The United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Government of Mongolia, hosted an Expert Group Meeting on “Cooperatives in Social Development” on 3-6 May 2011 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The meeting was organized around four key themes: (1) Promoting research on cooperatives; 2) Identifying and Promoting Good Practices and Addressing Challenges faced by cooperatives; (3) Raising Public Awareness on cooperatives; and (4) Policy and Planning Beyond 2012.
In addressing these themes, the EGM sougth to 1) highlight the strengths of cooperative enterprises in promoting social development; 2) identify important factors and practices important for the successful operation of cooperatives; 3) identify and assess ways and means to raise awareness about cooperatives;4) understand the current state and gaps in research and information in support of policy formulation for cooperative development; 5) review prevailing policies and laws impacting cooperatives and identify strategies to create supportive policy environments for cooperatives; and 6) identify priority capacity-building strategies to promote and strengthen cooperatives.
In addressing these core issues, the objectives of the EGM were to:
- provide background information and substantive inputs to the Secretary-General’s report on cooperatives in social development to the 66th session of the General Assembly in 2011;
- draft an international plan of action beyond 2012 to be adopted as an outcome of the IYC.
The draft plan of action for cooperatives beyond 2012, consistent with the objectives of the IYC, included principles and guidelines for good practices, an international research agenda and policy recommendations for Member States.
Papers and Presentations
Cooperatives: Promoting Good Practices and Addressing Internal Challenges
Status of Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU)
Mr. Tadesse Meskela, General Manager, Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (Presentation Document)
Proactive Cooperative Banks in Local Development: Socio-Economic Problem Solving, Growth and Community Building
Ms. Cynthia Giagnovaco, Research Fellow, University of Almería (Presentation Document)
The Experience of Cooperative Insurance in Kenya, in particular, and Africa in General
Mr. Nelson Kuria, Group Managing Director/CEO, The Co-op Insurance Company Group (CIC Kenya) (Presentation Document)
Leadership, Capacity Building and Governability in Cooperatives
Mr. Armando Costa Pinto, Swedish Cooperative Centre, Regional Director for Europe and Asia (Presentation Document)
Cooperative Development in Viet Nam: Success and Challenges
Mr. Nguyen Minh Tu, Director General, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Department of Cooperative Sector Development, Viet Nam (Presentation Document)
Capacity Building for Africa’s Cooperatives and Social Economy Organizations
Mr. Jürgen Schwettman, ILO Deputy Regional Director for Africa (Presentation Document)
Lessons Learned from Experiences with Cooperatives in Developing Countries
Rabobank Group
The Role of Cooperatives in the Financial and Rural Sectors in Germany
Christian Albrecht, Director DGRV Program Vietnam, Audit Expert DGRV Program South East Asia, German Cooperatives and Raiffeisen Confederation (Reg. Assoc.) / Deutscher Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband (DGRV) (Presentation Document)
Cooperatives Response to Natural Disasters (Japan)
Akira Kurimoto, Director & Chief Researcher of the Consumer Co-operative Institute of Japan (Presentation Document)
Understanding Cooperatives: Promoting Effective Research
Understanding Cooperatives Through Research
Ms. Lou Hammond Ketilson, Chair, Committee on Cooperative Research, International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)
Current State of Cooperative Research in Asia and Future Strategies
Mr. Akira Kurimoto, Director & Chief Researcher of the Consumer Co-operative Institute of Japan (Presentation Document)
Promoting Effective Research
Ms. Ann Hoyt, Director, University of Wisconsin Urban Cooperative Initiative (University of Wisconsin – Madison) (Presentation Document)
Promoting Cooperative Development: Raising Public Awareness
Raising Public Awareness: A Media Perspective
Ms. Johanna Son – Regional Director for IPS Asia Pacific (Presentation Document)
Leveraging the International Year of Cooperatives
Mr. Donald Lee & Ms. Astrid Hurley, Social Perspective on Development Branch, (UN DESA/DSPD) (Presentation Document)
Beyond 2012: Policy and Planning
An Introduction to Spain’s Social Economy Law
Ms. Cynthia Giagnovaco – Research Fellow, University of Almería (Presentation Document)
Legal and Fiscal Policy for the Sound Development of Cooperatives
Dante Cracogna (English Translation by Constanze Schimmel and Hagen Henry)
Creating Effective Policy and Legal Space: Improving Existing Policy Structures
Lecira Juarez (Presentation Document)
