All are invited to attend the book launch and autograph sessions

More than 20 books on cooperatives will be launched and autographed on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, in room 200A of the Quebec City Convention Centre, as part of a cocktail reception at the 2012 International Summit of Cooperatives. Jean-Pierre Girard, Expert Advisor in Social Enterprises and Marthe Hamelin, President, Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité, will host the launch.

Among these books, the launch of Building a Better World: 100 stories of co-operation (see photo) by author Kate Askew is worthy of mention. This limited edition, 160-page commemorative book, published as part of the ICA’s efforts to promote the co-operative enterprise model in the UN International Year of Co-operatives, has been supported by co-operatives of scale from all corners of the globe, in Africa, in Asia, in Europe and in North America.

From the dzongkhags of Bhutan and lemongrass oil production to the sprawling operations of India’s colossal co-operatives, to co-operatives support of Inuit art forms in Canada’s Nunavut territory, to the giant agricultural co-operatives of Iran, Building a Better World: 100 stories of co-operation winds its way through the world’s continents, imparting emotional and informative stories of our global co-operative movement.

In his foreword, José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations says that co-operatives represent a resourceful, diverse enterprise model that has greater resilience to financial, economic and environmental shocks.

“It’s about human need and not human greed”, is how Dame Pauline Green, the International Co-operative Alliance’s president sums up co-operatives contribution to society in her introduction.

These personal stories of struggle, growth and triumph demonstrate a way forward for all of us. And they will be shared with global leaders, government heads and members of the media as a permanent memento of the power of co-operation.

Source : ICA

Summit participants will receive a free copy of this book.

Other books that will be part of the launch

A Co-operative Dilemma: Coverting organizational form, Jorge Sousa et Roger Herman, Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, Université de Saskatchewan

Based on the experience of both academics and practitioners, this book focusses on an issue of paramount importance to co-operatives, non-profits and other social economy organizations, development specialists, and policy makers. Twelve case studies from Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the United States.

Alphonse Desjardins: A Vision for Today’s World, Quotations on the Amazing Power of Cooperatives, Monique Leroux

The International Year of Cooperatives is a great opportunity to learn about Alphonse Desjardins’s philosophy. In a book structured around select quotations, Monique F. Leroux takes us through the thoughts of the Desjardins Group founder and shows the extent to which the cooperative model can help address challenges in 2012.

Biographie longue d’Alphonse Desjardins, Guy Bélanger, Septentrion

Founder of the caisses populaires that gave rise to the cooperative group that bears his name, Alphonse Desjardins is a major figure in the history of Quebec. Guy Bélanger introduces us to a pragmatic man who marked his era by making significant contributions to the social and economic development of Quebec.

Capital and the Debt Trap – Learning from Cooperatives in the Global Crisis, Claudia Sanchez Bajo et Bruno Roelants, Palgrave MacMillan

The recent financial crisis has had a devastating impact around the globe. Thousands of businesses have closed, millions of jobs have been cut and many people have lost their homes. Capital and the Debt Trap explains how key economies have fallen into a ‘debt trap’.

Des lois sur les coopératives de cinq continents, mais une même réalité : l’humanisation de notre monde, Benoit-Marc Boyer, Quebec City 2012, International Summit of Cooperatives

Collective work signed by 10 people, including 2 Summit participants, Geneviève Dufour and Vrajlal Sapovadia. University professors from five continents, and representing a variety of disciplines, come together with a jurist, also the director of a cooperative, to give a presentation on the legal status of cooperatives in their part of the country. This study is written in French, English and Spanish.

Économie et société. Pistes de sortie de crise. Louis Favreau and Ernesto Molina, Presses de l’Université du Québec

This book was created through an independent partnership between 2 researchers and Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité (CQCM). It provides solutions to the economic crisis in Quebec to be implemented in the near future. It also reports on the most recent studies on the themes covered.

