co-op housing to the importance of co-ops in the Canadian Arctic.   There was also an article on the Summit, a major international co-op conference which will take place in Quebec City in October, and one on the global impact of co-operatives, quoting from the latest ICA Global 300 report. 

The report was peppered with quotes from Canadian co-op movement leaders, including Kathy Bardswick of The Co-operators (insurance); Monique Leroux of Desjardins  (financial group); Simon Robert of Agropur (dairy); and Tamara Vrooman of Vancity (credit union), as well as Claude Gauthier, president of the Canadian Co-operative Association, David Phillips, CEO of Credit Union Central of Canada and Nicholas Gazzard, executive director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. 

While the special report was not included in the electronic edition of the Globe, the newspaper made a .pdf version available for online use.  The .pdf can be downloaded at http://s.coop/coopsgm.

Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins will mark the International Year of Co-operatives in a national conference today.

Joining the country's President will be Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance, and over 200 Irish industry and public sector leaders along with Research & Innovation Minister Sean Sherlock.

This event at Croke Park, Dublin, has come about through an alliance of the three major co-operative groupings in Ireland — the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS), NABCO (the National Association of Building Co-operatives) and the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU). 

The national conference will be chaired by economist David McWilliams. It will address 'The Way Forward' for co-operative enterprise and will identify how co-operative developments can contribute to the renewal and recovery of the economy, the growth of indigenous enterprises, sustainable jobs creation on a regional and national basis and the overall future competitiveness of Ireland.

A statement from the organisations said: "In this United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, the establishment of new indigenous co-operative businesses has an important role to play in the growth of our economy for the future. There are opportunities for development and expansion by co-operatives that are market focused, well governed and strategic in their business development ambitions."

Seamus O’Donohoe, Chief Executive, ICOS, commented: “Ireland has a long and proud tradition of co-operative enterprise. As a sector we must share and widely promote the key attributes that have contributed to the success of co-operatives enterprises in Ireland.  Moreover, we must grasp this occasion to further advance and strengthen the business of co-operation for the future.”

Declan Hudson, Chairman, NABCO, said: “Co-operative enterprise has a vital role to play in Ireland’s social and economic renewal. This event provides the opportunity to recognise and support the contribution that co-operatives make through local democratic control of social and commercial enterprise to strengthening the communities in which they are based.”

Kieron Brennan, CEO, Irish League of Credit Unions, added: “2012 provides the opportunity for all co-operatives to actively highlight to their members, customers and their communities at large, the essential role that co-ops have to play in stimulating economic growth and societal well-being across Ireland for the future. We look forward to playing our part in promoting this agenda,”

The CEOs of ICOS, NABCO and the League of Credit Unions will highlight the role of their organisations and show what co-ops have already achieved during the day. They will also explore the challenges and opportunities for the future of co-operation in Ireland.

Other international experts who will address the conference include Peter Couchman, (Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation in Oxford), David Rodgers (President of ICA Housing) and Prof Gert van Dijk (Co-operative expert from the Netherlands and former President of COGECA – the organisation representing European agricultural and fishing co-ops). Other speakers are Jimmy Johnstone, President, Irish League of Credit Unions and Brian Branch, President, World Council of Credit Unions.

Smallholder farmers are at the forefront of a new campaign led by the Co-operative Group in association with Oxfam.

Grow Co-operative is encouraging people to sign a petition urging the UK Government to champion smallholder farmers and co-operatives at Rio+20 — the UN Conference on Sustainable Development — this June.

The aim of Grow Co-operative is to help sustainably feed the growing population and alleviate hunger and poverty.

One in seven people go to bed hungry every night and the global population is expected to increase by another two billion by 2050.

The face of the campaign is Betty, a smallholder farmer from Kenya. She has joined a co-operative, and now she can pool her resources with other farmers to grow more food and secure fairer prices.

Around 500 million smallholder farmers in developing countries feed and support nearly a third of the world’s population.

The Rio+20 conference is happening from 20–22 June and the Co-operative Group believe “this could be the first major opportunity to get smallholder farmers and co-operatives firmly on the international agenda".

