Week of Oct. 15– Oct. 21, 2006, Vol. 2, No. 1 Edited and Compiled for you, by Rising Tide Co-operative Ltd. To subscribe: [email protected] To unsubscribe: [email protected] Openings – “Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.” - Grant Petersen http://rivendellbicycles.com/html/about.html Openings is a weekly feature of Co-op Circles. Send your favourite quote about celebrating co-operatives, communities and a better world for all, to [email protected] This Week in Co-op Circles Happy Co-op Week !!!!! It has been a year since we launched Co-op Circles by invitation to about 100 co-op friends, former co-workers and community development workers. We have produced 47 issues and subscriptions have grown steadily. Circles began as a birth from a death so to speak. One day in 2004, we were talking about a co-op activist who had passed away and realized that there was no easy way to tell many people quickly. We have lots of Co-op publications but no weekly news source for people, no vehicle in place in Atlantic Canada to communicate among co-op members quickly, inexpensively and simply. So after a year of looking at models, seeking partners and discussing formats, we decided to just “get 'er done”. Now Circles is a part of our lives and our work week. We add and delete features and deal with technical issues as we grow. And here we are. We feel fortunate to be members of a worker co-op. Rising Tide allows us ownership and control over our workplace and that gives us the opportunity to try new things. So now, a year later, we send you our good wishes as Co-op Week is celebrated in most co-ops and credit unions all across Canada this week. We wish we could meet each one of you in person and thank you for your contributions, large and small, to the development of people and communities and businesses, the co-op way. - Brenda and Maureen Capital Credit Union (www.capitalcu.nb.ca) in Fredericton, NB, has won the Bill McWhinney Award of Excellence in International Development. The award was established in memory of Bill McWhinney, Senior Vice-President (1980–1988) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the first Executive Director of the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO). The award is given by CIDA to recognize excellence in a volunteer project or program that helps a community in a developing country build its sustainability and help improve its future prospects. Presentation of the Bill McWhinney Award of Excellence in International Development will be made at a dinner held in the Congress Hall in Ottawa on Monday, October 30, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. Joyce Humble, David Preston and Duncan Matheson will represent Capital at the awards dinner. It was Capital’s involvement in the Canadian Co-operative Association’s Co-op Connections program which initiated their ongoing commitment to the people of Lamac in the Philippines. Capital Credit Union has just over 5,000 members and we manage member assets of about $65 million. The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada ( CDF) and the Voluntary Resource Centre ( VRC) in Charlottetown, PEI, present their first partnership fundraiser “Dollars and Sense…Sounds and Fashions for the Socially Conscious” on November 17 at 7 pm at Murphy’s Recreation Centre, Richmond St, in Charlottetown .Tickets are available at Metro Credit Union, Voluntary Resource Centre and Froggies or by contacting Hannah McKinnon [[email protected]] The evening will feature an ethical fashion show with “pre loved” clothes, musical performances, door prizes and an international food bazaar. For information call (902) 621-0719. Two Nova Scotia credit unions are hosting women managers from Malawi and Nepal this week as part of the Canadian Co-operative Association’s Women Mentoring program http://www.coopscanada.coop/coopdevelopment/internationaldev/womensmentoring/ Giving Credit Where Credit is Due. Heritage Credit Union (www.heritagecu.com) in Dartmouth is hosting Bimala Sene from Nepal and iNova (www.nspostalcreditunion.com) in Halifax is hosting Pirilani Charlie from Malawi. George Wheeliker, a member of the board of directors of Consumers Community Co- operative (CCC), representing Nova Scotia, died this week in Louisbourg, Cape Breton. George loved to sing and proudly displayed his form when he sang “O Canada” at both CCC and Co-op Atlantic annual general meetings in recent years. Our prayers and thoughts go out to his wife Marilyn, and his family, whom he loved proudly and dearly. This is CO-OP WEEK. From October 15 – 21 join in celebrating Co-op Week. This year’s theme is OWN YOUR FUTURE! and it recognizes how co-operatives and credit unions and allowing people to accomplishing together what they cannot do alone. They are taking ownership of their future for themselves, for their families, and for their communities. More information on Co-op Week, this year’s theme, and