16 November: Celebrate Global Worker Co-operative Day

19 Sep 2012

​More than 1,000 co-operators, academics and experts will share their experiences and exchange ideas, at the Global Worker Co-operative Day on 16 November. The day will mark the International Year of Co-operatives through a full day of exchanges, debates and analyses of various aspects of the co-operative movement at the 35 National Congress of French Worker Co-operatives in Marseille (15-16 November).

On the first day of the conference, co-operators will get the chance to look at various issues that French co-operatives are facing. Participants will also get an insight into global co-operative trends, with experts from Spain, Italy, India, Argentina and the USA sharing their views. The debate aims to stimulate ideas on how co-operatives can respond to globalisation.

The Friday afternoon sessions will focus on developing the transfer of business into worker co-operative enterprises, having key speakers from Quebec, Brazil, Italy and France.

Paul Singer, Brazilian Secretary of State for Solidarity Economy and Benoît Hamon, French Deputy Minister of Social and Solidarity Economy, will also be attending the conference, leading a discussion on French-Brazilian exchange on the public policies in favour of worker co-operatives.

Patrick Lenancker, President of the Confederation of French Worker Cooperatives (CG Scop) will deliver the closing address on Friday evening. Participants who wish to explore the beauty of Marseille can join a trip organised by the GC Scop and get to visit Marseille’s beaches, try the traditional food and play regional games. Prices and details will be available soon. 

The Global Worker Co-operative Day is an initiative put forward by the French worker co-operatives organisation (CG Scop) and the International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal and Service Producers’ Co-operatives (CICOPA).

Simultaneous translation in French, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and sign language will be provided in order to enable participants to get fully involved in the debate. Participants in the two-day Congress are also invited to the official gala dinner scheduled for Thursday, 15 November. Visits to local co-operatives will be organised for international participants.

• For further details on the events, view the provisional programme. 

Photo: Members of the Berlin daily newspaper "taz" — a worker co-operative, which appears in the ICA's book "Building a Better World: 100 stories of co-operation". To find out more, visit the ICASHOP.