Therefore they are asking the UK Government to champion: fair and sustainable methods of increasing global food production, the crucial role of smallholder farmers and co-operatives, and increased investment in sustainable smallholder agriculture to lift farmers — many of whom are women — out of poverty.

The co-operative is hoping to get thousands of signatures from campaigning postcards through their own and Oxfam’s member magazines, as well as members taking action online at www.oxfam.org.uk/rio

The internationally renowned digital arts festival, FutureEverything, will be celebrating co-operation as part of it’s annual conference this week.

At first glance; the co-operative movement and digital media may not seem to have much in common. However Drew Hemment, the Founder and Director of FutureEverything, argues that they are more alike than people might think.

He explained: “On the one hand you’ve got a tradition in the co-operative movement that dates to 1844 and has given rise to these values that everyone understands. Then you’ve this much newer phenomenon, with which it has so much in common and I think that’s quite remarkable.

“I don’t assume that they’re the same but I think that there’s something deep in the DNA of each one, and there’s some real commonalities.”

Drew could easily be described as a bit of a geek, with his Jarvis Cocker-esque glasses and bubbling enthusiasm about the subject at hand. He has worked in digital culture for over 15 years and admits himself that ten years ago it was “a world of a few geeks".

Digital culture has moved on since then, with platforms like Twitter and huge political upheavals such as Occupy and the Arab Spring, it has firmly found its place in the mainstream.

This year the theme of the festival is FutureEverybody and has taken the International Year of Co-operatives as one of it’s influences.

Drew has always seen a link between the co-operative movement and what he describes as open source culture, a term used for people co-operating and sharing ideas online. One of the most prominent examples of the success of open source culture is the computer operating software Linux.

Drew noted: “It was a new way of working, a new way of co-operation which started from the premise; if I open up what I do and I share, in this case my source code, other people can build on it, fix it, change it, improve it.”

He explained that open source software is now used by big corporations such as IBM, Google and even Microsoft: “It’s been proven that the model of co-operation and collaboration works. It’s better.”

FutureEverything will be taking place between 16–21 May and will include art exhibitions, mass participatory events, music, digital arts games and the annual conference with speakers: Birgitta Jónsdóttir, who will speak on the Icelandic modern media initiative, and Mark Robinson-Field from the Co-operative Group's membership department, among others.

Drew believes that the nature of co-operation has changed in the post internet world. He said that before when the movement came into being, the world was organised into “big homogenous blocks”.

He added: “Today society doesn’t work like that, you still do have these big entities but the way that people co-operate isn’t solely mediated or channeled through these big entities. What tends to happen is you get individuals coming together and co-operating and collaborating on a much more ad hoc basis.

“I think that really cuts to a real key distinction in the character of co-operation today and you get both wonderful politically powerful moments coming from that, but also you’re less able to co-ordinate as a block.”

The festival will see a number of events based on co-operation and mass participation over the seven days.

From Wednesday, 8,000 additional commuters will be joining the morning rush in a project called Human Resources by Lawrence Epps. The commuters will be miniature hand made ceramic figurines and will be placed in surprise locations around Manchester.

The project is sponsored by the Co-operative Group and people are being encouraged to take the figures with them and create their own story using video or photographs. Epps has done this once before and the figurines have ended up as far away as Canada and Australia.

Other events include Handmade, at the Victoria baths, looking at the new maker culture connecting traditional skills with digital production and techniques and Voices & Fanfare, by SuperCritical Mass, a huge sound performance installation where the audience can interact by moving about or sitting and absorbing.

The festival will also be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Mass Observation Movement, which along with the Co-operative Movement also comes from Manchester.

Drew says it feels good to be holding the festival where these two important movements began: “I think it’s fair to say it’s a source of pride to us, that we share a home with Manchester that gave rise to these traditions.”

The festival began in Manchester in 1995, under the name Futuresonic, it strives to look at how digital media is changing the world and how we can bring the future to the present. It is one of the longest running digital media festivals in the world.

• More details about the festival can be found at: www.futureeverything.org

Students in Manchester were left smiling as they waved off a 1970s camper van on its national tour to drive awareness of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.

The van, ran by the Co-operative Group, is set to go on a six month tour of the UK to show how “co-operatives make the world smile”.

