In the early 1990s, the International Co-operative Alliance reformed its structures in order to create greater regional synergies. In the Americas this meant opening an office in Costa Rica and developing regular regional assemblies. This has had many positive benefits, perhaps most particularly in encouraging more dialogue and a deepening consciousness among the rich and diverse co-operative movements of southern and central America. Their meetings have become exciting occasions, mostly in Spanish, and obviously addressing many of the region’s key issues as well as international issues confronting co-operatives today.

The most recent regional meeting took place in Lima, Peru, from July 19-21, 2006. Ian MacPherson was invited to make a keynote address on the theme, “Governance and Ethics in Accordance with the Co-operative Principles and Values”. It explored the sources of ethics specific to the co-operative statement on values and principles adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance in 1995. He demonstrated that ethics should be considered particularly in the spheres of member relations, sector associations, community involvement and state association, as well as in the obvious ways in which co-operatives carry out their business. In doing so, he sought to provide a framework through which co-operative leaders and members can conceptualize as well as monitor ethical behaviour. The paper was part of a very rich conference that effectively ranged between the theoretical and the practical, academics and practitioners, and the remarkably different co-operative experiences in the North, Central, and South American regions.

Ian MacPherson also made a presentation on the Co-operative Learning Centre, a special project of BCICS. It was very well received, another indication of the potential for this project in creating an on-line resource devoted to bringing together the existing research and information on Co-operative Studies – and in fostering further development.

Adam Harrison, Anthill Contributor