Co-op News Jan 23

Changemakers: A co-operative
future for all
CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND
CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP
MOVEMENT SINCE 1871
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EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Rebecca Harvey I rebecca@thenews.coop
INTERNATIONAL EDITOR
Anca Voinea I anca@thenews.coop
DIGITAL EDITOR
Miles Hadfield I miles@thenews.coop
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Alice Toomer-McAlpine
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DESIGN
Andy Bellis I andy@thenews.coop
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Elaine Dean (chair); David Paterson
(vice-chair); Sofygil Crew; Tim Hartley;
Phil Hartwell; Gillian Lonergan; Nick
Milton; Beverley Perkins; Shaz
Rahman; Lesley Reznicek
Secretary: Richard Bickle
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"The co-op way of thinking and doing things is going to be a big part of the
future," says Ursula Lidbetter, "because there are so many issues that are
about people needing to come together and support and help each other -
and that's what co-operation is."
Ursula is one of the changemakers we hear from this issue, as she gets ready
to retire after 37 years at Lincolnshire Co-operative Society - the last 18 as
its chief executive. She speaks to us about her time in the movement, what
she has learned, and her own hopes for the future of co-operation (p48-49).
We wish her well.
We also hear from Mirai Chatterjee, as SEWA looks back on 40 years of
empowering and improving the lives of the India's poorest female workers
(p30-33), and we get updates from some of the international strategies
under way to encourage global co-operation and a fairer future for all,
including the Social Economy Action Plan (p38-39) and the ICA's work on
global co-operative identity (p40-41).
But changemakers aren't just found at the top, or in the most obvious
places. Trebor Scholz, associate professor at the New School in New York,
describes how student and teacher activism is paving the way for a new
model for education, one that looks to remind his institution of its founding
principles of community self-governance and social justice (p28-29).
Issues around tenant empowerment have also come to the fore in the
aftermath of the scandal at Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (p44-45) -
and before Christmas, future changemakers gathered in Cardiff to hear the
concerns, ideas and priorities of young people, at an event convened by
Cooperatives Europe (p36-37).
Finally, we also remember a quiet, giant change maker - Roger Sawtell - who
died in December, aged 95, after a lifetime of service to co-ops (p25). In
2019, Co-operatives UK awarded him its inaugural Lifetime Achievement
Award.
"Let us look ahead, let us build co-operative bridges not walls," Roger said
in his acceptance speech. "Let us trust each other in making decisions, let
us commit ourselves to co-operatives as a better way to work. This will give
us much-needed hope for the future."
Wishing you all such hope for the new year,
REBECCA HARVEY - EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Co-operative News is printed using vegetable oil-based inks
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JANUARY 2023 I 3