Mark Robinson-Field, National Co-operative and Membership Manager for the Co-operative Group, said: “During its tour the camper van will bring the co-operative message to thousands of would-be co-operators as well as giving our members and customers a chance to find out more about how co-operatives can make a real difference to everyone’s day-to-day lives.”

The Year 7 students from the Co-operative Academy of Manchester showed off their smiles as they got a tour of the van and received stickers, comedy smile postcards and a make-your-own mini model of the iconic van itself.

Kathy Leaver, Principal of The Co-operative Academy of Manchester, said: “The van is great fun and a unique way to engage our first year students about the benefits of co-operation.

“It forms part of our commitment to work co-operatively and enable young people from across North Manchester to experience education in a creative, vibrant and caring environment which motivates them to achieve their full potential.”

The public are also being asked to share a smile online for the chance to win £100 of shopping vouchers from the Co-operative Food.

Mr Robinson-Field continued: "The camper van tour is a an engaging way to highlight the significant contribution of co-operatives to world-wide socio-economic development  and forms part of our activities to mark the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.”

The vehicle will visit hundreds of places on its tour to promote co-operatives for 2012.

For more information and, the chance to win £100 of Co-operative shopping vouchers, visit www.co-operative.coop/smiletour

US co-operators made history last week as 150 co-operative leaders from across the country attended a national briefing at the White House on Friday May 4.

The briefing gave the co-op leaders the opportunity to discuss how co-operatives could spur on economic recovery through job creation and investment into the community with top level policy makers at the White House.

The leaders were greeted by the White House Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, on behalf of the President. A member of a credit union himself, he said: “It is an honor to have so many of you here, that as part of the cooperative community you are building our American economy and creating jobs.”

This was followed by opening remarks from White House staff and Liz Bailey, the Interim President for National Cooperative Business Association who organised the event.

The co-op leaders then took part in a listening session run by Jon Carson, the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, followed by a number of breakout sessions with officials from the Treasury, Domestic Policy Council, the USDA and the SBA.

Many of the leaders were impressed with the reaction from the White House staff and enjoyed the chance to network with other co-op leaders.

Vernon Oakes, President, National Association of Housing Cooperatives (NAHC) said: “I felt that they heard us and they will do what they can. The responsibility for promoting the cooperative business is ours. We have to create our own database and promote with and through them. I met some new friends in the coop world.”

Paul Hazen, Executive Director, OCDC said: “The White House is looking for actions that will spur the economy.  We offered a number of changes to Federal policy that will allow cooperatives to create jobs and increase incomes.”

It was the first-time such a wide ranging number of co-op leaders had attended an event of its kind.

Liz Bailey, the Interim President of the NCBA said: “When we assembled the delegation we intentionally invited a group that would include the widest possible swath of cooperators, as well as advocates for cooperatives. 

“In addition to assembling a group that would demonstrate the diversity of the co-operative community to the White House, our goal was to have the event foster some new conversations and collaborations among our own cooperative community.  I think we succeeded in meeting and exceeding both of those goals.”

The event ended with a group picture of all the leaders who took part to capture this important moment in US co-op history.

Members of the President’s policy team making formal presentations in the opening remarks were in order of appearance: Greg, Nelson, Deputy Director for Private Sector Outreach; Judy Canales, Deputy Under Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); Danielle Gray, Deputy Assistant to the President, National Economic Council and Carlos Monje, Chief of Staff, Domestic Policy Council.

The briefing was organised in celebration of the United Nations’ 2012 International Year of Co-operatives.

One hundred and fifty co-operative leaders from across America will be meeting with top policy makers in the White House today to share their success stories and discuss how their organisations can help to spur on economic recovery.

As part of the event Senior Obama Administration Officials will meet with the co-op leaders in breakout sessions to discuss small business development, job creation, innovative agriculture programs and financial cooperatives.

The Administration will also hear stories of the successful co-operatives such as Cooperative Care and Home Care Associates, which are worker cooperatives that offer quality in-home care for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill and Resident-owned Communities (ROC) USA, which helped provide affordable housing for those living on low incomes by allowing owners of manufactured and mobile homes to co-operatively purchase the land beneath their structures.

