Co-operatives & Peace

“Peace and social well-being are not only relevant to co-operatives but co-operatives are relevant to the peacemaking process in communities and societies throughout the world.”

This was part of the message delivered in the closing address of Dr. Yehudah Paz at the Co-operatives and the Pursuit of Peace Conference.

For three days (June 18 to 20, 2006), 38 participants representing over 14 different countries met in Victoria, British Columbia, to review the historical record of how co-operatives have addressed conflict and to reflect on current practices of co-operatives operating in areas deeply divided by political, economic, and social injustices. Participants came from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Japan, India, Kenya, Israel, Colombia, the UK, Finland, Germany, Italy, the US and Canada. The conference was hosted by BCICS.

Through presentations, discussions, and working groups, participants shared their knowledge and insights on the contributing factors to certain conflicts, the particular challenges co-operatives must address in these areas, and how the co-ops and regional co-operative movements were responding to those concerns and contributing to peace making and sustainability. Different types of conflict situations was explored; such as conflict related to gender oppression; conflict that arises from economic oppressions, conditions of poverty and related social injustices; situations of armed confrontation and political strife; and conflict following wide-scale natural disasters such as the 2004 tsunami. Examples of specific case studies focused on: Rebuilding of the co-operative movement in Sri Lanka and Indonesia (the Aceh area in particular which also touched on the Post-MOU conditions); Israel and Palestine - a co-operative approach to conflict; the role of informal co-operatives in peace building in Ethiopia; co-operatives, armed conflict and sustainable development in Colombia; and women’s co-operatives dealing with conflict in Nepal.

In the dialogue that unfolded over the three days, many insights were offered on ways co-operatives are responding to conflict and contributing to democratic processes and rebuilding in the societies they operate in. It was also noted that more can be done - both within the movement and without – to tap the under-developed potential of co-ops to contribute to peace building.

In the closing session, a number of recommendations came forward from the conference working groups. These recommendations included: encouraging the ICA to take initiate in promoting the role of co-operatives in addressing conflict and contributing to peace; to consider developing a protocol for co-operatives in ways they might address conflicts, to be more involved in peace education, to develop training programs on mediation as it relates to co-operatives in areas of conflict and to encourage this discussion go forward to the ICA and regional ICA Boards for development of specific polices.

Specific outcomes from the conference include two publications on co-operatives and peace (one is a collection of essays based on presentations from the conference, a video (drawing on conference presentations and discussion), a website and web based resources, and other educational materials.

(Visit http://www.peace.coop)