Thousands of co-op and credit union members across Canada will be holding events on Thursday, January 12 to officially launch the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.
A national launch event will take place in Ottawa, together with 13 regional launch events. The Ottawa event will feature a live webcast starting at 12:30 EST. The webcast will include remarks by Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators (live from Calgary) and Monique Leroux, president and CEO of Desjardins (live from Lévis, Quebec). The webcast can be viewed at http://s.coop/canada2012live.
Co-operatives have more than 18 million members in Canada, and operate in virtually every sector of the economy, including financial services (credit unions), retail, agriculture, housing, health care and energy.
As of 2011, there are more than 9,000 co-operatives in Canada, with more than 155,000 employees and more than $370 billion in assets.
In December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives, in recognition of the contribution co-operatives make to the social and economic development of communities around the world. The year’s theme is “Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World.” The UN held its own launch of the International Year during the General Assembly session in New York on October 31, and several other countries, including the United Kingdom, are planning launch events for January 12.
“Co-operatives are about people, so we wanted to launch the year with events in which many people across the country could participate,” says Claude Gauthier, president of the Canadian Co-operative Association. “This year offers an important opportunity to educate the public — and our own co-op members — about the enormous role co-operatives play in building communities, revitalizing economies and creating jobs here in Canada and around the world.”
For more information about the International Year of Co-operatives and the launch events, go to www.canada2012.coop.