With Earth Day just behind us, it continues to be clear that to save our planet from further damage we must act now. It was no surprise that the discussions held at our Paris 2022 Global Innovative Coop Summit (GICS) revealed the important (and natural) role of cooperative and mutuals leadership in this effort. Speakers emphasized the need for cooperatives and mutuals to be more proactive in taking a bigger leadership role. We need to adopt sustainable practices, and work collaboratively across the cooperative sector to drive systemic change.
This year in Montreal, we will take it one step farther, to facilitate leadership and cooperation in the fight against climate change. There will be more relevant sessions that will spotlight cooperative leadership and putting into action more cooperation among cooperatives. Through interactive sessions and workshops, attendees will have tangible ideas on how to increase circular economy practices and maximize the benefits of a digital society.
There will be a total of 12 workshops related to the three themes of cooperative leadership, circular economy, and digitalization. An important outcome of the Montreal summit will be to establish a GICS community of practice to inspire achieving goals for the common good and global community. This community of practice will be open to cooperatives, mutuals, academics and anyone who is interested in the cooperative business model.
“Our goal is to create an inspiring international community of practice so our participants can return home, continue their discussion, and share good practices and innovative ideas between GICS events” said Joanne Lechasseur, co-founder of GICS. “It is the co-op way to work together, so with GICS, we are looking forward to create a space to facilitate this.”
Learn more about what will be discussed in Montreal and how we plan to bring cooperatives together to act now for a circular and digital future — the cooperators way.
