To launch the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives in 2012, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressed the United Nations today alongside representations of the co-op movement, the ILO and Dame Pauline Green of the International Co-operative Alliance. The United Nations has declared 2012 to be the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, giving co-ops and co-operative values a year-long worldwide focus, highlighting the great work they do in building strong communities, full employment and a fair economy.

Gordon’s speech was part of a renewed effort to “speak up for the millions of people who every day live their lives in the spirit of co-operation and public service.”

In his speech, Brown – the first ever Labour leader to be a member of the Co-operative Party – paid homage to the past while looking towards the future.  He used President John Kennedy’s famous quote – “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country” – as a call to public service.    He also used examples from Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Ronald Reagan to encourage others to recognize co-operatives and the need for mutuality.

Brown said, “We should from here at this United Nations summit today in this year of co-operation set out a vision of the future, one where there can be a sharing of hope because of the hope of us sharing.”

He concluded his speech with lines from Robert Frost’s “A Road Not Taken,” showing that co-operatives may not be the usual choice when it comes to politics but it is “the road that will make all the difference.”

The International Year of Co-operatives is a partnership between the United Nations and the International Co-operative Alliance.  There are over 900 million individual members worldwide who are members of co-operatives affiliated with the ICA.  These co-operatives provide more than 100 million jobs worldwide.  Financial co-operatives alone serve over 857 million people—13 percent of the world’s population. In the UK, there are 5,450 jointly owned, democratically controlled businesses, owned by 12.8 million members.  They contribute £33.2 billion in turnover to the UK economy, building, and wealth for many.