The new Desjardins building in Lévis houses the tallest interior living wall in the world with more than 11,000 individual plants artfully arranged according to colour, texture, pattern and size covering a 15-storey wall of the new building at 150 rue des Commandeurs, in Lévis. The artwork, “The Currents”, was designed by Green over Grey, […]
The Jardins of Desjardins
Tomatoes on the roof, ferns on the walls… The Desjardins Group, Canada’s leading cooperative financial group and the fifth largest in the world, is taking the principle of sustainability to heart and introducing ground-breaking environmental initiatives at all levels – literally. The roof of a bank might be one of the last places you’d expect […]
Pulling Nigerians Out of Poverty
Nigeria, the “Giant of Africa”, has the continent’s largest population and economy, now worth over $500 billion thanks in large part to its oil reserves. This wealth, however, has not stopped 60% of Nigerians living in extreme poverty, nor youth unemployment being close to 80%. Peter Obiorah, president of the De Parach Multipurpose Co-operative Society, […]
A Quiet Revolution: Co-operative schools in the UK
The Co-operative Schools in the UK case stud7 written by Linda Shaw discusses the growth of a new co-operative sector in England during the past ten years which has been one of the movement’s success stories. The development of more than 700 schools as multi stakeholder co-operatives has been aptly described as ‘a quiet […]
The case of H’Nord: Not just a housing cooperative
The H’Nord case study was written by Jimmy Carollo. H’Nord is an eco-neighbourhood housing redevelopment project under construction within the Des Chartrons district in the northern part of Bordeaux. The project started when, in 2004, three long standing residents of the neighbourhood began to think about how to exploit a vast industrial area left […]
A Visit with the San Francisco Bay Area Co-ops
Out at the edge of the Western United States, the San Francisco Bay Area is home to dozens of unique, cooperatively-owned businesses. California has long engendered hopes and dreams of epic proportion and lured prospectors seeking wonder and wealth. In the 1840s the world heard a rumor that gold lay in California’s northern hills. Cooperatives […]
From Village Shops to Online Banking
Finland is one of most cooperative countries in the world, with almost 4 million cooperative members out of a total population of 5.4 million. Over 1.9 million of them are members of the Suomen Osuuskauppojen Keskuskunta (SOK) Corporation, also known as the S Group, a union of 22 regional retail and service cooperatives. The S […]
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Here you will find stories on the ICA Blueprint themes as well as academic case studies and in-depth stories. Browse the stories to learn more about co-operatives and their unique features.
IYC 2012
2012 is the United Nations declared INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF COOPERATIVES. The International Year (IYC) celebrates the important contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development across the globe. It recognises the role of cooperatives in reducing poverty, generating employment and creating greater social equality. Goals of the International Year of Cooperatives Increase public awareness of cooperatives and their contribution […]
Storytelling tips
Tips for writing your story Take some time to consider how you want to tell your story. Is it going to be told through the eyes of someone in your organisation? Can you describe the most interesting or fascinating aspects of your organisation through a funny story? Think about who has been in your organisation […]