The Rochdale Pioneers film premiered at the Co-operatives United event in Manchester last week will be shown on FILM 4 this SUNDAY (11 NOVEMBER) at 5.45. It is well worth seeing, please advertise as widely as possible.
The inspirational new movie telling the story of the birth of the co-operative movement in Rochdale in 1844 is set for its TV Premiere on Sunday, 11 November. Continue reading
On Monday November 26th we are holding a joint members meeting with Co-operatives UK at the Interchange, Old Colwyn, Colwyn Bay to launch our joint membership offer.
The event is free to members and those interested in joining and includes a buffet lunch.
We welcome your feed back, so please come along and tell us what you want from us
Register for this free event at:-
http://cooperatives-wales.eventbrite.co.uk/#
The international management consultants, McKinsey & Company have discovered co-operatives, and it seems that they rather like what they’ve found. They released their much-heralded report “McKinsey on Co-operatives” on Tuesday on October 9th at the International Cooperative Summit in Quebec where their global managing director Dominic Barton arrived to deliver their findings.
“The time has come for the [cooperative] model to be put forward and celebrated,” he told his audience. He called for a shift generally in business from “shareholder value to stakeholder value” and strongly criticised the short-termism of conventional business, driven by the need to produce three-monthly financial accounts for investors. “Quarterly capitalism does not lead to good results. The short term pressure is toxic,” he said.
Read the full report at:-http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/strategy/latest_thinking/mckinsey_on_cooperatives
A workshop session Mondragon – a view from Wales at Co-operatives United will be based on the study trip to Mondragon and report published earlier this year by the IWA. This was made possible by generous sponsorship from the Co-operative Group Membership (Wales/Cymru).
The workshop is at 12.30am on Wed October 31st in Business (Central 5) as part of the Co-operatives United world co-operative forum at Manchester Central
If you have not already registered to attend Co-operatives United please click here for more information. Once registered for the event, there is no need to register for our workshop – its first come first served.
Copies of the report will be available on the day, or you can order in advance – hard copy or download from:- http://www.iwa.org.uk/en/publications/view/216
It’s not to late to reserve your place at Co-operatives United, the International Congress of the ICA in Manchester from 31st Oct to Nov 2nd at Manchester Central
Full details are booking forms now available at www.manchester2012.coop
MyFerryLink, the newest operator on the Channel is a French worker co-op, or SCOP (Societe Co-Operative et Participative) which started operations from Calais to Dover on August 20th operating 10 crossings per day.
They are using the Rodin and the Berlioz, two identical modern passenger ferries taking up to 700 cars and 1,900 passengers each. After 11 months of inactivity since SeaFrance went into liquidation, the ferries have been bought back from the French Government liquidators by EuroTunnel and leased to a newly formed worker co-operative put together by the former employees of Sea-France. The new workforce of 350 in France and 50 in the UK is 98% former Sea-France staff. Continue reading
The UK Society for Co-op Studies held another successful Annual Conference in Lincoln last weekend on the subject of Co-operatives – Community and Place.
The Society has extended its special membership offer as part of a drive to increase membership, and individuals can sign up for only £10 for a full years membership. To join just complete the special form below:-
Incidentally, Lincoln Co-op Society operates the oldest continuously open co-op shop in the world at Burton Road, Lincoln
A new film on worker co-ops is due to be released this October. The film, Shift Change, by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young will be premiered on October 18th at the Grand Lake Theater, Oakland, California
More details at http://shiftchange.org/
Neath Port Talbot Credit Union recently attended Downing Street, and the Houses of Parliament in recognition of the credit union’s work in their school saving initiatives.
NPTCU’s work with schools has resulted in an outstanding growth to their current 36 School Savings Schemes, whilst at the same time contributing to the increase of the overall membership to over 6,000.
Representing NPTCU were Steve Mallinson (General Manager), Brian Warlow (Development Manager), Les Hughes (Chief Accountant), Joanne White (Company Secretary and Founder Member), Clare Bentley and Nick Baker (Development Officers). Representing Neath Port Talbot Local Education Authority were Jen Malcolm and Wynne Griffiths Continue reading
Building on previous work on Co-op Capitalism by Professor Noreena Hertz, Co-operatives UK is pleased to support a new essay prize and crowd-sourcing website launched by Ethical Consumer, the UK’s leading alternative consumer organisation.