The event will begin with a briefing by the Administration and has been organised by the National Co-operative Business Association who provide support to help to start grow co-operatives across a variety of sectors.

Liz Bailey, interim president and chief executive officer of the National Cooperative Business Association said: "Every day cooperatives around the U.S. are stimulating the economy and we are pleased to have the opportunity to discuss our successes in job creation and ways to use the cooperative model to continue to strengthen communities large and small."

There are 29,000 co-operative businesses currently in America today. They cover industries including: agriculture, healthcare, financial services and credit unions. They account for more than $3 trillion in assets, over $500 billion in total revenue and $25 billion in wages and benefits.

Ms Bailey went on to explain: "Two million jobs are generated each year as a direct result of cooperatives, which illustrates the incredible impact that these organizations have on local economies."

The White House Leaders Briefing is a weekly program that allows community leaders to speak to the White House about issues that are affecting their communities.  

Co-operatives around the world have launched a social media campaign to raise the profile of the International Year of Co-operatives.

Key organisations are calling for Twitter and Facebook users to back the Year by displaying a special message on their profile pictures.

Using the Twibbon service, social media users can show their support in just a few clicks, which will add the official United Nations' logo to the supporter's avatar.

The promotion is a joint initiative between the International Co-operative Alliance, Global News Hub, Co-operatives UK, National Co-operative Business Association, Canadian Co-operative Association and Euricse, through a social media discussion group between the bodies.

Eric DeLuca, who chairs this international social media work group and is the Year's Program Manager at the NCBA, told the News: “Social media provides a unique, cost-effective, and increasingly accessible communication platform for the one billion co-op member-owners worldwide.

“The International Year of Co-operatives twibbon represents a simple gesture that demonstrates how co-op members and cooperative enterprises around the globe are powerfully connected with each other. The bottom line in that connection is meeting human needs and strengthening communities, which translates into jobs and economic resilience.”

• To add the Twibbon to your Facebook or Twitter account, join the campaign page: twibbon.com/join/UN-Year-of-Co-operatives-3. The campaign can also be adopted by other co-operative organisations in various languages. Currently designs are available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian. For more details, contact the Global News Hub.

27 March 2012

"Farmers and co-ops go hand in hand" writes Richard O'Leary, IYC 2012 Director and CEO of Macleay Regional Co-operative Ltd (85 on Australia's Top 100 list of co-operative, mutuals and credit unions).

"Farmers and co-ops go hand in hand" writes Richard O'Leary, IYC 2012 Director and CEO of Macleay Regional Co-operative Ltd (85 on Australia's Top 100 list of co-operative, mutuals and credit unions).

It is interesting that 2012 has been chosen as the Year of the Farmer, it is also the UN Year of Co-operatives. Both groups have seized the opportunity given by the Australian Government and the United Nations to showcase their respective organisation, their  members and enormous community values.

Farmers and Co-operatives go hand in hand; the late 1880's saw farmers forming supply, processing & marketing co-operatives to protect their farming business, their communities and families.  Today farmers, use their owned Co-operatives such as Co-operative Bulk Handling Ltd [Australia's biggest Co-operative, revenue $2.63 billion, 10/11 year], Murray Goulburn Co-operative Limited [second biggest, $2.24 billion, 10/11],  Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative [7th biggest, $.456 million, 10/11 year], Norco Co-operative [10th biggest, $.345million, 10/11 year], Namoi Cotton [11th biggest, $.322 million 10/11 year], Geraldton Fisherman's Co-op [21st biggest $145 million], NSW Sugar Milling Co-op [23rd biggest, $131 million, 10/11 year].

The farmers year will celebrate the hard work that the 136,000 farming households across Australia give to the Australian economy; $405 billion each year to GDP, that is a 27% contribution. A snapshot of the Mid North Coast of NSW [MNC] shows the importance of agriculture even in the coastal  region .The total output for the MNC was $20.237 billion. Agriculture was $1 billion of this. MNC regional exports were $4.304 billion; agriculture was $450 million of this. On the MNC, agriculture employed 4.74% of the workforce.

