ICA President's Page

Fellow Co-operators, dear Friends,

Thank you for the great honour and trust that you have given me today by electing me as President of our global movement. I am very conscious of the great responsibility that I am taking on for the next four years, and I give you my word that I will do my very best to be worthy of it. The values and principles of our movement, its ethos and its contribution to the struggle for equality, fairness and the development of a plural and sustainable world economy are the things that excite and drive me. I believe that co-operation is not just an alternative model of business; it is a better model of business. And I look forward to working with, and for you to enhance the strength and reach of co-operatives across the globe.

I want to take a moment to pay tribute to my predecessor, Ivano Barberini. A man who could not be faulted for the energy and commitment he gave to our movement through his life long work for co-operatives in Italy and, during the last eight years of his life, for the enthusiasm with which he undertook his work as President across the world. I know that we all regret that he could not be here today to complete his term of office and receive the thanks of this movement for all that he has done for us in every corner of the world. Colleagues, I can’t promise to be as omnipresent as Ivano was, but what I can promise you is that I will pursue the development of the global co-operative family in my way with all of the passion and drive that I have. I hope in this way that I will be at least a worthy successor to Ivano whose memory we all cherish.

I have a particular message today to the hundreds of thousands of co-operative women serving our movement around the world. I want them to know that nearly 115 years after its foundation, the ICA has its first woman President. I feel humbled to be that woman. But we all need to acknowledge that since its inception, co-operation has upheld equality between men and women as a key principle. And yet around the world that equality is still more noticeable in its omission than in its commission. I hope our women cooperators take heart from having a woman President – I can tell them that they will have all my support.

Colleagues, the ICA is a changed organisation. Thanks to the quite incredible work of the outgoing global Board and with the support of the staff of the ICA in Geneva, in Costa Rica, in New Delhi, in Nairobi and in Brussels, this organisation has reformed itself. It now has a constitution and a subscription structure that brings it into the 21st century. So internally, the organisation is ready to move on from the reform platform of the last years.

At the same time, the world is travelling through a difficult and stressful economic period when trust and confidence in the traditional financial and business model has been severely shaken, some would say destroyed!

Our model with its commitment to returning surplus to the business, members and the community, its unique ownership structure and democratic traditions built on the enduring values and principles that have served for nearly 200 years, has a real potential to build a more plural economy, a diversified economy that will ensure that such a corporate collapse should never again occur. Our model gives back to communities and individuals a sense of control and engagement with their own economic good health; and how inspiring it was to hear Elinor Ostrum the first woman Nobel Economic Laureate supporting this thesis.

Last updated: 23 December 2009

Dame Pauline Green

Upcoming events in 2010

“The co-operative model is a better choice and offers the basis for a more sustainable way to do business when compared to traditional capitalist models now under scrutiny. ”

Dame Pauline Green commenting on the UN proclamation of 2012 as International Year of Co-operatives See press release

President's Page - Dame Pauline Green

Dame Pauline Green of the United Kingdom was unanimously elected by the General Assembly on 20 November 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. She becomes ICA's first woman president. Upon election, Dame Pauline stepped down as the Co-president of Co-operatives Europe and as ICA's Vice-president for Europe.

Dame Pauline Green commenting on the UN proclamation of 2012 as International Year of Co-operatives
See press release