Letter to members 

Subject: ICA Global Conference and General Assembly, Cape Town, November 2013

From Pauline Green

It is my pleasure to invite you to the General Assembly and Biannual Conference of the International Co-operative Alliance which, for the first time in our 118-year history, will be held in Africa: in Cape Town, South Africa, 1–5 November 2013.

We are entering an exciting and watershed period in the history of co-operatives. 2012, the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, demonstrated the impact we can have with a concerted global effort, and it highlighted the relevance of the co-operative model of enterprise in these momentous times. At the close of the International Year, in Manchester, UK, ICA’s members adopted an aggressive Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade.

Now we begin an eight-year journey, during the remaining years of this decade, to fulfill the vision set forth in that Blueprint. We are committed to seeing co-operatives become a much more substantial part of a balanced global economy. The Blueprint lays out a path to achieving that.

The Cape Town Conference will be a time for members to participate in shaping the specific Blueprint implementation strategies and to provide feedback on the initiatives we are launching this year. We will be launching a new global co-operative image, a marque; relaunching the .coop brand for online co-operative identity; and reporting on the results of new detailed proposals in the areas of participation, sustainability, and capital.

ICA’s sectoral organisations and thematic committees will be convening statutory meetings, and our General Assembly will hold its statutory session, as well, where a new Global ICA Board will be elected.

Specific sessions are being planned for the co-operative development community and, for the first time, to mainstream youth participation in our Conference.

This year, the ICA Conference immediately precedes the ICMIF (International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation) Conference. ICMIF is the insurance sectoral organization of the ICA and we hope many of you will find it useful to take advantage of these two conferences planned for your convenience.

In addition to the educational and governance dimensions, these conferences provide unparalleled opportunities to network and socialize with co-operators from around the world. The Cape Town venue this year promises to be particularly beautiful and convenient for a prolonged stay before or after the Conference.

I do hope that you will make every effort to join us in Cape Town.

Co-operatively yours,

Dame Pauline Green
President of the ICA