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On behalf of the International Cooperative Alliance, I would like to re-affirm my commitment that ICA will be hosting the 33rd World Cooperative Congress in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from December 1-3, 2021. My team is in the process of planning an exciting programme that will be held in person as well as online.
The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCCC) has helped transform the lives of many poor people living in rural Uganda. Thanks to the efforts of the KFCCC team, “Maul Guemgo” (MGs) or village bank, is now a household name among rural communities in the Mpigi District in Central Uganda.
Global sales of Fairtrade products in supermarkets have grown steadily during the pandemic but non-grocery sales have slumped, according to Michael Gidney, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation. Before the pandemic, sales of Fairtrade products had increased to approximately US$9.8 bn in 2019 and, while last year’s figures are still being calculated, the Foundation believes overall sales will not be down as much as they feared.
Based in Modena, Italian social cooperative Gulliver has been serving its community for more than 43 years, offering care services for children, the elderly and disabled people and transport services for disabled people.
When Covid-19 hit, Gulliver was hugely successful in managing health and safety in its communities – and showed how this success was tied to its cooperative identity by producing a social report centred on its cooperative values and principles. We talked to communications and marketing officer Alessia Bellino to learn more.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed all our lives, causing a healthcare, economic and social crisis which has plunged the world into the deepest recession since the Second World War. The pandemic has also accentuated many of the other great global challenges that we still face including climate change, inequality and poverty.
At the 2021 ICA World Cooperative Congress, delegates will examine what cooperative identity means in practice and how different organisations strengthen, commit to and live this identity.
In Maji, a rural town in Southwestern Ethiopia, an electric cooperative is being established to make electricity accessible to local communities.
We spoke to Park Cha Hoon, President of the Council of Korean Cooperatives, to find out how the country’s cooperative sector is preparing for next year’s World Cooperative Congress. Due to take place on 1-3 December in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, the Congress will bring together cooperators from all over the world to discuss why the cooperative identity is needed now more than ever.
This month we mark the beginning of our year-long journey to Seoul, Korea, for the 33rd World Cooperative Congress to take place December 1-3, 2021.
Ben Reid
Former Chief Executive, Midcounties
International Cooperative Alliance Board Member
The Covid-19 pandemic has struck a world already in crisis: we face growing inequality, food insecurity, uncertainty over healthcare, the threat of climate change. More than ever we need a better way to do things.