a Message from the Prime Minister can be found on the Canadian Co-operative Association’s website at www.coopscanada.coop/aboutcoop/coopweek/2006coopweek. Statements made in the House of Commons will be posted during the week. October 17 was Co-op Day on Parliament Hill. Six co-op organizations presented their pre-budget submissions to the Finance Committee on Tuesday, October 17. This was a historic event. The Finance Committee heard about co-ops all day long as every scheduled time period for presentations included a co-operative group. The six groups — Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), Conseil Canadien de la Coopération (CCC), The Co- operators, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, Canadian Worker Co-op Federation, and Credit Union Central of Canada (CUCC) — along with Desjardins, have been working together to coordinate a common approach with three key recommendations. They are to: Establish a new Co-operative Investment Plan for agricultural and worker co- ops, Reinstate the roll out of the Social Economy Initiative (SEI), and Build a new partnership to strengthen co-operative enterprises (the current Co-operative Development Initiative agreement ends in 2008). After the pre-budget presentations, the CCA, CCC and CUCC hosted a joint reception on Parliament Hill to allow Members of Parliament, Senators and senior bureaucrats to meet with elected officials and staff from Canada’s co- operatives and credit unions. (From CCA NewsBriefs) From October 15 to October 21, members of Canada’s co-operatives and credit unions can test their knowledge of all things co-operative in the first-ever national Co-op Week On-line Trivia Contest. The contest was conceived by Desjardins Group and ran successfully in Quebec last year. This year, with the assistance of the Canadian Co-operative Association, the Conseil Canadien de la Coopération and the Conseil de la coopération du Québec, it is being piloted nationally. Participants who correctly answer two of the five trivia questions will be entered into a draw for to win thousands of dollars worth of prizes that have been generously donated by co-ops across the country, including Les Ateliers Vif-Argent, Citadelle, Co-op Atlantic, the Co-operative Retailing System, The Co-operators Group, Coopsco, Les Délices de l’Érable, Desjardins, GROWMARK, and Mountain Equipment Co-op. To enter, go to https://services.desjardins.com/concoursdjd/concours.nsf/bulletinan?openform&id=Concou rs20069274815420246 (From CCA NewsBriefs) Researchers and practitioners across Canada are currently grappling with a definition of the Social Economy – want to be part of the debate? Participate in an engaging tele-learning session (Oct. 26) with Marie J Bouchard, Canadian Research Chair on the Social Economy, and Jack Quarter, director of University of Toronto’s Social Economy Centre, and explore: How the Social Economy is defined? The benefits and disadvantages of the various definitions? The challenges of defining the social economy? Register by e-mailing [email protected] with your name, city, province of location, and work or volunteer position. To register by phone, call (250)472-5338. The Canadian Co-operative Association and other co-op groups continue to call on the Federal Government to reinstate the roll-out of the Social Economy Initiative, which would have supported the development of co-ops and other community-based enterprises. The government cut more than $39 million from the program last month. The research component will continue as will the implementation in Quebec. (From CCA NewsBriefs) Expanding Your Back Yard – Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh and the Grameen Bank have been jointly awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Yunus, an economist, founded the bank, which is one of the pioneers of micro-credit lending schemes for the poor, especially women, in Bangladesh. Yunus, 66, said he would use the 10m Swedish kronor ($1.35m, £730,000) prize money to "find more innovative ways" to help the poor launch businesses. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6047020.stm and http://www.grameen-info.org/ Governing For Tomorrow – Good governance and leadership are key elements when planning for, and maintaining, success in our co-op sector. Each week, we will feature a link to articles focusing on these areas. This week, A Cooperative Solution, by Riccardo Lotti, Peter Mensing and Davide Valenti – a look at the co-operative described as a self-governing corporate structure which protects communities and prospers in a globalizing world.http://www.strategy- business.com/press/16635507/06209 What is Your Vision Statement? – The vision statement of the Greater Iowa Credit Union – it promises to provide a full range of world class, competitive financial services to its member- owners in an environment of respect and courtesy where safety and privacy are maintained.