Both organisations, Co-operatives and Farmers Groups have put considerable planning into the year. They have had Australian Mint 2012 $1 Commemorate Coins minted as collector coin packages. Co-operatives have also have a 2012 commemorative pre-stamp envelope and stamp sheets issued by Australia Post.

The NSW Farmers members at their last AGM moved a motion that gave support to Co-operatives and reinforced the long history of the vital partnership between farmers and Co-operatives and their members.  Both groups have many events planned, these events build on the strong community connections, values and continuing education about their respective exposure to regional, national and international worth.

Richard O'Leary
Director IYC Secretariat 2012 Limited
Member of The Devon Society, NSW Farmers & many Co-operatives including Macleay Regional Co-operative Ltd

28 March 2012

Earthworker Cooperative's work to micro-finance the purchase of the factory equipment for Eureka's Future Workers Cooperative through recruitment to its 100,000 Australians Campaign has started.

Earthworker Cooperative's work to micro-finance the purchase of the factory equipment for Eureka's Future Workers Cooperative through recruitment to its 100,000 Australians Campaign has started.

At $AU20 per member, Earthworker Cooperative will have the factory equipment for the Cooperative, which will manufacture solar hot water systems in Morwell, Victoria. After Morwell, it is planned to establish Eureka's Future Workers Cooperatives in other carbon dependant areas of Australia.

Earthworker Cooperative Project Officer, Dave Kerin, recently addressed the Fair Share Festival in Newcastle and also met with union representatives while he was there. New members resulted, as well as the beginnings of an active Newcastle Earthworker Cooperative, which will assist in ushering in the second Eureka's Future Workers Cooperative factory, to be established in that city.

On 28 April 2012, Kerin will speak at the Australian Climate Action Summit to be held at the University of Western Sydney. Importantly, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) National Council has in the last two weeks committed to a tour of their Australian workplaces to recruit to Earthworker Cooperative.

Throughout April, the State Branches of the MUA will hold their AGMs to affirm the national decision.

“This is the most exciting time to get involved, so we ask everyone to view the link and get involved in the Earthworker Cooperative, to help build this innovative approach," said Kerin.

To get involved go to the Cooperative’s blog: http://earthworkercooperative.com/

29 March 2012

The 2012 National Housing Co-operatives Conference was held on 8-9 March 2012 to celebrate that housing is just the beginning and that Housing Co-operatives have achieved so much more than that.

The 2012 National Housing Co-operatives Conference was held on 8-9 March 2012 to celebrate that housing is just the beginning and that Housing Co-operatives have achieved so much more than that.

Common Equity Housing Limited and South East Housing Co-operative Limited partnered with bankmecu to create an opportunity for Housing Co-operative members from around Australia to come together share their stories celebrate their triumphs and mark that 2012 is the International Year of Co-operatives.

The first day of the conference attracted 308 attendees a mix of Housing Co-operative members, housing service professionals, building industry professionals and academics all eager to listen to and learn from the experiences of the guest speakers Mervyn Wilson, Rowan Dowland and Richard O’Leary and also the members of the Housing Co-operatives who volunteered to present on their varied Housing Co-operatives.

The day was uplifting, encouraging and moving at times with the stories of how co-operatives have been able to build communities and create opportunities which otherwise would never have been possible, The way becoming a member of a Housing Co-operative has dramatically and positively changed the lives of members and their families.

We also had the academic rationalization of how the money spent to create a Housing Co-operative has had a substantial and quantitative social return on that initial investment.

The second day of the conference was a bus tour for Housing Co-operative members to see firsthand a number of the different models of housing types and styles which are currently being used by Common Equity Housing Limited.

These included Dandenong Harmony Village a Housing Co-operative for those over 55, and Murundaka Co Housing Community (which is part of the larger Earth Housing Co-op).  Earth is an intentional community sharing concerns about their environmental footprint and are committed to live in a way that reduces their impact.

The two days were very much a celebration of the richness and diversity of housing co-ops in Australia – the Conference motto “Housing is just the beginning” being the catch-cry throughout.

Read more on the CEHL website

29 March 2012

Co-ops have been getting a lot of attention as these recent news clips show.

