The presence of renowned guest speaker Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, delighted those present at the highly-anticipated lunch conference offered by PwC. This is just one of the high-profile and remarkable events that make up the 2012 International Summit of Cooperatives. Right from the outset, Ms. Albright reiterated her conviction that the cooperative model will play an increasingly concrete and decisive role in the fight against hunger and poverty, as well as in gender ...

Panel members participating in the case study “Doing business our way – Winning strategies for doing business differently” clearly emphasized four common values—trust, justice, fairness and efficiency. They were unanimous: a balance of these four values will be the growth barometer and driving force behind cooperatives. To achieve this optimal balance, however, cooperatives must enhance and toughen up their decision-making processes, and even step outside of their ...

At the International Summit of Cooperatives, where 2,800 people passionate about the cooperative movement gathered from 91 countries, Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group, takes an enlightened and lucid look at the cooperative model as the event draws to an end: “Cooperatives and mutuals have something in common: They were created by people to meet the real needs of people, often in times of crisis. And since their beginnings, they have proven ...

An effective and evolving business model: There you have it – the theme for yet another exciting day of compelling events and new ideas about the relevance of the cooperative movement, that will remind us once again of “The Amazing Power of Cooperatives.” When the curtain rises at 8:30 a.m., come check out the opening conference with Huguette Labelle, President of Transparency International, Canada and Charles Gould, Director General of the International Co-operative Alliance ...