2012 International Year of Cooperatives

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.

Here is Dundee I hope this means that that there might be official encouragement for a revival of interest in developing cooperatives as an alternative and additional means of developing new enterprises. It would be good if the dynamism of cooperatives such as the Edinburgh Bike Cooperative, which recently announced ambitious expansion plans, could take root in our city.