Co-ops have been getting a lot of attention as these recent news clips show:

• The Age interview with Michael Short
• On The Drum with Annabel Crabbe
• On Radio National Breakfast with Fran Kelly
• Dame Pauline on bankmecu TV
• ABC Radio with Michael Janda
• Regional coverage:
  • Dame puts stamp on co-ops, WA Business News
  • Hepburn Wind to feature on stamps, Hepburn Advocate
  • Co-operatives given a stamp of approval, Western Advocate
  • Cooperatives and Catholic social teaching, CathNews
  • Stamp to Celebrate International Year of Co-operatives, Pro Bono Australia

Starting in April, thousands of Canadian consumers will get a taste of the International Year of Co-operatives when they butter their toast or put sour cream on their baked potato.

Gay Lea Foods, the largest dairy co-op in the province of Ontario, will feature the IYC logo and the words "your local farmer-owned co-operative" on the foil liners in tubs of its spreadable butter, Nordica cottage cheese and sour cream. Gay Lea is the first major Canadian producer co-operative to include a message about the International Year on its products.

"We are doing this because Gay Lea Foods is proud to be a co-operative and wishes all consumers to know that co-operatives truly do make a difference," said Michael Barrett, chief operational officer for Gay Lea.

The IYC liners will be included in the Gay Lea products until the end of 2012.
 

14 March 2012

Ken Pickering, Executive Manager Professional Development, AM Institute recaps the successful AM Institute 2012 Business Strategy Forum held on 3-4 March 2012 in Manly Sydney.

Ken Pickering, Executive Manager Professional Development, AM Institute recaps the successful AM Institute 2012 Business Strategy Forum held on 3-4 March 2012 in Manly Sydney.

“Leaders from Australian credit unions, mutual building societies and mutual banks gathered for the annual AM Business Strategy Forum designed to provide a wide ranging environmental scan as input for their respective strategic planning processes.

The Forum kicked off with an economic and mutual sector briefing from Dr Ric Simes, a partner at Deloitte Access Economics and Mark Degotardi, Head of Public Affairs Abacus Australian Mutuals. The messages included a realisation that whilst Australia is in a strong economic position relative to many of the developed nations the economy will have to work its way through ongoing structural change for the next decade, which will cause its fair share of pain along with new opportunities. On the regulatory front there is a ‘locomotive’ of changes unfolding with Sunday 1 July dubbed Super Sunday when a plethora of new legislation comes into operation.

Gerard Hermens, Director Strategic Learning Partnerships, focused on business strategy using the Blue Ocean strategic Thinking Tool and encouraged mutual leaders to rethink how they might deliver the customer value proposition given the changing marketplace. LOUD Agency executives, Lorraine Jokovic, CEO, and Russell Naughton, Head of Strategy & Innovation, drew on extensive market research to suggest some clear direction around brand positioning in challenging times.

The world of co-operatives was introduced in the third session, with Mervyn Wilson, Principle and Chief Executive of the Co-operative College in the United Kingdom, providing a fascinating insight into global developments in the co-operative sector running on the back of the post GFC fallout and recovery initiatives. Rowan Dowland, General Manager Development bankmecu, provided valuable insight into the strategic direction of Australia’s first mutual bank and suggested a number of opportunities where credit unions and co-operatives might explore business to business opportunities.

Pauline Vamos, CEO of Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia spoke about the magnitude of regulatory change being rolled out for the sector and identified important potential opportunities for mutual ADIs to collaborate with like-minded superannuation funds.

Stresses in the global funding markets exacerbated by the looming new APRA Basel III Capital and Liquidity standards were explored by Cameron Rae, Director of the Laminar Group and Paul Smith, partner at King & Wood Mallesons.

Rocky Scopelliti, National General Manager Industry Development Telstra Enterprise and Government drew on recent research completed for the insurance sector to demonstrate market developments particular in the mobile area. Julian Peterson, Sales & Marketing Director Australia Pacific for dianomi provided insight into changing consumer behaviour online, effect of mobile, tablets and new technology. Julian also showed how companies are marketing themselves in new ways through sponsored content, searches, social media and innovations.

