What happened at the AGM?

Over 130 people from co-operatives across the UK attended a packed Co-operatives UK AGM last Friday, 25 May in Manchester.

Major decisions made on the evening included the launch of consultation on the governance of Co-operative College and a revision of Co-operatives UK’s membership categories.

Following presentations by Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, Phil Holmes, Finance Manager at Co-operatives UK and Paul Somerfield of the Co-operative College, there were question and answer sessions with participation across the audience. 

Dirk Lehnhoff, a leader in the German co-operative finance sector DGRV, closed the formal proceedings with a keynote speech highlighting the scale and role of the co-operative sector in Germany, noting that the co-operative banking accounts for around 25% of the banking sector in the country, providing it with a secure base.

This was for the first time in Co-operatives UK’s history that the AGM was a stand alone event, rather than part of the annual conference.

This was because Co-operatives UK has moved Congress to form part of Co-operatives United, the culminating event of the International Year of Co-operatives taking place in Manchester from 29 October to 2 November.

Commenting on this year’s AGM, the Guardian wrote: “Co-operatives UK can now legitimately claim to represent most segments of Britain's diverse co-operative sector . . . everyone seemed to pull together.” Read the full article here.

Thank you to all who voted in our recent elections.  We are pleased to announce that Bob Cannell, Alison Banton and Sion Whellens were elected to the Worker Co-operative Council. John Anderson, Robert Edgar and Philip Hartwell were elected to the Board of Directors.

What were you saying on Twitter?

@SharedInterest

Really looking forward to the Co-operatives UK AGM 2012! Meet us at our stall @CooperativesUK #CoopsUKAGM #Coops

@edmayo1

Off to the #CoopsUKAGM - happy days #coops

@PhilBeardmore

@CooperativesUK I am now watching the live stream of the #CoopsUKAGM from my garden! #coops #coops2012

@webarchcoop

It was great meeting other co-operators yesterday at the #CoopsUKAGM - looking forward to lots of future co-operation!

The #CoopsUKAGM tweets generated 445,900 impressions, reaching an audience of 41,499 followers. Co-operation in action!