News Archive

In This Issue

• The ICA General Assembly 2011
• GA delegates vote in favour of ICA Housing resolution
• Largest attendance at Plenary and Seminar
• International Year of Co-ops 2012
• Certified timber and other forest products Campaign
• Governance Project for sound co-op housing governance
• Publication of Country Housing Profiles
• Global ICA Housing banner
• Co-operative Development Conference 2012
• Tell your story!
• Next Meeting: Brussels

Click here to read the newsletter or download a pdf

The Board met in Cancun on November 15 for its last meeting in 2011.  In addition to the regular administrative matters and the final preparations for the next day’s Plenary and Seminar, the board reviewed the work progress and the financial performance for the year.  The review of activities is available here.  2011 is ending with a positive financial result.  Thanks to TURKKENT for its generous contribution toward the Istanbul Symposium and to CHF Canada and CDS Co-operatives for their in-kind contribution allowing ICA Housing to maintain part-time staff.  

The Board meeting was also the occasion to put the finishing touches to ICA Housing's IYC program to be presented to the members during the Plenary. 

» Read More

2-4pm 16 November 2011:  Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort, Cancun

Following up with the commitment made in October 2010 at the London Symposium Co-operatives Responses to the Climate Challenge, the ICA Housing Board of Directors is pleased to present the Seminar on Environment Sustainabiltiy and Climate Change.

» Read More

The Board of Directors of ICA Housing met in Istanbul on June 27, 2011. Faithful to its commitment to open meetings and transparency, the board welcomed several guests coming from India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey to its table.  Click here to read more..... » Read More

As an introduction to the housing co-operative sector in Turkey, delegates at the Istanbul Symposium were given the opportunity to visit one of Türkkent’s member co-ops, the Yeşilkent Mass Housing Project in the Gürpınar, Büyükçekmece District of İstanbul. 

Completed in 2002, the scheme is a triumph of partnership working as 35 housing co-operatives under the Union of Yesilkent Housing Co-operatives manage 3,200 homes in 45 colourful tower blocks. At the Yesilkent Mass Housing Project, the tower blocks are based within a gated compound around a centre comprising a pretty waterfall, children’s beach playground, local café and small shops.

Kenan Yazici, manager, explained that the project, which was founded in 1991, started by making applications to various municipalities and government agencies for land.In 1993, 200 hectares of land were assigned to them by Gürpınar Municipality.  Construction started in 1997.

Kenan explained that the large Marmara earth-quake in 1999 was a worrying time but, thankfully, the only damage was to the capillary walls on the ground floors of the buildings. After the earthquake, all the buildings were examined by İstanbul Technical University Housing and Earthquake Application and Research Center, which determined that "the buildings were free of damage and had the same security before the earth-quake".  This was due to the fact that the materials and labour used for the project, and for the infrastructure works, was carried out to the highest standard, which unfortunately is not predominant in other construction around the city.

Features of the estate include all the technical infrastructure investments necessary for modern life, all of which were financed by the members without any support from local administration.These include:

• sewer works

• rain water canalisation

• post office department channel and cable works

• water supply network

• low and medium voltage electric lines

• 7 transformer buildings serving all co-operatives

• central cablesat system

• 3.500 underground car parking spaces monitored by a special controller with 24-hour security, CCTV

In the garden areas facilities include:

• childrens play parks

• sports complexes

• garden areas

• walking-tracks

• and social and cultural facilities

The green areas are regularly irrigated and the trees and landscape areas well maintained. It is of note that, in comparison to other areas in İstanbul, the green area ratio of Yeşilkent is much higher.

ICA Housing board would like to thank members of the co-op, Türkkent and Yeşilkent’s manager, Kenan, for welcoming them to such an exemplar project.

A new training centre, self-policing software and a confidence index will increase the accountability of Turkish co-operatives and renew their contribution towards government housing objectives, delegates heard at the ICA Housing symposium in Turkey.

The International Co-operative Alliance Housing and Türkkent, the Central Union of Turkish Urban Co-operatives, jointly ran the Istanbul-based event on 29 June.

More than 50 of the world’s leading co-operative experts from 11 countries heard an inspirational keynote speech by Professor Wulf Daseking, head of urban planning at the City of Freiburg in Germany. He outlined the principles that co-operating partners should follow to build well-planned cities like his, which he said was “like living in heaven” without needing lots of money, only new ideas and a long-term vision.

Türkkent is keen to reconnect with government partners after eight years in which the AKP Government – now entering its third consecutive term – has not engaged the potential of housing co-operatives to help meet Turkey’s pressing need for social housing.

After overseeing co-operative built homes for 15 years – including thousands to rebuild the city after the 1999 Marmara earthquake – the role of Turkey’s leading co-operative housing organisation, Türkkent as housing developer, was supplanted by the Government’s homebuilding agency, TOKİ.

“They are always using these words [issues of trust and governance] against us,” said Mehmet Aksoy, president of Türkkent in an impassioned speech. “There are some really good examples, so why don’t they talk about those? Is this a reason for having a monopoly over the housing sector?” He called for an end to negativity and said: “If we work in solidarity there is nothing we cannot overcome." Mr Aksoy also stressed the capability of Türkkent to lead urban regeneration and build homes for poorer families and the need for the co-operative sector and central and local government to work together to use this capability.

