At our Conference in St. Albert, AB, CWCF is proud to present its 2013 Merit Award to Lynn Hannley, Managing Director of the Communitas Group Ltd. of Edmonton.  

 

Lynn's extraordinary experience and contributions which have led to this honour include having acted as the co-op developer for a variety of worker co-ops including the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op and Co-operative Communications, and also having played a key leadership role within CoopZone, the network of co-op developers affiliated with CWCF.  

 

Lynn was on the CoopZone steering committee (starting in 2005), and also on the founding Board of CoopZone. She was one of the people who created its co-op developer training program, and continues to serve as a mentor and training team member in that program. In addition, Lynn served on the CWCF Board in the 1990's, represented CWCF to the Alberta Community and Co-operative Association for many years in the early 2000's, and currently represents CoopZone on the CCA's Co-op Development Strategy Committee.

 

The person nominating her stated, "Lynn has shown tremendous leadership and dedication to the values of a co-operative society and has inspired in me the passion and drive to want to continue to grow the co-operative model. She offered far more than just advice in establishing our co-op, she walked us through many of the steps required for us to even learn who and what we could and would become. We owe our livelihood to Lynn's leadership talents and her ability to get a group from one objective to another."

 

The Award will be presented at the solidarity supper as part of the Conference on Friday, November 8^th. Congratulations, Lynn!  

 

The October 24, 2013 edition of CCA's News Briefs provided the following update on Co-op Week.

It was a week for celebrations and announcements; a week for honouring outstanding co-operators and highlighting the co-operative difference. 

Co-op Week 2013, October 13-19, has now passed into history, but it will be remembered as a week when co-ops took centre stage across the country. Some of the week's highlights included:

• The publication of a special report on co-operatives in the business section of the Globe and Mail, highlighting the Co-op Week theme A Better Way.
• A supplement on co-ops in Saskatchewan in the Regina and Saskatoon biweekly magazines Planet S and Prairie Dog, which are published by Hullabaloo Worker Co-op.
• The presentation of awards to outstanding co-ops and individual co-operators in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
• The first-ever proclamation of Co-op Week by the government of British Columbia.
• A flag-raising ceremony at the Saskatchewan legislature.
• The Ontario Co-operative Association's conference and celebration, including the Spirit Awards luncheon and a wine and cheese reception.
• Co-op Week messages from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Industry Minister James Moore, NDP co-operatives critic H�l�ne LeBlanc and Liberal co-op advocate Mauril B�langer. Both Ms. LeBlanc and Mr. B�langer also made Co-op Week statements in the House of Commons, and Mike Lake, Parliamentary Secretary to the Industry Minister, made a statement in response to a question from Ms. LeBlanc.
• A Co-op Week reception in Halifax organized by the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council and attended by newly-elected Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.
• A speaking tour of western Canada by Julius Turyahebwa from the Uganda Co-operative Alliance (UCA).
• A Co-op Week online auction organized by the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada and sponsored by Federated Co-operatives Limited.
• The official launch of Caring Co-operatively, a national project aimed at supporting the development of co-operative elder care, led by the British Columbia Co-operative Association. Alice Wong, federal Minister of State for Seniors, participated in the event, announcing the government's contribution of nearly $500,000 to the project.  
• A Co-op Week luncheon in Vancouver, which brought co-op leaders together with Industry Canada officials Krista Campbell and Rose Sirois.
• The official opening of the Co-op Refinery Complex expansion in Regina (see article below).
• The conference and Annual General Meeting of the Health Care Co-operatives Federation of Canada in Dartmouth, NS, which brought together representatives of health care co-ops from across Canada. It was also attended by community college students who were there to learn about co-ops.
• More than 500 tweets on Twitter using the hashtags #coopweek2013 or #coopweek.
• Local co-op Week and International Credit Union activities for members and employees in communities across the country.  

(Le fran�ais suit.)

 

 Alvarado Street Bakery has been named one of the top 100 places to work in 'Great Places to Work 2013'! Coming in at #23 on the Small Business list, beating out hundreds of other applicants, this is the first time ever that a worker cooperative has been featured on this list. Read the full story.

 

• 2014 Summit program 
• 2014 International Summit of Cooperatives Exhibition
• XVIII ICA Americas Regional Conference in Brazil: Interview
• FAO releases comprehensive new food wastage report
• First-ever ICA Global Conference in Africa   

Pour la version fran�aise, cliquez ici.   

 

 

 

Global Co-operative Development Group Inc is very pleased to announce that its new book (originally called "Co-operative Enterprise For Dummies") is now available.  Given the book's educational focus it was renamed "Co-operative Enterprise - Building a Better World". You can check out some of the book's content at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Google Books. The book can be viewed or ordered from many different distributors from around the world.  Here are just some of the links: 

 

Barnes and Noble 

Amazon

Google

 

 

Wednesday November 20th, 2013 at 11:00 am Central Standard Time, for one hour.  

 

You are invited to participate in this global webinar book launch where the three authors (Terry MacDonald, Ian MacPherson, and Greg Wallace) will give a little background, elaborate on the various sections and chapters in the book, and describe how they think the book might best be used.  Participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the book's content.  Most importantly, participants will be asked to offer their thoughts on how the book might best be used locally and globally. 

For more information about the Global Co-operative Development Group Inc., visit their website

When Dan Rosenberg and Addie Holland founded Real Pickles in Greenfield, Mass., in 2001, it was with the intention of creating a different kind of food processor. They aimed to create a business that was not only financially successful, but was also deeply rooted in the local community and that moved large enough volumes of vegetables to have a real beneficial impact on the local economy. In doing so, they also wanted to ensure that the volume of crops being handled did not come at the expense of the environment.  Read More...   

 

The Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF) is a national, bilingual grassroots membership organization of and for worker co-operatives, related types of co-operatives (multi-stakeholder co-ops and worker-shareholder co-ops), and organizations that support the growth and development of worker co-operatives.  CWCF's e-newsletter is available free of charge to anyone with an e-mail address and an interest in worker co-operative developments in Canada.