Melina Morrison on how do we live our co-operative identity?

06 December 2024

The BCCM featured in the Co-op News’ article, ICA Global Cooperative Conference: a round up.

The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) hosted its Global Cooperative Conference in New Delhi, India, in the last week of November, with the theme Cooperatives Build Prosperity For All. The main conference (26-27 November) had four main strategic pillars guiding discussions, with each pillar comprising a keynote speech and panel, plus four parallel sessions.

I Enabling Policy and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
II Nurturing purposeful leadership
III Reaffirming the Co-operative Identity
IV Shaping a Co-operative Future

BCCM CEO Melina Morrison moderated a pillar three panel discussion. Below is an excerpt from Co-op News:

During a panel discussion, Alexandra Wilson, ICA board Member and chair of the ICA’s Co-operative Identity Advisory Group, shared Perspectives from ICA Global Consultations on the Cooperative Identity. Canada’s experience, she said, was that co-operators who joined in the consultation discussions were interested and engaged.

The panel featured co-operators from different regions, who shared their vision of the co-operative identity. But once we are sure of our co-operative identity, how do we live our co-operative identity?

This was the question posed to a panel moderated by Melina Morrison, CEO of Australia’s Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals. “We need to look at the practical implementation of these ideas,“ she said, “why we’re engaging and why we care so much to go through this [consultation] process.”

Morrison stressed the urgency of the co-operative identity – and not just because the movement is nearing the International Year. The crucial task remains of advocating co-ops as the greatest tool the world possesses to address its multiple crises.

Why should we care to ask the questions? Morrison asked. The answer, she said, was because “we want get this right, we want to improve … We can get better at sharing our identity this is our challenge and opportunity.”

With 3 million co-operatives living their co-op identity in 3 million different ways, “We need to be muscular and approach the IYC 2025 with a sense of urgency,” added Morrison.