Co-operatives - local, national, international news
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For Immediate Release:
Co-op Week 2011 to promote IYC2012 theme: Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World
Canada's co-operative sector will get a head start at promoting the 2012 UN International Year of Co-operatives during this year's Co-op Week in October.
Canada's two national co-operative associations, the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité (CCCM) have announced that Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World/Les coopératives, des entreprises pour un monde meilleur will be the theme of Co-op Week 2011, which will take place from October 16-22. The International Year slogan will also be used as the theme for Co-op Month in the United States, which also takes place in October. In addition, the United Nations official launch of the International Year is tentatively scheduled for the end of October.
The IYC2012 slogan has also been adapted for International Credit Union Day (October 20), which will use the theme Credit Unions Build a Better World.
An international committee of representatives from CCA, CCCM, Credit Union Central of Canada, the Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité (CQCM), the World Council of Credit Unions, the U.S. National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in the U.S. collaborated to align the theme and artwork for their annual events with the United Nations' unprecedented global recognition of co-operatives. The UN General Assembly voted in December 2009 to proclaim 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives, recognizing the co-operative sector's contribution to the social and economic development of communities around the world.
"We are delighted that co-operatives in both Canada and the United States - and credit unions around the world - will be promoting the theme of the 2012 International Year of Co-operatives during Co-op Week, Co-op Month and International Credit Union Day 2011," said Carol Hunter, executive director of CCA. "It's a wonderful opportunity to start spreading the word that co-ops and credit unions build better communities, better societies and a better world."
"Credit unions are unique in the way they conduct business and serve members, and the International Year of Co-operatives gives us a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate this at a global level," explained David Phillips, president and CEO of Canadian Central. "We welcome the chance to showcase our community economic development initiatives, our community-based sponsorship programs and our ongoing commitment to helping members achieve their financial goals."
All the organizations will use the same graphic image for Co-op Week, International Credit Union Day and Co-op Month: a stylized globe encircled by different types of houses, demonstrating the geographic, social and cultural diversity of the global co-operative sector. The graphic is in reddish orange, one of the main colours used in the logo for the International Year of Co-operatives.
For more information on Co-op Week 2011 and a preview of the Co-op Week poster, visit www.coopscanada.coop/en/orphan/CoopWeek2011. Order forms for posters and other Co-op Week promotional items will be available in June.
For information, contact:
Donna Balkan, Communications Manager
Canadian Co-operative Association
613-238-6711, ext. 206
Cell: 613-314-1032
communications@coopscanada.coop
The Canadian Co-operative Association is a national association for co-operatives in Canada, representing more than nine million co-operative and credit union members from over 2,000 organizations. CCA members come from many sectors of the economy, including finance, insurance, agri-food and supply, wholesale and retail, housing, health and the service sector. CCA provides leadership to promote, develop, and unite co-operatives and credit unions for the benefit of people in Canada and around the world.
Visit our website at www.coopscanada.coop
For immediate release:
CCA urges candidates to support the co-operative movement
Ottawa, April 12, 2011-- With the first leaders' debate taking place tonight, the Canadian Co-operative Association is encouraging co-operators and friends of co-operatives to email party leaders and candidates in their riding to ask them to support co-operative recommendations for the next government through an on-line tool on CCA's web site.
You can access this tool at http://coopscanada.coop/en/gov_affair/Election-2011 The tool allows you to send a message to party leaders as well as all or some of the local candidates in your riding by writing in your postal code. The message highlights our 3 legacy proposals for the 2012 International Year of Co-operatives-- a co-operative investment plan, a co-operative development fund and a renewed and expanded Co-operative Development Initiative. On the CCA website you can also find CCA's complete election platform which contains recommendations developed together with our members.
Co-operatives are powerful tools for job creation and community economic development. The 8,500 co-operatives and credit unions with over 17 million members in Canada contribute over 150,000 jobs and are worth over $330 billion in assets.
For further information contact:
John Anderson
Director, Government Affairs & Public Policy
Canadian Co-operative Association
613-238-6711, ext. 228
The Canadian Co-operative Association is a national association for co-operatives in Canada, representing more than nine million co-operative and credit union members across the country. CCA members come from many sectors of the economy, including finance, insurance, agri-food and supply, wholesale and retail, housing, health and the service sector. CCA provides leadership to promote, develop, and unite co-operatives and credit unions for the benefit of people in Canada and around the world.
Visit our web site at www.coopscanada.coop
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – DEVELOPMENT FUNDING APPROVED
Ottawa, March 29, 2011-- The Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) has approved a significant development partnership with the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA).
Over a four year period, CIDA 's Partnerships with Canadians Branch will contribute nearly $20 million to CCA's efforts to fight poverty in Asia, Africa and the Americas by supporting co-operatives, credit unions, and other community-owned organizations. For its part, CCA will be expected to contribute more than $6 million in cash and in-kind. The cash portion of the CCA contribution will be raised through the Co-operative Development Foundation, a charitable organization that raises money for poverty reduction through co-operative development around the world and in Canada.
The new agreement will allow CCA to continue to engage a broad spectrum of volunteers to share their skills and experience with partners around the world. Last year approximately 70 Canadians did international assignments ranging from a few weeks to several months. These volunteers are also a valuable asset in communicating the value of Canada's international development efforts.
"We are delighted that the Canadian International Development Agency and the Government of Canada have chosen to support this initiative," said Carol Hunter, CCA's executive director. "We are very proud of the work that we have done internationally to help people work their way out of poverty, and we see this agreement as validation of that work."
The agreement takes effect April 1, 2011.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Spotlight on Co-operative Governance Award Winners.pdf | 227.19 KB |
| Governance Matters - Optimizing governance.pdf | 194.98 KB |
