Planet Bean Worker Co-op Signs Historic Coffee Agreement With Ethiopia

Representatives from the Washington and Ottawa Ethiopian Embassies were in Guelph September 18, 2007 to sign a historic trademark agreement with Planet Bean Coffee. The agreement developed after a prolonged battle between Ethiopia and coffee giant Starbucks over the trade mark rights to use the names of coffees originating in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.

In 2005 the Ethiopian government filed applications to trademark its most famous coffee names, Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe. Securing the rights to these names would enable Ethiopia to capture more value from the trade, by controlling their use in the market and thereby enabling farmers to receive a greater share of the retail price. Starbucks attempted to squash the application. A battle ensued between the coffee giant and Ethiopia which was joined by organizations led by Oxfam. Eventually Starbucks backed down.

"It's a little like Walmart deciding what the French in Bordeaux can put on their wine labels," commented Bill Barrett from Planet Bean, " the Ethiopians have been growing and drinking coffee longer than anyone on earth, I think they should control the rights to their own coffee origins."

Planet Bean is the first Canadian coffee company to sign the new agreement with the Ethiopian government allowing the coffee roastery to use the names. The company is one of the first 100% certified fair trade coffee roasters in Canada and has been purchasing coffee from Ethiopia since 2002.

The Workers' Revolution in Argentina

Here's the chocolate factory, but where has Willy Wonka gone?

No bosses in sight at plants taken over by ex-employees in new workers' revolution
By Rory Carroll and Oliver Balch in Buenos Aires, The Guardian
Friday May 11, 2007

From the outside it is a nondescript industrial site in a drab suburb of Buenos Aires, the firm's logo barely visible. Inside, the first thing you notice is the smell of chocolate, honey, caramel, ice cream, cakes and jam. Machines hum while cheerful men in green overalls pack crates of confectionary.

The second thing you notice is the absence of bosses. There are no people in suits giving orders. They do not exist. Nor is there an official owner. Ghelco is run as a cooperative along democratic lines, with an equal say and equal pay.

For the full article see http://www.guardian.co.uk/argentina/story/0,,2077140,00.html

EMES EUROPEAN RESEARCH NETWORK News Alert

The 4th Social Enterprise Research Conference will be held next July. [News in English ]

La 4ème Conférence de la recherche sur l'entreprise sociale
(Social Enterprise Research Conference) aura lieu en juillet de cette année. [News en français ]

La 4ª Conferencia de investigación sobre la empresa social
(Social Enterprise Research Conference) se celebrará el próximo mes de julio. [News en español ]

Contact/ Contacto
Rocio Nogales
EMES European Research Network
Coordination Unit
University of Liege
Sart Tilman - B33 - bte 4
4000 Liege (Belgium)
t: +32 (0) 4 366 31 37
f: +32 (0) 4 366 28 51
http://www.emes.net/

ARE YOU GETTING YOUR DISPATCH?

The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) launched a new e-publication this week. International Dispatch brings news, views and stories of people using co-operatives to fight global poverty to your inbox free of charge six times a year. The first issue features a commentary on the Halifax Global Microcredit Summit by CCA microfinance specialist Brett Matthews. Ingrid Fischer offers her thoughts on life and credit union rebuilding in Sri Lanka, where tensions are on the rise amidst continuing confrontations between Tamil Tiger and government forces.

To subscribe to International Dispatches go to www.CoopsCanada.coop/resources/publications/subscriptions/

RECOGNIZE A YOUNG RURAL LEADER

The federal government’s Rural Secretariat is seeking nominations of young rural Canadians (18 to 29 years old), who have demonstrated in 2005 and/or 2006 outstanding achievements and contributions to rural, remote and northern Canada, for the fourth Young Leaders in Rural Canada Awards. A commemorative Award will be presented in each of the following categories: innovation, leadership and partnership.

To be considered, submissions must be received/post-marked no later than Monday, April 16, 2007. For information, visit the rural website.

Community EFFORT Employment Opportunities.

The Ontario Co-operative Association is seeking Enterprise Facilitators on behalf of the Community EFFORT program, (an Enterprise Facilitation/CED program) in Ontario. The Enterprise Facilitator will provide one-to-one assistance to new, existing and expanding businesses, social enterprises and co-ops in an assigned geographic area. Enterprise Facilitators work with a local resource board consisting of committed and active community and civic leaders to identify clients and provide assistance.

For more information and to view the full job postings, please visit www.ontario.coop/Effort or contact Jen Heneberry jheneberry@ontario.coop 519.763.8271 x23.

Looking for online Social Enterprises

The Social Economy Centre at OISE/UofT is conducting a study to identify organizations which meet the broad criteria applied to social economy enterprises (social mission, member focus, voluntary participation, civic engagement etc.) and that carry out the majority of their work online.

Researchers are seeking online co-operatives, social enterprises, community development initiatives, nonprofit member oriented associations, including civil society organizations that have their base in Ontario or that originate in Canada. All such organizations are asked to contact Sherida Ryan sryan@oise.utoronto.ca

Libro Financial Group Receives Award

Libro Financial Group was named the London, Ontario Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year March 21 in the large business category. The financial services company recently changed its name from St. Willibrord Credit Union.

"Libro had a great year in 2006," says president and CEO Jack Smit, who was on hand to accept the award. "We changed our name, made a record profit of $8.8 million, returned a record $4.6 million to customer-owners, got our second Owner Satisfaction Score of 9/10 and launched our Community Builder grant program. Our success is due to engagement on a number of levels - with owners, the community and especially staff. This award is the icing on the cake!" www.libro.ca

Rotman MBAs Win Not-For-Profit Case Competition

Annual event held in Washington, D.C.
Mar 20/07
by Ken McGuffin

For the second consecutive year, a team of MBA students from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management have won an international case competition at the George Washington University School of Business.

