International Summit of Cooperatives: Day 3 preview

The third day of the International Summit of Cooperatives will focus on access to health and social care services, the impact of technology, the transition to a sustainable...

The third day of the International Summit of Cooperatives will focus on access to health and social care services, the impact of technology, the transition to a sustainable economy, demographics and innovation.

The day will begin with a breakfast conference for those participating under the Young Leaders Programme and four Rendezvous where delegates will be able to find out more about big data, insurers, markets and agricultural strategies.

The first round table of the day will look at the challenge of providing a wide range of healthcare and social services. While some economists argue that healthcare will be the largest sector of the economy in the 21st century, panellists will examine how the co-operative and mutual sector can respond to the challenge. Speakers include Eudes de Freitas Aquino, president of Unimed do Brasil, Gerard Martí , deputy medical director at the Hospital of Barcelona (a co-operative hospital), José Carlos Guisado, president of the International Health Cooperative Organisation and Rüdiger Krech of the World Health Organization.

The round table will be followed by a presentation of a study report on technological advances that will transform life, business and the global economy. Michael Chui, partner at the McKinsey Global Institute will introduce a report that identifies 12 technologies that could drive big economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years.

Another presentation taking place at the same time will look at communication issues and branding for co-operatives and will include presentations of the Top.Coop nominated campaigns.

Later on, Michel Seguin, Guy-Bernier Co-operative Chair at the University of Quebec in Montreal, will present a study that provides an insight into how people perceive co-operatives.

In his keynote speech Prof Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, will highlight the realities facing the world and the way in which co-operatives can contribute to the post 2015 development framework. He will then join other panellists for a round table on how co-operatives can stand out in the transition to a sustainable economy.

After lunch, the Summit will continue with seven concurrent forums that will look at the importance of co-operative research, education, membership and strategic market management. The forums will also explore collective solutions to local development, intercooperation and global competition, and how to transfer businesses to employees using the co-operative model.

In a workshop on co-operatives as progressive businesses, experts will assess the concept and the self-diagnostic tool for co-operatives. Speakers include André Coupet, senior consulting partner at Paris Montréal Conseil, Stéphane Tremblay of IBM Canada and Michel Lafleur, vice dean of the Faculty of Management at the University of Sherbrooke.

With demographic changes being one of the big challenges facing the world, Prof David Foot of the Department of Economics and the University of Toronto will explain how co-ops can make the most of these changes.

The day will end with a presentation of the World Co-operative Monitor of 2014, which gathers data on co-operatives from all over the world. Presenting the Monitor, Gianluca Salvatori, chief executive of the European Research Institute of Cooperatives and Social Enterprises (Euricse), will talk about the important role of co-operatives in the world economy.

The full programme is available online here.

 

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