Empire and Co-operation: How the British Empire Used Co-operatives in Its Development Strategies, Rita Rhodes, Birlinn Ltd

This book describes how co-operative development policies were implemented in widely varied settings and the results achieved. It also discusses the positive involvement of international non-governmental organisations such as the International Co-operative Alliance and the Plunkett Foundation.

Financial Cooperatives and Local Development, Silvio Goglio et Yiorgos Alexeopoulos, Routledge

This book examines the opportunities opened up for financial cooperatives by the recent financial crisis, and explores the role of these institutions in promoting and sustaining local development.

Il était une fois… ma coopérative, faits saillants 35e anniversaire 1975-2012, Huguette Lamontagne and Lucie Saint-Gelais

In 2010, Coopérative des consommateurs de Sainte-Foy celebrated its 35th anniversary. This book is dedicated to all who contributed to its creation, growth and development. This work is a historical account of our cooperative, its highs and lows, small and big moments and the good and not so good endeavours. It outlines its entire history and evolution with a central theme featuring those who were at the helm over the last 3 and a half decades.

La transition écologique de l’économie, Louis Favreau and Mario Hébert, Presses de l’Université du Québec

This book was created through an independent partnership between 2 researchers and Forum international des dirigeants de l’économie sociale (FIDESS) and its member organizations in Quebec. It features analyses, avenues and suggestions to take swift action to make the economy greener. It also reports on the most recent studies on the themes covered.

La revue annuelle de la coopération québécoise, volume 11 – 2012

This issue of the Coopoint 2012 magazine highlights the International Year of Cooperatives by featuring local and foreign people whose journeys and actions are guided by cooperative values and principles.

Le capitalisme en crise, quelle réponse des coopératives?, Revue vie économique

Leaders in the cooperative sector strongly state that “cooperatives are an alternative to unfettered capitalism.” It examines the depth of the international crisis (financial capitalism, ecological disasters). It explains how cooperative enterprises perform better through their approach. Portrait of the cooperative movement in Quebec and abroad.

Le mouvement coopératif québécois et la solidarité internationale, l’expérience de SOCODEVI, Louis Favreau and Ernesto Molina, co-edited by the research programs of UQAR, ARUC-DTC (UQAR) and ARUC-ISDC at UQO with SOCODEVI

This book features a portrait of a Northern international cooperation organization rooted in the Quebec cooperative movement. For the last 25 years, it has been operating on a larger scale and has helped over 650 organizations in 40 Southern countries.

L’étonnant pouvoir des coopératives. Selected texts from the international call for proposals, Ernesto Molina and Marie-Joëlle Brassard, Quebec 2012, International Summit of Cooperatives

This publication is for leaders and managers of big, medium and small cooperatives and mutuals, partner organizations of the movement, representatives from various levels of government and organizations that want to promote the “amazing power of cooperatives.”

L’évolution du coopératisme dans le monde et au Québec, Claude Béland, Fides

“This book urges people of good will to regain control of their development and assume their role as conscientious citizens in our political and economic landscape before it’s too late.” Lise Payette

Social Economy: Communities, Economies and Solidarity in Atlantic Canada, Sonja Novkovic et Leslie Brown, Cape Breton University Press

This book contributes to the growing literature on the social economy from the particular perspectives of Atlantic Canadians who have been part of the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network. It illustrates the importance of the sector to the region’s social, economic and public life while exploring its potential for positive change.

The Cooperative Solution, E.G. Nadeau

This book illustrates the potential for cooperatives — organizations that are owned and democratically controlled by the people they serve — to infuse the US economy with the basic value of democracy and to provide citizens with a means to effectively address the shortcomings of the market-driven economy.

Workplace Democratization, Its Internal Dynamics, Paul Bernstein, Educational Services Publishing

What leads to successful workplace democracy? To answer this question, the author examined over 50 cases, in 15 different countries, covering a century of experience. This book identifies and describes six essential components in depth, shows the variety of forms they can take when successful, and explains how they must function in order to enable the long-term success of democratic management.

All Summit participants may attend this launch.