By Anca Voinea
Over the past 12 months co-ops in the USA have been faced with unforeseen hurdles – ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to the growing civil unrest following the death of George Floyd.
The sector rose to the challenge as it implemented Covid-19 health and safety measures, supported local communities and helped to promote democracy and inclusion.
With a new president and Congress in office, the movement will continue to lobby government to ensure co-ops are taken into account when relief funding is allocated. Beyond that, apex NCBA Clusa will be working to promote democracy and inclusion, raise awareness about the sector and campaign for revisiting the Statement on the Co-operative Identity.
By Miles Hadfield
The global movement responded to the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19 – but continued to innovate and spread its model as well
January
Australia’s co-ops and credit unions spring into action as the devastating bushfires sweep across the country. The response includes fundraising, community support and help for affected colleagues.
The Greater Manchester Co-operative Commission, created by metro mayor Andy Burnham to find mutual solutions for the regional economy, releases its report. It recommends the city be designated a Co-operative Zone with dedicated business support for co-ops.
Co-operation Town, a new network of community food co-ops, kicks of the year with ambitious plans to create grassroots food collectives across the UK.
The ICA Cooperative Law Committee was set up in 2019 to provide independent advice to the ICA. The committee is composed of legal experts from multiple jurisdictions who are well versed in cooperatives.
Along with facilitating the reconstitution of the ICA Cooperative Law Committee, the ICA has, since 2017, coordinated review and reports on as many as 60 national pieces of legislation through research undertaken by the ICA-EU Partnership on Cooperatives in Development in collaboration with regional offices. The reports, which also measure how supportive of cooperatives national legislation is, can be accessed here.
In their advocacy towards favorable and conducive legislation, cooperatives are expected to protect the ICA Statement on the Cooperative Identity, which secures the cooperative and ethical values along with the seven operational principles of cooperatives and the all-encompassing international definition of cooperatives.