Thanks for the highly successful forum are extended to the sponsors CGU Insurance, eftpos, NGS Super, First Data, Allianz, Quebec International 2012 Summit of Co-operatives, Dacono Holdings, ASL, TAS and Institute of Strategic Management.”

Copies of slide presentations can be viewed at www.aminstitute.org.au.

Contact

Ken Pickering, Executive Manager Professional Development AM Institute
T. 07 5446 4155
M. 0410 464 105       

8 March 2012

Co-operative businesses gave women equal voting rights almost a century before most parliaments of the world did. “On this International Women’s Day in 2012 which is also the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, I am asking co-operative businesses to follow that example and put more women at the core of their businesses”, said Dame Pauline Green, the first female president in the history of the world’s largest NGO, the International Co-operative Alliance.

Co-operatives have seen inspirational women from Dorimène Desjardins to modern-day hero Joyce Clague

Co-operative businesses gave women equal voting rights almost a century before most parliaments of the world did. “On this International Women’s Day in 2012 which is also the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, I am asking co-operative businesses to follow that example and put more women at the core of their businesses”, said Dame Pauline Green, the first female president in the history of the world’s largest NGO, the International Co-operative Alliance.

Dame Pauline pays tribute to women co-operative leaders in her IWD youtube message including our own Ambassador for Australia's IYC 2012 - Joyce Clague

PDF media release

Co-operatives are building a better world for women - Global News Hub

Canadian financial group The Co-operators has announced a pledge of $500,000 to the Global Development Co-operative (GDC).

Unveiled in November as the United Nations officially launched the International Year of Co-operatives, the GDC was designed to provide much-needed financing to co-operatives in the developing world.

The co-operative movement's role in contributing to social and economic development in communities around the world is acknowledged by the UN in the theme for 2012, Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World. However, they often have little access to funding through traditional lenders and often have limited collateral to put forward.

The GDC is a new entity guided by co-operative principles, which was developed by the UK’s Co-operative Bank and the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), which represents the global co-operative sector. Its goal is to raise US$50 million in order to provide low-cost loans for capital and infrastructure projects to co-operatives in developing countries. The GDC now has the backing of a number of co-operative businesses from around the world.

Kathy Bardswick, President and CEO of The Co-operators, said: “The Global Development Co-operative is an innovative way of allowing co-ops around the globe to support those in the developing world that play such important roles in bolstering sustainable economic development in their communities. This will be an important legacy of the International Year of Co-operatives, which will empower people and help them lift themselves out of poverty for a long time after 2012.”

Dame Pauline Green, President of ICA, said: “We’re delighted The Co-operators is supporting the Global Development Co-operative and joining other members to help communities in the developing world. With the global movement now working closer together than ever before as a result of the international year, we believe many other businesses from across the movement will want to play a part in this initiative.” 

Separately, The Co-operators has also pledged the same amount, $500,000, to a similar initiative in Canada run by the Co-operative Development Foundation under the Build a Better World campaign.

The ICA estimates that the global co-operative sector has one billion members – one-seventh of the world’s population – and accounts for 100 million jobs. Canada’s 9,000 co-ops operate in virtually every sector of the economy, have a combined membership of 18 million and employ 150,000 people. All co-operatives are guided by a set of seven principles. The GDC is an example of the sector living up to the sixth principle: co-operation among co-operatives.

The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF) has launched a campaign to raise $12 million for global co-operative development over the next four years.

Money raised through the Build a Better World campaign will allow the CDF's parent body, the Canada Co-operative Association, to pursue three key objectives through its  development program — Leadership, Leveraging, and Legacy. The campaign will seek support from co-operatives, credit unions, businesses associated with the co-operative movement, and individuals. Already, more than $1 million has been pledged.

Financial co-operative, The Co-operators has committed $500,000 to the campaign to help build a legacy from the International Year. Kathy Bardswick, President and CEO of The Co-operators, said: "Throughout the developing world, co-ops are supporting local economies by producing much-needed products and services while creating jobs and developing people's skills. We're pleased to lend our support, particularly during the International Year of Co-operatives, to help build a legacy that will make a real difference in people's lives for many years beyond 2012."

