ICA's IYC 2012 launch

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 was a day of great celebration and success for the global co-operative movement as its apex organization, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), kick started the International Year of Co-operatives at its general assembly in Cancun, Mexico. Over 2,000 co-operators from around the world were present, representing one of the largest gatherings in ICA history.

The IYC tagline "Co-operative enterprises build a better world" was the theme for the ICA's conference, which ran from November 14 to November 18. The week featured many highlights, including the launch of stories.coop (an online campaign that features one co-op story a day), the unveiling of ICA's new IYC poster, a video message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and a presentation on social media from President Barack Obama's chief blogger. Enjoy all these highlights and more by tuning into recordings of the live broadcast or poking through the features below.

A message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Take the message viral: President Barack Obama’s chief campaign blogger was a keynote speaker at the ICA’s general assembly. He encouraged co-operators from around the world to harness the power of social media to spread the message of co-operation. Read more

Change the status quo: Another keynote speaker, the environmentalist, journalist and filmmaker, Philippe Cousteau, told the ICA General Assembly that the co-operative movement has solutions to the big global issues that will provide the world with hope for the future. Read more

Introducing ICA’s new IYC 2012 poster: The winner of the ICA’s poster design contest was announced during the festivities. Collage-No, a Spanish design agency co-operative, took the prize with their piece the  “Exquisite Co-operative Body.” Read more

Callling all creative young co-operators!: The Coop’Art competition, which invites young people to express themselves co-operatively, was officially launched at the ICA’s general assembly. A camera, an instrument or a voice is all you need to participate in the competition. Read more

The play-by-play: Catch up on all the news coming out of the ICA’s launch of the International Year of Co-operatives by reading this special edition of News Briefs. Click here