| United Nations International Year of Cooperatives |
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The United Nations International Year Of Cooperatives
What is an international year? On December 18, 2009 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives (res. A/RES/64/136). Since 1959, the UN has designated international years in order to draw attention to major issues and to encourage international action to address concerns which have global importance and ramifications. The aim of this international year is to “encourage all Member States, as well as the United Nations and all other relevant stakeholders, to take advantage of the International Year of Cooperatives as a way of promoting cooperatives and raising awareness of their contribution to social and economic development” (Res. A/RES/64/136 operational paragraph 3)
What is at stake for cooperative banks? Increase awareness about the cooperative banking model In a context of a deep confidence crisis toward financial institutions, this is for us an opportunity to show that another banking model, viable and responsible, exists. Mass audience communication should be enhanced. Responsive to alternative answers, general public is poorly informed about cooperatives banks and then is a strategic target for us. Stimulate the network This event is also a substantial opportunity to reinforce and develop partnership between all the relevant stakeholders of the cooperatives banking sector. International, regional, local organizations, public and private, academic and associative sectors should contribute to this event and harmonize their actions. Multiplying cooperation between different entities would allow a real and global dynamism. Establishment of appropriate policies One of the major threats for cooperative banks is their cruel lack of visibility. Poorly known of the general public they also have to constantly expose and explain their model to institutional entities and regulators for their specificities to be recognised and protected. That’s why the International Year of Cooperatives is an international platform offered by the UN and we really have to take advantage from it.
Coordinated by the UN throughout national committees, an International Year success relies on member’s initiatives which all year long have to liven up this event. What happened so far? ... The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in collaboration with COPAC, an organization that gather representatives from cooperatives and from United Nations, have been designated for being in charge of coordinating this international year. ICBA decided to put the planning of these International Year of Cooperative activities at the top of its General Assembly’s agenda, which will take place on August 31st in ….and what will happen next? National committees would be nominated by the end of the year. A logo and a slogan for the IYC will be developed in autumn 2010 and a website for the IYC shall be operational at the end of 2010. ICBA should thus mobilize to: - Set out strategic goals and define focal points on which we want to build our promotion strategy.. - Set out a first action plan and propose international events, projects and initiatives that we want to organize within this Year. Institutional communication -as the organization of seminar or international prize- Web communication-like the creation of a cooperative communitarian website- or the traditional communication- like newspaper or television add, all the possibilities have to be considered.
If have any question or suggestion, please contact ICBA General Secretariat This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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