[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"3438","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","height":"337","style":"width: 300px; height: 198px; float: right;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"510"}}]]
The International Co-operative Alliance announced the winners of global Coop’Art competition, aimed at encouraging young people from all over the world to make the co-operative difference.
Two of the winners received an all-expenses paid trip to the Co-operatives United International Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Manchester to collect their prize of USD 3,000.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"3510","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-left","style":"width: 300px; height: 225px; float: left;","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]Billy Rey Tamio, a government worker and freelance photographer in the Philippines, who couldn't attend the ceremony, took first place in the photography section of Coop’Art with his image of a group of siblings sitting in a rough field in an old, red, metal cart waiting for their oldest brother to attach them to his bike and pedal them across the bumpy track to their farm. He said in an interview that “they were so happy in spite of their condition”.
Francisca Javiera Badilla Castillo from Chile won the video section with her short clip on the role credit co-operatives play in empowering people, helping them to own their homes and become their own bosses and funding education.
Francisca said: “I participated in this contest mainly because it managed to draw my attention on the fact that young people should be involved in co-ops. I am very glad to have won this contest, I still cannot believe it. I am very happy to be here and I am happier every day to see young people involved in solidarity projects.”
Singer and composer Roberto Morban Ramirez was the winner in the music category with his lyrical representation of the sentiments behind youth co-operatives. He said: “Empowering the youth is the best that can happen. I think that believing in young people is the best chance our society can give itself. The Dominican Republic believes in co-operatives, it believes in co-operation and in young people."
José Antonio Chávez Villanueva, youth representative on the ICA board said the contest was a great success. “We received over 170 proposals from 35 countries of Asia Pacific, Africa, Americas and Europe in what is the first competition undertaken by the ICA of global dimension, 6450 votes were registered on the website. We must continue working to create national, regional and global formal committees that encourage and strengthen youth participation in this and other projects," he said.
The runners up in second and third place respectively in the photo competition were Vijay Singh Rajput from India and Sara Sofia Planes from Argentina, in the video competition Joao Meirinhos from Portugal and Armina Natividad from the United Kingdom and in the music section Emily Erhardt from Canada and Francisco Javier Luevano Gutierrez from Mexico.
Charles Gould, Director-General of the ICA, praised the high quality of the work submitted by contestants which was a true representation of the global nature of the co-operative movement in which youth’s collective passion for the positive change co-operatives can bring to society was strongly represented. Mr Gould also thanked the sponsors of the Coop'Art - Express Yourself competition, The Co-operative Group, Central Cooperative Union of Bulgaria, S Group Coop of Italy, Cooperative Central Bank of Cyprus, IPACoop and Federación De Cajas Populares Alianza.
The Coop’Art competition, which was open to people aged between 16 and 35, aimed to raise the awareness of young people of the co-operative movement through photography, video and music categories and was one of the ICA's many contributions to the International Year celebrations.
Photo: Coop'Art Winners, Francisca Javiera Badilla Castillo and Roberto Morban Ramirez.
