Welcome to the first International Summit of Cooperatives!

This is the must-attend event of 2012: the first ever of its kind to mark the International Year of Cooperatives proclaimed by the United Nations! The 2012 International Summit of Cooperatives is now a reality!

Under the theme The Amazing Power of Cooperatives, the Summit is an impressive 2800 participants from 91 countries here in Quebec City to share their expertise, achievements and vision for the future of the cooperative and mutualist model. They will be talking about the solutions the cooperative approach offers to help meet the challenges we face in a world confronted by major economic upheavals.

Towards the Declaration of the 2012 International Summit of Cooperatives

The opening ceremony starts at 5:30 p.m. with spokespersons from the three organizations co-hosting the event: Monique F. Leroux, President and CEO, Desjardins Group, Canada, Dame Pauline Green, President, International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), Switzerland, and Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President and Vice Chancellor, Saint Mary’s University, Canada. Pauline Marois, Prime Minister of Québec, The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Régis Labeaume, Quebec City Mayor, will be the invited guests.

6:30 p.m. – Opening speech: The Amazing Power of Cooperatives with Riccardo Petrella, Economist, politic scientist and alter-globalist, from Italy.

7:30 p.m. – Opening Cocktail – Offered by Québec City and Québec City Tourism.

Other must-see events this Monday, October 8

• To stimulate discussion and debate at Imagine 2012: The International Conference on Co-operative Economics, six conferences will be presented. Also attend to a tribute to the ideas and work of Elinor Ostrom. Ms. Ostrom died this year. She was scheduled to speak on cooperative economics at the Imagine 2012 international conference.
• Cooperative Forum – The forum will provide a unique opportunity to meet with forward-looking and passionate people deeply committed to the Quebec cooperative and mutualist movement.

  Location: Québec City Convention Centre
  Room: 2000D
  Time: 8:00 am

• Global Cooperative Finance Summit – This summit will examine how financial cooperatives contribute to making the world a better place and the role that banks play in intercooperation within the cooperative movement.

  Location: Québec City Convention Centre
  Room: 206AB
  Time: 8:30 am

• International Forum on Communication Issues in the Co-operative Movement – The expertise and research specialization “Communication and Co-operatives” shapes this first forum that is addressed to both scholars and co-operative practitioners, especially communications practitioners. A dialogue will be launched, providing communication practitioners of the cooperative sector an opportunity to share evolving issues and best practices on an international level.

  Location: Hilton Quebec Hotel
  Room: HILTON-KENT
  Time: 9:00 am

• Cooperative Tourism Forum – This international forum will focus on the theme of cooperative tourism as a driver of local and regional development, and how cooperative tourism contributes to community development.

  Location: Québec City Convention Centre
  Room: 208AB
  Time: 9:00 am

• International Summit of Worker Cooperatives – What are the main components of an optimal governance model for worker cooperatives? This is the question that will be put to participants in the panel discussion organized by the Réseau de la coopération du travail du Québec. The results of a study aimed at developing an optimal governance model will also be revealed, and cooperators will complete the picture based on their own experiences.

  Location: Québec City Convention Centre
  Room: 303AB
  Time: 1:30 pm

Good conferences to all participants!