International Development - The Co-operative College

External Links

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General
Co-operatives UK
DFID
The Co-operative College
The ICA and ILO initiated Global Co-operative Campaign Against Poverty

International Development Links
Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives
Euro Coop - European Community of Consumer Cooperatives
European Community of Consumer Co-operatives
Institute of Development Studies

Specific Co-operatives
The Costa Rica coffee co-op

Websites for the case studies of co-operative enterprise
Arla Foods (Denmark)
Associated Press (USA)
BayWa Group (Germany)
Campina (Netherlands)
CMC (Italy)
Confederation Nationale du Credit Mutuel (France)
Co-op Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)
Coop Swiss (Switzerland)
Cooperativa Café Timor and Cooperativas Café Organico in East Timor
Cooperativa Rural de Electrificacion (CRE) in Bolivia & Comilla I Palli Bidyut Samity in Bangladesh
Credit Agricole Group (France)
Danish Crown (Denmark)
Democratic Condominium Associations in Poland
Dumeco (Netherlands)
DZ Bank (Germany)
Emeco Energie (Netherlands)
Farakala Cooperative and the Ugoa in Mali (Union des GIEs de l'Office de la Haute Vallée du Niger et Associés)
Federation of Migros Co-operatives (Switzerland)
FloraHolland (Netherlands)
Folksam (Sweden)
Group Health Cooperative (USA)
Groupe Banques Populaires (France)
LaEquidad Seguros Cooperativo (LaEquidad) in Colombia & Cooperativa Nacional de Seguros (CoopSeguros) in the Dominican Republic
Market-Oriented Agricultural Cooperatives in Ethiopia
Model Credit Unions in Southern Mindanao, Philippines
Mondragon Corporation (Spain)
Navy Federal Credit Union (USA) Allegedly the biggest Credit Union in the world
Norske Felleskjop (Norway)
NTUC Fairprice (Singapore)
P &V (Belgium)
Policy and Legal Reform of Brazilian Cooperatives
RWZ Rhein-Main eG (Germany)
SNS REAAL Group (Netherlands)
Tadu Dairy Cooperative Society in Cameroon
The S Group (Finland)
TINE BA (Norway)
Tradeka (Finland)
WIST and Tyczyn Telecommunications Cooperatives in Poland

If you have any suggestions for additional sites, please email us.

General Resources on Co-operatives

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Specific Publications

The Guide to ILO Recommendation 193 is intended for those who want to know more about the recommendation and how it provides a basis for law and policies on co-operatives. Select this link to view a pdf version of the file. (1013kb).

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the guide. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer it is available, free of charge, from Adobe.

United Nations – Co-operatives at Work

Cooperatives and Development - Action speaks louder than words, Ignace Pollet and Patrick Develtere, IRU Courier 1/04 - Internationale Raiffeisen Union

The role of co-operatives for development in Africa This article by Andrew Bibby, in a slightly different form, was first published in Developments magazine, 2005

Cooperatives and the Millennium Development Goals - Johnston Birchall, Cooperative Branch & Policy Integration Department International Labour Office, Geneva, Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives, 2004,

Other Sites Hosting Resources
All of these sites (sometimes portals) have useful co-operative related resources/publications:

The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) was established in 1962.

The International Labour Organisation

The International Co-operative Alliance

ELDIS Gateway to Development Information

Developments Magazine

ICA's Co-operative Learning Center (CLC)

The main Brazilian co-op portal (in Portugese) has some very useful publications and resources

College Reports

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This page offers links to reports relating to international development work. They are usually written by Co-operative College staff and associates.

1) Stirling Smith - College Associate - After the Angry Sea: Co-operatives re-building after the tsunami - Part 1

2) Stirling Smith - College Associate - After the Angry Sea: Co-operatives re-building after the tsunami - Part 2

3) Andrew Bibby - College Associate - Co-operatives in Africa

4) Stirling Smith - College Associate - The Co-operative Movement in Africa - part 1 - Fair Trade saves the day - the Co-operative Movement in Tanzania

5) Stirling Smith - College Associate - The Co-operative Movement in Africa - part 2 - Village Banks - the Co-operative Movement in Kenya

6) Stirling Smith - College Associate - The Co-operative Movement in Africa - part 3 - Surviving Genocide: the Co-operative Movement in Rwanda

7) Stirling Smith - College Associate - The Co-operative Movement in Africa - part 4 - Co-operatives in The Pearl of Africa: Uganda

8) Cilla Ross - College Associate - Values Training for Fair Trade Co-ops in Tanzania

College Publications

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On these pages will be found College publications relating to international development.

While these pages are under development you can access the Co-operative College's complete bookstore by selecting this link.

News

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Latest news and developments relating to the international work of the College or co-operatives generally can be found here.

28th July 2006: “Co-operatives vital in fight against global poverty”, MPs say

An influential group of MPs has urged the government to extend more support to co operatives in tackling global poverty. Please see the Press Release by selecting this link. For the full report visit this link.

A pdf version can be accessed here.

June 2006 - Co-operatives and Islam
Select this link to see the press release from a recent DFID siminar

Co-operating around the world

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As long ago as 1895 the UK Co-operative movement helped to set up the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA). Now, at least 800 million people are members of co-ops and 100 million people are employed by them worldwide.

You can find out more about the global movement by visiting the ICA site or Co-operatives UK.

You can also visit the websites of different types of co-operatives around the world. For example you can visit Mondragon - the world famous Spanish workers co-op.

The Co-operative College is currently involved in a number of international development initiatives. Various reports can be found by following this link and also in the resources section.

