THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF COOPERATIVES (IYC) 2012

The UN officially launched the International Year of Cooperatives at its New York City headquarters on 31

October 2011. Representatives from countries around the world heard about the cooperative movement

throughout the day to encourage as many countries as possible to support the year.

The UN’s stated purpose for the year is to:

1 Increase awareness about cooperatives and how they function within various sectors and to support

and enhance socio-economic development at the national, community and individual levels;

2 Promote cooperative enterprise as a means of socio-economic empowerment for individuals and

communities, and support capacity development for the growth of efficient and effective cooperatives;

3 Work with stakeholders to provide input and support for the creation of a policy and legislative

environment conducive to cooperative formation and success.

International Cooperative Alliance President Dame Pauline Green delivered an address to the UN General

Assembly in which she emphasised the important role cooperatives play in sustainable development and

financial stability.

“I’m hugely excited,” she told the New Zealand Cooperatives Association at the time. “The UN is a place

that has seen so many great speakers, so many hugely important events, crucial issues being solved.

“To be standing there in that room that has such significance after the last war, and to be able to speak

in that place is something that is massively emotional and a powerful thing to do. Thank you to the co-

op movement for giving me the chance.

“The significance of going to the General Assembly and speaking at the podium is tremendous. It’s a

great personal privilege for me, but I’m conscious that I’m representing the worldwide movement,

putting forward the case for cooperation. It’s a huge opportunity.

“For nearly 200 years, cooperatives have been creating jobs across the world. Currently over 100 million

of the world’s citizens are employed within a cooperative.

“They reflect the fact that cooperatives since their inception have not sought to ape their investor-owned

competitors and maximise their profits, but rather to meet the needs of their member owners.

“No wonder then that the cooperative movement is owned by nearly one billion people cross the globe,

and they reflect the fact that cooperatives have been a powerful player in embedding civil society across

the world.

“Our challenge is to make sure that more people in decision-making positions, or those who exercise

influence in the political or economic spheres, or indeed in the media, know about the scope, size and

scale or the cooperative sector of the economy, and the work it does to sustain and build communities

across the world, and its capacity to do so much more.”

In her concluding address to the UN General Assembly, Dame Pauline said the cooperative movement is

conscious of the gift of the International Year, a “gift that recognises the cooperative impact on the

socioeconomic development of the world, and its capacity to do much more.”