Many Hands Make Light Work of Crises

International Year of CooperativesOn 26 June, a documentary film “Together – How Cooperatives Show Resilience to the Crisis” was screened in Brussels. The film was produced by CECOP-CICOPA Europe in the framework of the UN-proclaimed International Year of Cooperatives.

We took this opportunity to ask Bruno Roelants, General Secretary of the International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal and Service Producers’ Co-operatives (CICOPA), about the importance of cooperatives, especially in times of crisis.

 

In a short video interview, Mr. Roelants highlighted that in the past few years cooperatives have shown a high level of resilience to the crisis in terms of survival of enterprises, survival of jobs and the capacity to accumulate capital and not to be too indebted.

cinema32x32 DblueBruno Roelants about Cooperatives

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The United Nations has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting their contribution to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.