Invitation
Cooperatives of the Americas, Region of the International Cooperative Alliance, as the cooperative integration body of the American continent, the Confederation of Colombian Cooperatives (CONFECOOP) and member organizations of the Alliance in Colombia call on the region’s cooperative movement and other organizations of the social economy to participate in the III Cooperative Summit of the Americas, in Cartagena de Indias, November 2-7, 2014.
The slogan of the III Cooperative Summit, “Integration that Generates a Social Change,” synthesizes the purpose of the meeting: to promote integration among cooperatives and strengthen ties with other stakeholders toward social change desired in the Americas. This event will analyze the current situation, discuss proposals and define joint initiatives for the development of cooperative movement and the international community.
Four main themes have been organized:
Theme 1: Integration and Social Cohesion
Theme 2: Innovation for Transformation of Society
Theme 3: Growth, Internationalization and Identity
Theme 4: New Society and Cooperative Outlook
As part of the analysis, face-to-face activities will be held beforehand in several countries along with discussions on social networks to gather knowledge serving as input at the November event in Cartagena. The summit’s participatory methodology broadens perspective on the integration of efforts toward generating a social change, and consists of:
a) Roundtables with input from Discussion Documents and contributions from the national seminars and social networks on Summit themes
b) Meetings, seminars and forums to obtain cooperatives’ particular approach from the Alliance sectoral and thematic organizations standpoint
In this summit Cooperatives of the Americas will include the International Seminar on Cooperative Development, with the active participation of Cooperatives Europe, the European region of the International Cooperative Alliance.
The III Cooperative Summit will conclude with a Declaration on the transformation process charted by the cooperative movement and the most significant social forces, with respect to the actual lives of people, their needs and their aspirations.
Cooperatives of the Americas and member organizations of the Alliance in Colombia are counting on you and your cooperative organization to join us at this exceptional event, revitalizing cooperative movement as fundamental referent at this juncture of important changes in the region.
