First International Summit of Cooperatives to be Held in Canada in 2012

QUEBEC CITY, July 15, 2011 -

Drawing Cooperative Leaders
From Around the World

Decision-makers and influential figures from the international
cooperative and mutualist community will gather in Quebec City,
Canada, from October 8 to 11, 2012 for the 2012 International
Summit of Cooperatives. This event will mark the International Year
of Cooperatives declared by the United Nations (UN).

The Summit will be a milestone eventfor current and future
leaders committed to consolidating the influence of the cooperative
and mutualist movement on the socio-economic and political
stage.

Desjardins Group, the leading cooperative financial group in
Canada and the sixth largest in the world, will co-host the Summit
with two other major cooperative players: the International
Co-operative Alliance (ICA), which represents and serves
cooperatives worldwide, and Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia,
Canada, which is renowned for its post-graduate cooperative
management program. The three Summit co-hosts have also made it
their mission to promote the cooperative and mutualist business
model worldwide.

Participants from around the world will be discussing:

• The role of cooperatives and mutuals in the global economy
• The performance of the cooperative and mutualist business
  model
• The evolution of the business model
• The global socio-political influence of cooperative and
  mutuals

Some 125 keynote speakers from different areas of expertise will
be participating in this event.

The results of international groundbreaking studies will be
revealed for the first time at the Summit. These multi-sector
studies cover:

• Major global trends and the issues and challenges they
  represent for cooperatives and mutuals
• Development strategies for the cooperative and mutualist
  model
• Evolution of cooperative and mutualist management
  practices
• Productivity, financing and capitalization of cooperatives and
  mutuals
• Global socio-economic impact of cooperatives and mutuals
• International survey of member and consumer expectations of
  cooperatives and mutuals

Round tables and plenary meetings will promote dialogue and
enable participants to take part in discussions. The program also
includes workshops that will address specific issues by activity
sector: agriculture, retail, insurance, finance, industrial,
health, to name a few.

To find out more about this international event, visit href="www.2012intlsummit.coop">www.2012intlsummit.coop.

For further information:
(for journalists only):
Nathalie Genest
Media Relations
+1-514-281-7275
1-866-866-7000, extension 7275 (Canada only)
href="mailto:nathalie.genest@2012intlsummit.coop">nathalie.genest@2012intlsummit.coop

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