Resources

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Co-operative College Resources

On these pages can be found resources generic to the history of the co-operative movement and the co-operative movement and international development generally. resources

Resources relating the history of co-operation can be found here.

Co-operatives Now

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In the 1980s and 1990s the quest for economic progress usually failed to recognise the potential of co-operatives. Instead, they were often portrayed as models from a previous era that had 'served their time'. Now, the extraordinary power of the simple idea of co-operatives - democratically owned and controlled enterprises, serving their members' needs, rooted in their communities - is again proving popular. Co-operatives are now demonstrating themselves to be 21st century businesses.

In 2002, the International Labour Conference of the ILO adopted a new 'Recommendation' (193) - an international policy guideline, which provides a framework for co-operatives (and promoting them) for the 21st century. A pdf version of the Guide can be accessed here.

Sites you might wish to visit

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General
Co-operatives UK
DFID
The Co-operative College
The ICA and ILO initiated Global Co-operative Campaign Against Poverty

Specific Co-operatives
The Costa Rica coffee co-op

If you have any suggestions for additional sites, please email us.

The Global Co-operative Movement

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As long ago as 1895 the UK Co-operative movement helped to set up the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and co-operatives exist in many forms all around the world. Now, at least 800 million people are members of co-ops and 100 million people are employed by them.

You can find out more about the global movement by visiting the ICA site or Co-operatives UK for more information.

You can also visit the websites of different types of co-operatives - including producer, consumer, housing and worker - all over Europe. For example you can visit Mondragon - the world famous Spanish workers co-op.

Getting Involved

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This website is also for YOU!

If you have any news, links or co-operative international development items you think we should know about (and you would like other people to know about) please contact:

Jayne Ormrod at jayne@co-op.ac.uk
Tel: 0161 246 2944

Fair & Ethical Trade

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The UK Co-operative Sector is a leading player in the Fairtrade movement. By introducing a huge range of own brand Fair Trade products in its stores, Co-operative societies have made a massive contribution to the growth of the fair trade market in the UK. The co-op is responsible for bringing in £24m million out of the total fair trade turnover of £100m.

Vist Co-op Online for more information.

The Co-operative College was recently successful in gaining EU project funding to explore the relationship between co-operatives and fair trade elsewhere in Europe. The project, called Co-operation, Social Responsibility and Fair Trade (COSRAFT), was based on partnership between the College, the Swedish Cooperative centre, HIVA at the University of Leuven in Belgium, and CTM Altromercato from Italy, with support from the International Co-operative Alliance.

The College also prioritises the ethical trade agenda and has close relationships with organisations such as the Ethical Trading Initiative and Twin Trading.

Co-ops tackling poverty

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It has been estimated that 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day and that 2.4 billion people live on less than $2 a day.

The democratic structure of co-operatives and self-help organizations can play an important part in tackling poverty.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving poor people’s lives. They were agreed on by world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000. Co-operatives can go a long way towards helping to meeting the MDGs. Select this link to find out more.

Co-operative activities already have a significant impact in developing countries in terms of credit, social protection, shelter and employment but they touch every aspect of people’s lives.

For example Esther Gicheru, Principal of the Co-operative College of Kenya, gives the example of a group of women in Rwanda who, following the death of their husbands in the Rwandan genocide, have had to survive by collecting and recycling rubbish from household bins and rubbish tips. The group have created their own self-help organisation AMIZERO, which receives support (from an International Labour Organisation funded project) through joint action between co-op bodies and trade unions. “Dealing with waste is hazardous, so the project is working on effective training and the use of protective gear,” says Mrs Gicheru. It’s a concrete example of how collective self-help can offer real benefits to people who individually, are economically vulnerable.

What this website is for

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This website has a number of different purposes.

One of its main aims is to raise awareness about the international co-operative movement as it addresses global anti-poverty agendas and strategies.

The site is also concerned to offer a resource for visitors interested in international development and co-operation. News, information and networking opportunities will all be found here.

A third aim is to help to support the UK Co-operative movement to make a more effective strategic contribution to international development as it becomes increasingly familiar with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Fourthly, the site will keep people informed about International Development work at the Co-operative College generally.

Finally, the site is for you. Select the Getting Involved link to find out more

SGA

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The Department for International Development (DFID) agrees Strategic Grant Agreements (SGAs) with UK civil society organizations which have the potential to work constructively and strategically with DFID in helping to reduce poverty. SGAs aim to contribute to a stronger, better informed and more effective UK community for international development. The agreements provide funding and set out clear and specific outcomes.

The three year SGA between the Co-operative College and DFID has the following goal, purpose and intended outcomes:

Goal
A better informed UK Co-operative Movement, able to make a more effective strategic contribution to international development.

Purpose
To build the UK Co-operative Movement’s knowledge of international development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); to develop the contribution of co-operative societies and institutions to this, and to utilise the co-op’s specific advantage in order to influence co-ops and other organisations globally.

Outcomes include:
The Co-operative movement (both institutionally as societies, the membership and customers) will be more aware of the nature of global poverty and the MDGs; DFID’s mission and how it works; the role of other players in development; what co-operatives can do to help people out of poverty; and specifically what the UK movement and consumers can do to help achieve the MDGs.

An increased capacity of the co-operative movement to design and deliver appropriate and effective help to co-operatives in the south. A fundamental aspect of this is connections with and ability to influence international co-operative organisations and governments.

New learning materials, this website, capacity building and sharing information and knowledge will be the methods used to get the co-operative message across.