UN International Year of Cooperatives 2012
A year of celebrating cooperatives
On 31 October 2011, the United Nations General Assembly launched the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC), highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to worldwide socioeconomic development.
The New Zealand cooperative community is very excited for this recognition and the opportunity to create more awareness of the impact that cooperatives make not just in this country but also around the world at a socioeconomic level.
New Zealand launch
Minister of Commerce Hon Craig Foss MP launched the UN International Year of Cooperatives on 27 March 2012 in the Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings.
Also speaking were:
- Blue Read, Cooperatives Association Chair
- Piet Moerland, Rabobank Netherlands Executive Board Chair
- Dame Pauline Green, International Cooperatives Alliance President
You can see videos of their talks on our YouTube channel.
New Zealand at the UN launch
New Zealand Permanent Representative to the UN HE Jim McLay gave one of the handful of speeches which launched the year. Watch his video below, or download his speech here.
Cooperative Research Conference
The New Zealand Association for the Study of Cooperatives and Mutuals will be launched at a cooperative research conference in Wellington from 21 through 23 June 2012.
The conference has the title Building A Better World: The Role of Cooperatives and Mutuals in Society. There will be two panel sessions, one on banking and the other focussing on agrigulture.
The banking panel session, on Cooperative Banking in the Context of the Global Financial Crisis, will hear contributions from:
- Grant Spencer, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of New Zealand
- Hervé Guider, General Manager, European Association of Cooperative Banks
- Jonathan Logan, Senior Vice President, Corporate AgriBusiness Banking Group, CoBank
- Peter Sikora, Standard and Poor’s
The agriculture panel session, on The Sustainability of Producer Cooperatives in New Zealand and Beyond, will hear contributions from:
- Jack Wilkinson, President 2002–08, International Federation of Agricultural Producers
- Michael Cook, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri
- Nicola Shadbolt, Associate Professor in Farm and Agribusiness Management, Massey University (also a director of Fonterra Cooperative Group)
- Onno van Bekkum, Cooperative Champion, Netherlands
To find out more about attending the conference and to download the call for papers, visit http://nzascm.coop/.
A global event
Every country has the task to create programmes which educate and inform their citizens about cooperatives. While the UN is coordinating work among governments, the International Cooperative Alliance is working to develop a cohesive framework at the international level.
The UN website connects IYC 2012 to the UN's Millennium Development Goals, and provides contact information for the national committees formed by UN member governments.To celebrate the International Year of Co-operatives the ICA has launched a new website. For the latest news on ICA activities and global co-operative events as well as IYC merchandise and International Year toolkits and resources visit at www.2012.coop.
The International Cooperative Alliance has a website which provides information about the cooperative community's own planning on both the international and national levels. Here you’ll find links to planning resources, a global calendar of events and an e-bulletin Countdown to 2012.
Get involved
You can support the celebrations for the year by:
- Joining the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2012 New Zealand Steering Committee – send an email or phone the Association office to talk about this
- Donating to the initiative – download the sponsorship prospectus, below, to find out how
- Taking part in Association initiatives and developing ways to celebrate UN IYC 2012 in your area and within your cooperative(s)
- Ask your co-op’s board and managers what plans they have for celebrating the year
- Attending the June 2012 cooperative research conference in Wellington, perhaps presenting a paper
- Ensuring that your co-op has a stand at the October 2012 International Cooperative Expo in Manchester – click on the image below for more info
This international year is about showing the world what cooperatives are, and why they’re the better choice.
Become a sponsor
For all our programme to be accomplished, we need more sponsors. The following sponsorship has been received:
GOLD
Alliance Group • Capricorn Society • Fonterra Cooperative Group • Foodstuffs South Island • Rabobank New Zealand • The Co·operative Bank
SILVER
NZPM Group • Ravensdown • Silver Fern Farms
BRONZE
Ashburton Trading Society • Ballance Agri-Nutrients • Farmlands Trading Society • Fruit Packers (HB) Cooperative • LIC • New Zealand Association of Credit Unions
DONORS
CRT • Dairy Goat Cooperative • LBMX Inc • Pharmacy Wholesalers (Bay of Plenty) • Pharmacy Wholesalers (Central) • Plus 4 Insurance Solutions • Rural Couriers Society (Coural) • Westland Cooperative Dairy Co
We are in addition grateful to the Ministry of Economic Development for funding a statistical research project into the contribution of cooperatives to the New Zealand economy, the results of were announced at the launch at Parliament on 27 March.
While we will be accepting no further gold sponsors, we are open to further silver and bronze sponsorship, as well as donations.
Click here to download UN IYC 2012 Sponsoring the New Zealand Celebrations and find out about sponsoring these celebrations. Phone Blue Read on 027 235 6212 or Ramsey Margolis on 04 384 4595 to discuss the possibilities.