The Rotman team, consisting of first-year MBA student Sarah Stern and second-year MBA students Abhijit Rawal, Hala Kosyura and Ellie Avishai, defeated teams from 20 other business schools to take the first place prize.

The annual competition, held the weekend of March 17 in Washington, D.C., focuses on finding business solutions for a not-for profit agency. This year's case focused on the AARP, which is trying to determine whether it should expand its services to include the 25 to 34 age group. The Rotman team proposed a solution based on a savings initiative that targeted families. Further details regarding the competition are available online at: www.gwu.edu/~casecomp/index.htm.

The team was supported by the Rotman School's AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship, which aims to help current and future business leaders integrate corporate citizenship into business strategy and practices, and the Rotman School's MBA program services office.

In recent years, Rotman MBA students have become increasingly interested in corporate social responsibility and issues facing not-for-profit organizations. In November 2006, Roman Net Impact hosted the first-ever Corporate Social Responsibility Case Competition for students at Canadian business schools. On March 21, the Annual Leadership in Social Change Career Fair & Conference will be held at the Rotman School. This spring, Rotman NeXus, a non-profit management consulting service established to help non-profit organizations and social enterprises, will begin its third year of operation. It is staffed and operated by Rotman MBA students.

http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/print/070320-3019.htm

Who are you sending to youth camp?

Ontario co-ops and credit unions should start planning NOW for recruiting their young people to join the Co-operative Young Leaders camp. CYL takes place over seven weeks this summer, so there is lots of room for YOUR co-op to take part. For tips on marketing CYL, or to learn more about this innovative youth leadership, communication and facilitation summer camp experience visit www.ontario.coop/CYL

The CYL newsletter and application form is available for download from the CYL site, and printed copies should be distributed by mid-February.

Co-op Census Update. We're into the last phase of the census!

On Co-op's team of co-op researchers will continue to gather census information until the end of February to ensure all co-ops and credit unions have the opportunity to complete the questionnaire. Every single co-op and credit union that takes part adds to the body of knowledge being collected for the first time ever! All co-ops and credit unions will be receiving final follow up calls in the next month.

If your co-operative or credit union has not yet received any correspondence, please contact Karen Kew at kkew@ontario.coop.

To learn more about the census, visit www.ontario.coop/Census. We can't do it without you.

Gala 2007 workshop and speakers input.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE PRESENTED AT THIS YEAR'S GALA?

The Co-op Gala is being expanded into an all-day event this year. The Gala, held once more at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, will take place October 17. As always, the day ends with the Co-op Spirit Recognition Awards banquet and ceremony.

The full-day program will include plenaries, workshops and interactive sessions. Co-ops, credit unions, public policy makers,and co-op sector champions and supporters from Ontario, Canada and internationally are welcome to attend.

Send your ideas for topics and/or speakers to Lee Davis ldavis@ontario.coop by April 15, 2007.

Seeking goods and services for the CIRIEC Research Conference

CSEHub is currently requesting proposals for goods and services that can be provided by Social Economy organizations for the First World CIRIEC Research Conference on the Social Economy, which will take place October 22-24th, 2007 in Victoria, BC, Canada. Examples include give-away items for conference participants, transportation services, and cultural events.

For more information and to view the full proposal guidelines, please see http://www.socialeconomynetwork.ca/hub/index.php?page_id=238

Social Economy E-Zine Winter 2007

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that we launch our first bi-yearly E-Zine, focusing on the work of the Southern Ontario Social Economy Node. In it, you will find updates on our projects, interesting resources, and much, much more. Download the E-Zine from our website at: http://sec.oise.utoronto.ca/english/ezine.php

Enjoy, and share widely.
Laurie Mook and Jack Quarter
Directors, Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto

Online presentation on the Slow Food Movement

Dear Colleagues,

The video of Debbie Field's dynamic presentation on the Slow Food Movement yesterday can be viewed from our website at: http://sec.oise.utoronto.ca/english/lecture_archive.php.

Enjoy, and share widely.
Laurie Mook and Jack Quarter
Directors, Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto

Co-op Spirit Recognition Award Nominations

Look around you - who in YOUR co-op should be recognized for their co-operative achievements, co-op heritage or co-op involvement? The 9th annual Co-operative Spirit Recognition Awards will be presented during a banquet and awards ceremony at the Co-operative Conference and Gala, October 17, 2007. Nominate past or present Board or committee members ... staff ... volunteers....

Nomination forms will be available at www.ontario.coop/Spirit after February 1, with a deadline of April 30, 2007.

Start thinking about your local heroes now.

For more information contact:

Mark Ventry
Member Services and Marketing Officer
The Ontario Co-operative Association
#101-450 Speedvale Ave. W., Guelph ON N1H 7Y6
mventry@ontario.coop
Tel 519.763.8271 or 1.888.745.5521
Fax 519.763.7239
www.ontario.coop

Co-op Census Update

"It's fantastic that you're doing this work." "We felt isolated before talking to you. Thank you for doing this." On Co-op is hearing comments like these as we talk to Ontario's 1900 co-operatives, caisses populaires and credit unions as part of the first-ever census of Ontario co-operatives. The census will provide valuable information on the economic impact, social importance and organizational challenges faced by our co-ops.

Thank you to all the organizations which have already completed their census. Every co-op and credit union that does business in Ontario is encouraged to participate so that we can accurately portray the strength of the sector to government, funders and others.

For more information, visit www.Ontario.coop/census.

If your co-op has not yet been contacted by On Co-op as part of this census, please contact:
Karen Kew, project co-ordinator, by January 30, 2007.
kkew@ontario.coop
1.888.745.5521 x33

The census can be completed online or by phone and is completely confidential