ICA Housing president David Rodgers said building trust between the government and co-operatives is a “two-way street” requiring open dialogue and a willingness to understand each other’s perspective.

Earlier at the symposium, Önder Kıraç, undersecretary at the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, which oversees co-operatives in Turkey, announced two “self-policing mechanisms “to improve the governance of co-operatives and provide them with increased transparency. He said new software will help to raise awareness within co-operatives and a ranking-based confidence index would help to reclaim lost trust.

“The audit of co-operatives should be more effective, externally under their umbrella bodies when they are ready and internally within the co-operative,” he said. “We have developed software to raise awareness within co-operatives to enable members to see if their money has been well spent, or not, by the executives.”

Co-operative members will be able to check the confidence index to find their organisation’s ranking and use the information to ask questions of its executives.

Meanwhile, Muammer Niksarli, president of National Co-operative Union of Turkey, announced a new training centre to boost the professionalism of co-operatives in Turkey. He said all co-operators would be able to take the training to work towards a certificate that will allow them to become a co-operative member.

Separately, Vít Vaníček, president of CECODHAS – the European Federation of Social, Co-operatives and Public Housing, outlined a plan to bid for €180bn from the European Union Development Fund to increase the energy efficiency in 18 million homes across Europe.

The presentations from the conference are available here

The National Co-operative Housing Union (NACHU) joined the ICA on 15 February 2010.  It is the national co-operative organisation for all housing co-operatives in Kenya. Its aim is to contribute to the improved shelter and quality of life for modest and low-income communities through access to capacity development, technical services and financial solutions. It facilitates access to decent and affordable shelter and provides technical services.

NACHU represented approximately 110,000 individual members (2008) and it reported 160 member societies in 2010. More information at www.nachu.or.ke

For more information click here

ICA-KONUT TÜRKKENT İSTANBUL SEMPOZYUMU, 28-29 HAZİRAN 2011

Türkkent, the Central Co-operative Housing Union of Turkey, and ICA Housing, the global Housing Sector Organisation of the International Co-operative Alliance have joined forces to offer you an inspiring and informative Symposium which will explore how national, regional and local governments can work constructively with the communities they serve to regenerate urban communities in partnership with co-operatives and community based organisations.

Dr Wulf Daseking from Germany is the opening keynote speaker at the day long symposium on 29 June 2011.As Freiburg’s Director of Planning, he has agreed to share his master plan of the city’s partnership with its people - and its successes -with fellow housing experts in Istanbul. London’s Academy of Urbanism honoured Dr Daseking’s work last year in declaring Freiburg European City of the Year. Our keynote speaker for the end of the day is Professor Rulf Keles, from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Ankara.  He will talk about how the housing co-operatives can contribute to create sustainable, participatory, democratic and affordable housing projects in partnership with governments.

Joining Dr Daseking at the podium will be several academics from Turkey and abroad who will present ideas and case studies. The meeting is expected to attract housing co-operators and housing experts from around the world.

The symposium organisers, TURKKENT and ICA Housing, have also arranged a field trip toYeşilkent (Greencity) Co-operative Housing Project on the day prior to talks beginning.

To find out more and book a place on the Symposium and site visit please click here to download the programme.If you require accommodation please click here for more information.

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ICA Housing and Türkkent look forward to welcoming you to this symposium.

The next meeting of the ICA Housing Board will take place on Monday June 27 2011 in Istanbul. 

This will be followed by visits to local housing co-operatives on the 28th and a Symposium on 29th June.  The theme for the Symposium will be 'Successful Community Led Regeneration Projects' and a visit to local housing co-operatives.

The programme is as follows:

Monday June 27 2011 – ICA Housing Board of Directors Meeting

• From 10:00am to 16:30pm
• ICA Housing Board of Directors Dinner

Tuesday June 28 2011 – Round Table

Round Table – from 2pm to 5pm

Theme: Establishing constructive mutually beneficial relationships between the co-operative housing movement and national/regional/local governments.

Participants: ICA Housing Board Members and Turkish officials

France – Habicoop, a French association developing a new form of housing co-operative

Representatives of Habicoop gave a presentation of their organization and their work to the ICA Housing Board’s London meeting.They are developing a new form of housing co-operative, “les coopératives d’habitants”, different than the current HLM housing co-operatives found in France.A pilot project is currently being developed: the “Village Vertical” in Villeurbanne.

Click here to download their presentation.

Pakistan – The Karachi Co-operative Housing Societies Union

The managing director of the Karachi Co-operative Housing Societies Union and ICA Housing Board member, Mr. Muhammad Sharif Bhaiji, made a presentation of the Union’s work and structure.The Union is a major player in the province of Sindh building houses, schools, public and commercial amenities.Mr. Bhaiji also gave the Board an overview of the disastrous flood that devastated part of Pakistan in July 2010.

Mr. Bhaiji’s presentation is available here.