New age being ushered in with International Year, Heavyside

The International Year of Co-operatives heralds a new age where capital is not only invested to make a financial profit but to profit human lives through positive social...

The International Year of Co-operatives heralds a new age where capital is not only invested to make a financial profit but to profit human lives through positive social outcomes, said Colin Heavyside, Australasian co-operative movement identity.
Mr Heavyside, Chairman of Capricorn Society Ltd, which is a successful cooperative operating in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and which is also an inaugural Australasian ICA member and founding supporter of the International Year effort in Australia, spoke from the Cancun General Assembly and conference where he will present a commemorative Australian $1 coin to ICA president Dame Pauline Green on Friday.
He said the Cancun conference had demonstrated many opportunities that the International Year offered co-operatives and the event was a prime time to come together to discuss joint efforts for the coming year’s celebrations.
With an historically dominant phase of capitalism under pressure as demonstrated through people lead demonstrations taking place around the world such as ‘Occupy Wall Street’ wherein ordinary people are questioning the true value of traditional capitalist models, it was an opportune time for the co-operative sector to get out there and make the legitimacy of the alternative outcomes of its business model known.
Mr Heavyside said it wasn’t about not making a profit – profit-making would still drive enterprise around the world – but about making the lives of those who were involved in enterprise better.

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