Free eBook shows how co-ops create a fairer food system
Find out how Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World in a new series of free eBooks that show how co-operatives provide an ethical alternative for business across the world (
www.thenews.coop/ebooks).
To celebrate the International Day of Co-operatives (July 7), the first eBook tackles food security and how the sector from smallholder farmers through to multi-billion dollar organizations is working to provide key commodities for the global population. The eBooks are supported by the International Co-operative Alliance, Co-operative Group and Co-operatives UK through Co-operatives United.The series of ‘Building A Better World’ eBooks are written by Co-operative News, the Global News Hub for co-operatives
The eBooks are being released each month in the run-up to Co-operatives United, the culmination event for the International Year of Co-operatives 2012, and are a preview of the topics set to dominate the conferences, keynote addresses, seminars, workshops, fringe activities and other events during the week-long festival.
Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance, who has written an introduction for the publication, says: “Co-operatives strengthen the bargaining power and livelihoods of small farmers who are less vulnerable to price fluctuations, through working together.
“Co-operatives from the UK, Sweden, Canada, the US, Norway, Japan and many other countries are working around the world to combat food insecurity and fight poverty.
“The United Nations designated 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives demonstrating its recognition of the power of this business model to do good in the world. In a world where food insecurity threatens to increase in the coming decades, co-operatives are an important part of the solution.”
Key sessions on food security from Co-operatives United, which will be hosted in Manchester, UK (October 29–November 2), will also be streamed online (www.thenews.coop/virtualevent). An interactive platform will also connect delegates at the event and thousands of viewers across the globe.
Co-operatives United is an inspiring global festival of events and exhibitions set in Manchester, UK, to mark the close of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives in October. With 1 world premiere, 3 exhibitions, 10 conferences, 45 countries, 150 workshops, 200 exhibitors and 10,000 people, Co-operatives United will inform and inspire everyone building an ethical economy and a better world.