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The United Nations (UN) has declared 2012 to be the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). The IYC is intended to 'raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration'. The year will also highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development. |
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Livewire is based on a novel cooperative business model that has been specifically developed to allow for share ownership by non-payrolled individuals – those who contribute man (or woman) hours to our clients' projects. So we are particularly interested in learning about the way that other cooperatives work. Our share ownership scheme is only two years old, but already we have 35 minority share owners. |
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Creating a business that operates differently is certainly a steep learning curve, but one that is very rewarding. Whilst financial stability and reasonable profitability are an important priority, it is not the sole end point – the needs and interests of those within the cooperative are also considered important – as are those of our clients. |
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Other news stories. |
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“Cooperatives are a reminder to
the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.” |
| United Nations |
| http://social.un.org/coopsyear |
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