Managers' Conference - Team Talk

Remembering IYCSo, as the IYC draws to a close, we remember the moments that have made this year so special...The year kicked off on 12 January, the official UK launch, and at Midcounties we held events at six sites across our trading heartlandsto celebrate.Our 2011 Member of the Year winners took part in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Magara in February, a village in Tanzania. Here theyhelped with the renovation of a primary school and set up lasting links with the school including setting up a pen pal programme withone of our partner schools.Later in the year we celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight in style, hosting many events over the two weeks and engaging with over 10,000members. The events, which ranged from a fashion show to talks from a Ugandan Fairtrade coffee grower, served to highlight theimportance of Fairtrade.During Co-operatives Fortnight we held 45 events with otherco-operatives, engaging with over 11,000 members. In honour ofthe International Year of Co-operatives, we hosted a CommunityFun Day at St Nicholas Park, Warwick.We invited colleagues, members and co-operators fromaround the world to send us images of their co-ops. Wethen uploaded these to our Flickr and Instagram pages tohighlight the diversity of co-operation. We also used theimages to create a co-operation collage, which we will beshowcasing at the Co-operatives United expo.To inspire young people, we worked with our five partner schools to bury time capsules to capture theco-operative difference for the next generation.We have just counted and verified the votes for our Member of the YearAwards 2012. The awards are an important opportunity to recognise ourmembers who go that extra mile for their communities in the spirit ofco-operation.This October, six colleagues travelled to Quebec to attend the International Summit of Co-operatives.They discussed a variety of topics, including how co-operatives can maintain productivity and profitabilitywhile staying true to co-operative values.Di Bateman, Head of Membership Engagement, said, “I would like to say a big thank-you to colleaguesfor helping to make this year so special. It has been an extraordinary year for the Membership team andit’s the dedication and support from colleagues that has helped make each event so successful.”Calling on all co-operatives to uniteAt the Co-operatives United event in Manchester between 31 October and 2 November, we will be celebrating the impact ofthe IYC with co-operatives from around the world. At the event, co-operatives will be attending to showcase what they haveachieved in the special year, and share with likeminded people a passion for the co-operative way of doing business. At the event,Midcounties will be displaying a special piece of artwork, which incorporates photographs of co-operatives around the world intoa fantastic collage of co-operation. Our Energy, Childcare, Masonry and Co-operative Flexible Benefits businesses will also beexhibiting at the event.Team Talk 15