31 May 2007

UCC to host the inaugural seminar of the Forum for the Co-operative Movement in Ireland

The Centre for Co-operative Studies at UCC will host the inaugural seminar of the Forum for the Co-operative Movement in Ireland (FCMI) on Wednesday, June 6th.

With a combined turn-over of €15 billion, a membership of 3.2 million and over 20,000 people employed in co-operative organisations throughout Ireland, co-operative businesses are significant contributors to the Irish economy and to Irish society.  Their contribution can be measured both in terms of their economic impact and in terms of their value to society in that they provide people with an opportunity to participate in democratically controlled business organisations.

Despite the fact that there are more Irish people owning shares in a co-operative than have shares invested in the stock market, the concept of co-operative business organisation is little understood and applied outside the agricultural, credit union and housing sectors in Ireland.

The role of co-operatives in fostering a culture of self help and promoting active leadership by getting people and communities to organise and control the quality and price of many of the goods and services they need and use on a day to day basis, is not sufficiently understood. Experience from other countries would indicate that co-operatives have the potential to play a significant role in areas as diverse as child care, health care, insurance, food retailing, and funeral homes.  

The Seminar brings together a panel of national and international speakers from the different strands of the co-operative movement who will explore the present scope of co-operative businesses in Ireland and the potential and constraints to expanding the co-operative model into other sectors of the economy in Ireland.

The Forum for the Co-operative Movement in Ireland consists of the representative and promotional federations for co-operatives in Ireland, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society Ltd., (ICOS), the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) and the National Association of Building Co-operatives (NABCo).  The Forum also includes other specialist networks of co-operatives, and organisations involved in the provision of education and research in relation to co-operatives or in the development of co-operatives.  These include the Co-operative Development Society, the Society for Co-operative Studies in Ireland as well as the Centre for Co-operative Studies, UCC.  The Forum provides a platform for dealing with matters of common interest and concern between the co-operative sectors, including legislative and related matters at national and European levels.

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