The theme for the International Day of Cooperatives 2011 has been selected
Dame Pauline Green, keynote speaker at the CCA’s Institute of Cooperative Leadership
Klaus Niederländer appointed new Director of Cooperatives Europe
Positioning co-operatives as the important solution they represent
More about Institutional life
Canadian co-operators have given a warm welcome to Dame Pauline Green, who made her first official visit to Canada since her election as president of the International Co-operative Alliance in 2009.
Dame Pauline Green, the former chief executive of Co-operatives UK and the first woman to head the ICA, met with co-operators in Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto and was the keynote speaker at the Canadian Co-operative Association’s Institute of Co-operative Leadership on February 9.
In addition to speaking at the Institute, Dame Pauline met with the Hon. Jean-Pierre Blackburn, who is responsible for co-operatives in his capacity as Minister of State (Agriculture). The main subject of their meeting was the 2012 International Year of Co-operatives, and the need for Canada to show leadership in promoting the co-operative model during 2012.
The International Year was also a major focus of her Institute speech in Toronto. Dame Pauline cited both the global economic situation and 2012 as major opportunities for the co-operative movement to increase its public visibility.
"We have a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to really punch above our weight by creating an unparalleled global profile and visibility for the global (co-operative) movement," she told more than 60 co-op and credit union leaders attending the three-day Institute.
She said the International Year "offers us a one-off opportunity to deal with one of our key problems - the lack of a global profile for the co-operative model of enterprise. We will never have such a good chance to redress than imbalance as that given to us by 2012, and we must ensure that we use it to maximum effect."
Dame Pauline’s other activities in Canada included an International Development Week brunch in Quebec City organized by SOCODEVI, a Quebec international co-operative development organization. She also met with such co-operative sector leaders as Monique Leroux (Desjardins) and Kathy Bardswick (The Co-operators) as well as the staff of CCA, the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité (CCCM), the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, and the federal government’s Rural and Co-operatives Secretariat.
Source: CCA