What would the world be like if most businesses were co-operatives? Would it be fairer and more sustainable? And what would it take to get to that place? The new Ethical Consumer competition site has been established to explore these ideas at a time when serious questions are being asked about our current economic model. Continue reading
The Co-operative Loan Fund is one of three partners involved in the creation of a new fund designed to support communities wanting to raise investment by a community share issue. The Co-operative Community Shares Fund is managed by Co-operative & Community Finance and the initial funds have come from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub. The Co-operative Loan Fund has agreed to provide loan finance if required. Continue reading
The report of the recent study visit to Mondragon in the Basque country was launched at the Co-operative Group Membership (Wales/Cymru) Conference on July 7th Continue reading
Norman Lamb, Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs launches the Nuttall Report on employee ownership, Sharing Success.
The ICA have released the 2012 International Year of Co-operatives statement of greetings to co-operators worldwide, which will be on International Co-operative Day, July 7th 2012
Read the statement here: International Co-operative Day 2012
Wales Contributes to UK Co-operative Economy Outperforming the Market for Fourth Consecutive Year
The 394 co-operative enterprises in Wales with a turnover of £1.3bn have contributed to the UK co-operative economy outperforming the UK economy for the fourth consecutive year, with a growth of 1.5% in 2011 compared with 0.7% in the UK economy, twice the rate of the UK economy.
Annual figures released today by Co-operatives UK, the trade body for co-operative businesses, show that while the real level of GDP in the UK in 2011 is 1.7% lower than in 2008, the turnover of the co-operative sector has grown by 19.5% over the same period.
‘The co-operative economy 2012 – alternatives to austerity’ details how a member-owned economy with a turnover of £35.6bn has experienced an 8.9% rise in the number of co-operative enterprises from 5,450 in 2010 to 5,933 in 2011 and a 5.5% rise in the number of memberships from 12.8m in 2010 to 13.5m in 2011. Continue reading
Co-operatives which don’t already have a .coop internet domain name can get one free for the first year throughout 2012.
Don’t miss out.
Details and application at www.identity.coop
The popular gallery Craft in the Bay is celebrating its tenth birthday since opening the doors to the refurbished ‘D Shed’, a Grade II listed Victorian maritime warehouse in the heart of Cardiff Bay. It is 10 years ago this month that the organisation successfully fund-raised £1.4 million to open the building to the public. The group says that the key to its on-going success is the strong cooperative ethos at it’s heart. With it’s membership of 76 of some of the very best craft-makers in Wales who are involved in all areas of the organisation, each craft-maker volunteers their time to help staff the gallery. Visitors to the gallery can meet a different craftmaker each day in the spacious, light, airy exhibition and craft retail area, or take part in hands-on craft workshops, hire a conference space, and visit the ever-popular Kemi’s café. The Guild also has a large programme of community work, the most recent being a START project in conjunction with the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts – Continue reading
John Restakis, Executive Director, British Columbia Co-operative Association, Canada will be speaking about
SELF HELP CO-OPERATIVES – Co-operative Solutions for Citizen-Directed Services
A learning consultation to inform & support the transformation of Social Services in Wales
Various locations across Wales fom Tuesday 26th June – Friday 29th June 2012
Full details:- John Restakis tour 2012
Key figures have met to thrash out the future for credit unions in Wales at the National Assembly for Wales.
In a packed meeting, the Welsh Assembly Cross-Party Group on Co-operatives and Mutuals brought together Welsh Assembly Members, Welsh financial bodies including a wide variety of credit unions, the Principality, Co-operative and Barclays, the Wales Co-op Centre and other concerned groups, to discuss the challenges for financial co-operatives in Wales. Continue reading
Mondragon Co-operative Corporation have launched a new video for 2012
Don’t forget, there will be more details on Mondragon at the Co-operative Group conference Continue reading
Secretary - David Smith
54 Capel Dewi Hall Road
Newport
NP20 2QP
+44 (0) 7597 008176
david(at)cooperatives-wales.coop
Skype: Davidsmith.wales
Follow us @CoopsWales
