New responses to the global crisis from the cooperative movement

6 March 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Trento, March 6, 2012

Cooperatives’ potential role in the reform of the dominant economic model to be discussed at a conference in Venice, 15-16 March, 2012

What effects will the financial crisis have? Will Europe be able to move beyond the negative economic trends and radically transform its social and economic development model? And what contribution can cooperative enterprises and the social economy in general bring to the new geopolitical context? These are just some of the highly topical questions that will be directed to Italian politician Romano Prodi, University of Cambridge economics professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Alliance of Italian Cooperatives president Luigi Marino and International Cooperative Alliance president Pauline Green during the international conference “Promoting the understanding of cooperatives for a better world” to be held in Venice on 15-16 March.

The conference is being organized by Euricse, the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises; the International Co-operative Alliance and the Alliance of Italian Cooperatives during the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, and will bring many world-famous experts and economists to Italy (San Servolo, Venice).

The programme has been structured to alternate opportunities for in-depth scientific analysis with more informal special events, where participants can debate the most critical global economic issues from a “cooperative” perspective.

The first of these special events will be an open debate on the role of cooperatives in the new geopolitical context emerging at a global level. Conference participants and journalists will be able to put questions on the effects of the financial crisis and the role of the social economy to Romano Prodi, Partha Dasgupta, Pauline Green and Luigi Marino.

>> Panel discussion 1 – Thursday 15 March at 12pm – Room 6, Palazzo della Provincia, San Servolo Island – Venice. (Simultaneous translation will be provided from English to Italian).

A second event will involve early-evening drinks on board two boats as they take a short cruise around the Venetian lagoon. In an informal atmosphere, participants will have a chance to meet with the conference speakers and chat with them about the issues being discussed during the sessions, and sample some excellent wines – from cooperative wineries, of course.

>> Cocktail with the author – Thursday 15 March at 6:30pm – departure: San Servolo Island, arrival: Torcello Island.

The last of the special events will be a debate entitled “New knowledge for common strategies around a cooperative development model”, dedicated to initiatives and practices being implemented by the cooperative movement to involve their stakeholders, especially institutional stakeholders like the public sector and capitalist-type enterprises. Knowledge sharing and discussion about the strategies used in the world of cooperatives and their representative organizations will help identify possible common strategies. One speaker will represent each continent. The Italian context alone offers plenty of starting points for discussion on representation, like the newly founded Alliance of Italian Cooperatives, actively providing a voice for over 43,000 enterprises since 2011, or the controversial role of the Agency for the Third Sector, one of the victims of the Monti government’s cuts.

>> Panel discussion 2 – Friday 16 March at 4:30pm – Room 6, Palazzo della Provincia, San Servolo Island – Venice.

The UN International Year of Cooperatives and this conference represent a extraordinary opportunity to promote the specific nature of cooperatives and their potential contribution to a new development model. In alignment with cooperative principles, discussion will be from the bottom up, with contributions from as many of the subjects involved as possible. According to ICA data, cooperatives have over 800 million members around the world, a number which could prove significant to modern economic equilibriums if the movement chooses to develop common strategies.

For more information about speakers and the programme: http://www.conference2012.euricse.d.gummyindustries.com/

PRESS OFFICE – [email protected]

> Aleksandra Bobic – EURICSE Tel. +39 0461 283782 – Mob. +39 346 8830052

> Erika Gardumi – RIZOMA Tel. +39 051 0563855 – Mob. +39 339 5084596

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