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Co-operatives Fortnight 2011 is Yours To Share

by Anonymous | Mon, 06/12/2010 - 14:37

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 Co-operatives UK has announced that Co-operatives Fortnight 2011, the national campaign that unites the sector in raising awareness of the co-operative model, will take place from 25 June to 9 July 2011 with the theme - ‘Yours To Share.’

 
The 2011 campaign will seek to highlight how sharing ownership and profits makes co-operatives ethical and relevant businesses and it will challenge growing inequality in the UK by arguing for co-operative models of ownership.
 
Latest market research carried out by Co-operatives UK on behalf of its members, shows that the public already associates co-operatives with sharing profits and so the theme chimes with the public’s understanding of the co-operative business model.
 
Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, said: “The success of the first Co-operatives Fortnight last year, which involved 2.3million people, came from the enthusiasm and activism of co-operatives across the country.
 
“This year, Co-operatives UK and the Founding Sponsors want to step it up a gear. Concerns about wealth and fairness are on everyone’s lips at the moment so we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate – to customers, employees, members, business leaders and government – that co-operatives are different because they are ‘yours to share.’
 
“The key to this,” Ed says, “is co-operatives everywhere getting involved, using the Yours to Share branding, marketing materials and campaign messages to promote how they share ownership and profits.”
 
Co-operatives Fortnight 2010 not only resulted in the engagement of 2.3 million people but there was also media coverage reaching 43 million, with another 70,000 people engaged online, 92 civil servants hearing directly from the sector and an early day motion receiving the support of 72 MPs.
 
For 2011, the campaign will call on consumers to think about where they spend their money, ask government to recognise how co-operatives help build a more equal economy and invite business leaders to share in the learning of how a co-operative approach can boost their performance.
 
Co-operatives Fortnight 2011 has already had confirmation of Founding Sponsorship and active involvement from the Co-operative Group, Midcounties Co-operative, Midlands Co-operative Society, The Southern Co-operative, East of England Co-operative Society, Lincolnshire Co-operative, Anglia Regional Co-operative Society and Chelmsford Star Co-operative.
 
Further support is anticipated from larger sponsors with a Supporting Sponsor package to be launched in late November for those who wish to demonstrate their support.
 
Visit www.uk.coop/yourstoshare.