Gay Lea Foods Co-operative has also pledged $400,000 to the campaign, which has largely been driven by staff who have helped to contribute more than $300,000 to the CDF over the past few years through fundraising activities. Gay Lea Board Chair Mark Hamel said: "When we chose the slogan 'The World is Our Community, Ontario is Our Home', we were thinking about the poverty reduction work that CDF supports around the world.

"We are proud of the efforts our staff and members have made to support CDF. This is the International Year of Co-operatives — a good time to make a clear statement that as a co-operative Gay Lea is a committed participant in the co-operative effort to end poverty around the world."

CDF Board Chair Michael Barrett said the campaign was inspired by the theme of the UN's International Year of Co-operatives, Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World. He said: "Co-operatives are among the most effective tools in reducing and eliminating poverty, and our long association with the international development program of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) has proven that time and time again through hundreds of projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We believe that 2012, the International Year of Co-operatives, is the perfect time to take our support for poverty reduction to a new level."

The campaign will be run under the direction of a cabinet co-chaired by Glen Tully, President of Federated Co-operatives Limited; Myrna Bentley, retired CEO of Concentra Financial Services Association; and John Harvie, retired CEO of Co-op Atlantic.

Added Mr Barrett: "CCA has always been a leader in international co-operative development, but additional resources will allow it to more aggressively pursue innovation and excellence in co-operative poverty reduction. With the resources we provide through the campaign, CCA will also be able to leverage substantial additional funds from the major international development funders. And we want to help CCA build a lasting legacy of prosperity and peace through its partners around the world." 

The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF) is a registered charitable organisation. It raises money, mostly from Canadian co-operatives and co-op members, to help alleviate poverty by building and strengthening financial and non-financial co-ops in developing countries. Working with the Canadian Co-operative Association and other partners, CDF helps poor communities fight poverty and create more secure lives through community-owned co-ops.

• For more about CDF, visit: www.cdfcanada.coop

The Co-operators, a Canadian insurance co-operative, hoists an International Year of Co-operatives banner on its headquarters building in Guelph, Ontario. The building is located across the street from the city’s train station, making it visible to hundreds of passengers every day.

A UK co-operative is shouting loud about the International Year of Co-operatives on the side of its distribution trucks.

Midlands Co-operative, the second largest consumer co-operative in Britain, is raising awareness of the year with a fifteen-foot high message proclaiming its support for the Year.

Hundreds of thousands of people across its trading area, which includes almost 400 food, travel, funeral and non-food branches. The society also has almost one million members and 8,500 staff.
 
The vehicles were created by Leicester Carriage Builders (LCB) which became part Midlands Co-operative Society back in 1995 through the merger of the former Leicester and Central Midlands Societies. The business established in 1903, offer conversion and specialist vehicle services, producing bespoke vehicles for a wide range of customers in both the public and private sector.

LCB has recently built five vehicles, equipped with a series of environmental friendly features for the society retail distribution fleet. Two of these vehicles have been branded to show support to the International Year of Co-operatives.

Robin Farrell, Head of Distribution for Midlands Co-operative Society, said: “The retail distribution team has been working closely with Leicester Carriage Builders to create a new fleet of five vehicles that are not only environmental friendly but also have the latest safety features. We are proud to have two of these vehicles out on the roads supporting the International Year of Co-operatives.”

Using vehicles such as Iveco Daily, Ford Transit and Mercedes vans, LCB also produce coaches, buses and minibuses, accessible vehicles, mobile libraries, mobile youth centres, bullion carriers, cash-in-transit vehicles, and even mobile radar bases.

Rick Johnson, Operations Manager for Leicester Carriage Builders, said: “We have a team of highly skilled engineers that work for a number of national clients producing vehicles such as mobile libraries and accessible vehicles to coaches and bullion carriers.”

LCB also install crash tested floor systems and seat tracking, diesel and water saloon heaters, climate control systems, on-board and under-floor tail lifts, retractable steps, luggage racks, driver and passenger safety equipment.

• For more information about Leicester Carriage Builders visit www.leicestercarriagebuilders.co.uk and for more about Midlands Co-operative, visit: www.midlands.coop