cooperatives-wales.coop

The independent Commission chaired by Andrew Davies has been set up to make recommendations on growing and developing the co-operative and mutual economy in Wales.

The deadline for submitting evidence is fast approaching. You are encouraged to address your evidence to the questions the Commission is asking below and submit by April 19th if possible. The Commission has indicated it may be able to take evidence that arrives a few days late, but getting it in on time will help them enormously.

They want to hear your views
The Commission would like to hear views from people in Wales and wider afield: producers, consumers, householders, those in and out of work, local communities, those running businesses in Wales, those with experience of the co-operative and mutuals sector and  individuals, communities or groups who would like to start their own enterprise. Continue reading →

The International Co-operative Alliance has published its final version of the Decade of Co-operation, which lays out the strategy for the international movement.

Download the full report here:-
ica_blueprint_-_final_version_issued_7_feb_13

On March 14th  the European Parliament in Strasbourg unanimously adopted a report by MEP Luigi Berlinguer (S&D) on a European Mutual Statute.

This comes after a campaign undertaken by the Association Internationale de la Mutualité (AIM), which was supported by leading UK mutual Benenden Health.

This outcome means that MEPs have therefore expressed their overwhelming support in favour of recommendations made by the members of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament, which requested support from the European commission for a European Mutual Statute (EMS). Continue reading →

Some Credit Unions could close if Welsh Government funding is withdrawn at the end of this year, a report for the Welsh Government warns

Credit Unions in Wales are supported by Welsh Government funding, the current phase of which ends in December 2013 with nearly £5.5m made available to support credit unions. The money has come from the Welsh Government and from European Funds, and is distributed by the Social Enterprise Business on their behalf. Continue reading →

consultancy.coop, a worker co-operative of third sector consultants which is a member of Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales and Co-operatives UK has launched a brand new service aimed at organisations that are raising investment funds through a Community Shares Issue

This is becoming an increasingly popular way to raise funds directly from the public, bypassing the tortuous process of grant and loan applications, and providing a direct democratic link to the individual investors.

The website is described by them as “A window shopping site – we don’t actually sell shares, but we enable people who want to invest to find what’s on offer and go directly there.
“There are many Community share issues that get publicity locally, but are to find out a bout if you’re not in the immediate area”.

consultancy.coop are proud to have got this initiative off the ground in Wales, and it is entirely self funding – in the spirit of co-operative community shares themselves.

To see what’s on offer, go to the site:- www.shares.coop

For further details on the consultancy.coop go to :- www.consultancy.coop

The independent Commission has been set up by the Welsh Government to make recommendations on growing and developing the co-operative and mutual economy in Wales. they have now issued a call for evidence.

The Commission would like to hear views from people in Wales and wider afield: producers, consumers, householders, those in and out of work, local communities, those running businesses in Wales, those with experience of the co-operative and mutuals sector and individuals, communities or groups who would like to start their own enterprise. Continue reading →

The News is looking for a Strategic Marketing Manager

Salary: £35,000 per annum, pro rata on 21 hours per week

Location: Office in Manchester with option of flexible working from home

Closing date: 5pm Friday 8th March 2013

Interviews: Commencing Tuesday 12th March 2013

The Co-operative News is the world’s oldest co-operative newspaper and has been providing a vital news service to Co-operative Enterprises, their managers and members in the UK since 1871. In recent years this has been complemented by a unique international on-line co-operative news service. Continue reading →

At First Minister Questions on January 29th, the day after the presentation by Ted Howard on the Evergreen Co-operatives in Cleveland Ohio to the Assembly’s Cross Party Group on Co-operatives and Mutuals, Vaughan Gething AM, the Chair of the Group  raised questions on the role of co-operatives in the Welsh economy.

Below are details of the debate

The Contribution of Co-operatives and Mutuals Continue reading →

As part of the celebrations for the UN Year of Co-operative, three community-based projects in Wales and Africa are being supported by a fundraising campaign created by The Co-operative Membership Cymru/Wales.

Seeds of Hope (Hadau Gobaith in Welsh) is an innovative partnership between The Co-operative Group in Wales and leading charities Oxfam Cymru and Dolen Cymru Lesotho, through which it aims to raise at least £50,000 for enterprises which are owned and run by their members for the benefit of all. Continue reading →

A new Social Co-ops Development Forum has been formed to bring together co-operators and others involved in social care to develop social co-ops in Wales.

Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales now has a dedicated page for this Forum at https://www.cooperatives-wales.coop/?page_id=1879

Future meetings are on Feb 25th and March 25th from 10.00am until 4.00pm – bring your own lunch – at Cartrefi Cymru, 5 Coopers Yard, Curran Road Cardiff CF10 5NB

All interested co-operators welcome

The International Co-operative Alliance has published a Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade

Continue reading →

Generation Community is a new community cooperative registered with the FSA, pushing the boundaries in Co-operative finance. Gen Community are launching projects (PV, wind, and renewable heating) in the £1 – £2 million range, and are not geographically tied to one specific area of the UK. Gen Community is appealling to the ‘low carbon community’ nationally to finance installations in areas which typically exhibit good locations for installations, such as south Wales, but lack the capital to proceed. Gen Community’s aim is to empower the wider ‘low carbon community’ to aid the roll out of low carbon technologies across the UK. Continue reading →

The latest edition of the Robert Owen Museum Newsletter is available to download here:- Newsletter December 2012

If you would be like to receive updates regularly, feel free join their email list by emailing brandwoods1950@btinternet.com

Hard copies will be available in the Museum later in the week.

The Museum uses Facebook for regular items of Museum news and interest, so even if you are not a regular Facebook user, do check them out at http://www.facebook.com/RobertOwenMuseum

2012 has been United Nations International Year of Co-operatives. From Chelmsford to China, Ilford to India, co-operatives and their members and supporters around the world have come together to show how co-operatives build a better world.

And what a momentous year it has been. Across the globe co-operatives have celebrated what makes their business different. We’ve seen everything from flash mobs to formal conferences. Continue reading →