The co-operative movement of the Americas prepares for its 3rd regional Summit
During the first week of November, the historic city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, will receive over a thousand co-operators from all the Americas, who will participate in the 3rd edition of the Co-operative Summit of the Americas, organised by Co-operatives of the Americas, the Confederation of Co-operatives of Colombia (CONFECOOP) and the Colombian member organisations of the Alliance.
The objective is to generate in-depth discussions leading to agreements to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of members and the population in general, be reflected in a Final Declaration.
The slogan of the third Co-operative Summit, “Integration that Generates a Social Change,” synthesises the purpose of the meeting, which is to target social change by promoting integration among co-operatives and strengthening ties with other stakeholders.
Four main themes have been organised:
Theme 1: Integration and Social Cohesion
Theme 2: Innovation for Transformation of Society
Theme 3: Growth, Internationalization and Identity
Theme 4: New Society and Co-operative Outlook
To find more information and register to participate, visit: http://www.aciamericas.coop/cumbre2014.
Co-operatives of the Americas supports the United Nations Global Compact
On 17 June, Co-operatives of the Americas communicated to the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, its signature of the United Nations Global Compact initiative, promoted since 1999.
The Global Compact is a voluntary initiative in which companies commit to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anticorruption.
With the signature of the Global Compact, the Co-operatives of the Americas is obliged to prepare annually a Communication of Progress report to describe the efforts made in implementing the ten principles.
The ten principles to which Co-operatives of the Americas is committed are:
Human rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
Principle 2: Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
Principle 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour.
Principle 5: The effective abolition of child labour.
Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7 Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
Principle 9: Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
Anti-corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
Financial co-operatives have become the preferred model for the people of Paraguay
The main objective of the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade is for co-operatives to become the preferred enterprise model and, as a result, the fastest growing type of company by the year 2020.
The Blueprint is still at its first stages of implementation, but the financial co-operatives of Paraguay are off to a good start. Data from the latest survey on financial inclusion disseminated by the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) show that 19% of the "banking” population in the country has at least one savings account, and 13% has at least one credit account in a co-operative entity.
Co-operatives have thus taken the top position from traditional private banks, whose customers now make up 12% of the banking population. Financial companies rank third, with only 2% of Paraguayans using financial services.
According to data presented in the report, co-operatives rank first in terms of number of customers in most regions of the country, as a result of a sustained growth trend over several years.
It should be noted that in Paraguay the “banking” population accounts for 29% of the adult population, a figure that is below the average of Latin America, at 39%. This shows that there is still much space for work in the area of financial inclusion, which represents both a challenge and an incentive for higher growth in the coverage of co-operatives of the sector.
Contribution of co-operatives to world peace: the example of Colombia
Through the Alliance, the global co-operative movement is claiming a greater role in defining the content and implementation of the UN’s post-2015 agenda.
One of the 12 objectives proposed by the High Level Group on the Post-2015 Agenda for Development, established by the Secretary General of United Nations, is to "ensure stable and peaceful societies." Rwanda, Nepal, Lebanon and parts of India are some of the cases where co-operatives have shown their potential as relevant, timely and durable solutions to many of the difficulties encountered in post-conflict processes. Now it is the time of Colombia.
The 2014 is a special year for Colombia as it moves toward the signing of a peace agreement and the groundwork is being laid for a new path to the economic and social development of the country for the next 20 or 30 years.
In mid-2014, the Colombian Association of Co-operatives, Ascoop, convened a conference entitled "A country in peace and development: lessons from the Colombian co-operative movement", which convened a panel of experts to analyse the potential of co-operatives to promote economic and social development in the process of building a new country in the post-conflict era.
Ms Olga Lucia Londoño, Superintendent of the Social Economy has stated that "In the co-operative sector there is no social exclusion and as the post-conflict comes, the sector will open its doors to contribute to social inclusion, financial inclusion and to supporting productive projects."
Meanwhile, the High Commissioner for Peace, Sergio Jaramillo, also noted that the Government's vision suggests that the process of peace in Colombia will require the creation and promotion of all types of associative experiences and what is expected from the co-operative sector is not only active participation but also guidance on how to implement these initiatives in the best possible way.
