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A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. They differ from collectives in that they are generally built from the bottom-up, rather than the top-down. Cooperatives may include:
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent. The first economist who had invented the idea of micro loans was Jonathan Swift in the 1720’s. Microcredit is part of microfinance, which provides a wider range of financial services, especially savings accounts, to the poor. Modern microcredit is generally considered to have originated with the Grameen Bank founded in Bangladesh in 1983. Many traditional banks subsequently introduced microcredit despite initial misgivings. The United Nations declared 2005 the International Year of Microcredit. As of 2012, microcredit is widely used in developing countries and is presented as having "enormous potential as a tool for poverty alleviation." Microcredit is a tool that can possibly be helpful to reduce feminization of poverty in developing countries.
The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world continue to operate. The implications of the Rochdale Principles are a focus of study in co-operative economics. The original Rochdale Principles were officially adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) in 1937 as the Rochdale Principles of Co-operation. Updated versions of the principles were adopted by the ICA in 1966 as the Co-operative Principles and in 1995 as part of the Statement on the Co-operative Identity.
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by every worker-owner who each have one vote. Worker cooperatives may also be referred to as labor-managed firms.
World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on the 22nd of March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of each year focuses on topics relevant to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which is in line with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6. The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) is released each year around World Water Day.
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first established in 1981 and first observed in September 1982 and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people.
The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental cooperative organization founded in 1895 to unite, represent and serve cooperatives worldwide. The ICA is the custodian of the internationally recognised definition, values and principles of a cooperative in the ICA Statement on the Cooperative Identity. The ICA represents 315 co-operative federation and organisations in 107 countries.
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A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit. Many cooperatives, however, do have a degree of profit orientation. Just like other corporations, some cooperatives issue dividends to owners based on a share of total net profit or earnings ; or based on a percentage of the total amount of purchases made by the owner. Regardless of whether they issue a dividend or not, most consumers’ cooperatives will offer owners discounts and preferential access to goods and services.
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David Griffiths is a co-operative economist, who has contributed a number of books and articles on the subject of unemployment, the history of Victoria's Co-operative movement, and 'social care co-operatives' amongst other subjects. Between 1981 and 1984, Griffiths was the Co-ordinator of the Victorian State Government's Co-operative Development Program, and the Social Welfare officer for the charity the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Griffiths is the current Secretary, and a former Chairman, of the Co-operative Federation of Victoria, and is the webmaster and a regular contributor to the CFV's australia.coop web portal. australia.coop was the first country-wide web portable under the .coop domain established in the world. In February 2007 he became the webmaster for the web site of the International Co-operative Alliance http://www.ica.coop
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A cooperative ("co-op") is an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual, social, economic, and cultural benefit through a mutually owned and democratically run enterprise. Cooperatives include non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use their services or by the people who work there and take on a variety of forms, ranging from officially registered cooperatives to loosely organized groups of neighbors, family, and kin networks. Cooperatives are based on values like self-help, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. These values, among other aspects of cooperatives, are particularly useful in empowering women through membership. In statements in advance of International Women's Day in early 2013, President of the International Cooperative Alliance, Dame Pauline Green, said, "Cooperative businesses have done so much to help women onto the ladder of economic activity. With that comes community respect, political legitimacy and influence." Cooperatives allow women who might have been isolated and working individually to band together and create economies of scale as well as increase their own bargaining power in the market.
Cooperatives Europe is the European regional office of the International Co-operative Alliance and acts for cooperative enterprises in Europe. Representing 83 member organisations from 33 European countries, across all business sectors. Cooperatives Europe promotes the cooperative business model in Europe and advocates for a level playing field between cooperatives and other forms of enterprise. Its members represent 123 million individual member cooperators owning 160.000 cooperative enterprises and providing jobs to 5.4 million European citizens.
2012 was designated as the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2009.
References
- ↑ International Day of Cooperatives. [ permanent dead link ] United Nations.
- ↑ Kavan, Jan. International Day of Cooperatives: "Cooperatives Make Development Happen!" President of the UN General Assembly. 5 July 2003.
- ↑ 88th International Cooperative Alliance International Cooperative Day. Manila Bulletin. 2 July 2010.
- ↑ "2021 Theme". International day of cooperatives. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ↑ "International Co-operative Day 2020: Learn Its Date, Theme and Significance". News18. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ↑ International Day Of Cooperative, Theme Archived 15 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine EverGalax 15/4/2019.
- ↑ 15th United Nations International Day of Cooperatives: "Driving global recovery through cooperative enterprise." Archived 2010-03-29 at the Wayback Machine Food and Agriculture Organization /International Labour Organization. 7 July 2009.
- ↑ 86th ICA International Cooperative Day. Archived 2009-06-30 at the Wayback Machine Cooperatives Europe. 5 July 2008.
- ↑ Mathes, Rohan. Co-operatives must go global - PM. Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine Sri Lanka Daily News. 6 September 2008.
- ↑ International Day of Cooperatives to Highlight Corporate Social Responsibility. United Nations press release.
- ↑ Somavía, Juan. Peace-building through Cooperatives. Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives. 2006.
- ↑ Panel Discussion on Cooperatives, Microfinance to mark International Day of Cooperatives, 23 June. Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Newswire.
- ↑ International Day of Cooperatives promotes Fair Globalisation. Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine Agra. 3 July 2004.
- ↑ Menya, Davis. Co-op day this weekend. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. 1 July 2004.
- ↑ UNAG organises peace walk. GhanaWeb. 1 July 2003.
- ↑ Panel on "Society and Cooperatives: Concern for Community." Social Perspective on Development Branch.
- ↑ 79th ICA International Co-operative Day, 7th UN International Day of Cooperatives. Archived 2010-09-19 at the Wayback Machine International Co-operative Alliance. 7 July 2001.
- ↑ 78th ICA International Co-operative Day, 6th UN International Day of Cooperatives. Archived 2006-09-26 at the Wayback Machine International Co-operative Alliance. 1 July 2000.
- ↑ Public Policy and Co-operative Legislation. Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine National Co-op Update. No. 22 July/August 1999.
- ↑ Annan, Kofi. Secretary-General's Message for International Day of Cooperatives. United Nations. 2 July 1998.
- 1 2 3 Planning Underway for 2005 International Co-operatives Day. Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine International Co-operative Alliance. 25 October 2004.