IYC Seminar Series
Celebrating the United Nations
International Year of Co-operatives
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Seminar Series 2012
The Centre sponsors a seminar series during the term, which showcases our own current and ongoing research projects, as well as that of others in complementary fields. Past topics have included such diverse subjects as interdisciplinarity, community networking, gender gaps in co-op leadership, co-operatives and international development, co-operation under communism, community economic development, co-operatives and sustainable development, adaptation in agricultural co-ops, and aboriginal co-operatives in Canada.
For the International Year of Co-operatives in 2012, the Centre will be presenting a particularly stimulating and celebratory seminar series to honour the occasion. We hope you will attend.
Ads for upcoming seminars are posted well ahead of time on the Centre’s website. They are also advertised in the “Coming Events” section of On Campus News; on the University’s events calendar.
To see a list of previous seminars, see our Seminar Series Archives.
For additional information about our seminar series, please contact the Centre: phone 966-8509; fax 966-8517; or e-mail coop.studies@usask.ca.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Seminar Series 2011/12
Forestry Co-operatives:
A Community-Based Approach to an Emerging Bio-Economy
Hayley Hesseln
Department of Bioresource Policy, Business and Economics
College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan
Room 1E80
Agriculture Building
University of Saskatchewan
Thursday, 26 April 2012
3:00 – 4:30 PM
The future success of the forest sector is based on the emergence of a new bio-economy as opposed to business-as-usual in the traditional forest economy. The bio-economy is predicted to increase demand for forest fibre to produce goods ranging from chemicals to energy to combustible materials. As the forest industry recovers from the current downturn, opportunities will increase for smaller operators to collaborate with non-forest businesses, communities, governments, and other stakeholders to meet the rising demand for energy and other products in the bio-economy. This will place forest operators in a strong position to explore the use of co-operative structures as a means to meet community and business needs, and to reorganize accordingly.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Seminar Series 2011/12
Co-operative Solutions:
How the Fair Trade and Organic Coffee Markets Support Forested Ecosystems on Nicaraguan Coffee Farms
Michael Zelmer
Communications Director, Fair Trade Canada
Prairie Room
Diefenbaker Building
University of Saskatchewan
Thursday, 22 March 2012
3:00 – 4:30 PM
Widespread deforestation throughout Latin America has accentuated the importance of forested coffee farms as bastions of biodiversity. However, a trend towards producing coffee within highly productive, chemically intensive monocultures has increasingly left important ecosystems within the hands of small-scale farmers, who are unable to capture much of the value of their coffee because of power asymmetry within their trading relationships. Notable exceptions are farmers who belong to co-operatives, which enable farmers to enhance their power and access the high-value Fair Trade and organic markets.
This presentation examines how the production of coffee for the organic and Fair Trade markets affects forested ecosystems on small-scale farms in Nicaragua. It emphasizes how the co-operative model assists farmers to meet standards, exchange information, make decisions, access global markets, and cultivate a product with more resilient social and environmental benefits. While the farmers are required to meet certification standards, it is the co-operatives and their allies that develop the capacity for them to do so. Moreover, co-operative membership enables farmers to access resources that are embedded within otherwise unreachable networks, which are significant to both their livelihoods and the forested ecosystems they manage.
The seminar is sponsored by the following organizations:
- Canadian Co-operative Association
- Centre for the Study of Co-operatives
- Engineers without Borders
- Fairtrade Canada
- North Sask Fair Trade Network
- Oxfam Canada
- The Refinery Arts and Spirit Centre
- Saskatchewan Council for International Co-operation.
Michael is also speaking at the Saskatoon Co-operative Network Luncheon on Wednesday, 21 March, 12 noon, in Federated Co-operatives Ltd. Boardroom, 401 – 22nd Street East (Fee TBA / RSVP sca@sask.coop), and at 7:00pm that evening at The Refinery, 609 Dufferin Avenue.
Thursday, 16 January 2012
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Seminar Series 2011/12
The 2012 F.J.H Fredeen Memorial Scholarship Seminar
Making the Invisible Count
Gender Equity in a Fair Trade Coffee Co-operative in Nicaragua
Jannie Wing-Sea Leung
MSc, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology
University of Saskatchewan
Canada Room
Diefenbaker Building
University of Saskatchewan
Thursday, 16 January 2012
3:00 – 4:30 PM
Please join us for Free Trade refreshments after the presentation.
In the global coffee industry, small-scale farmers provide the bulk of the co-operative labour yet receive the smallest portion of the profits. Fair Trade co-operatives aim to support and strengthen farmer communities, valuing their labour and products more fairly while promoting democratic and equitable societies. Although evidence shows that Fair Trade co-ops are improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, women have been largely absent from the discussions. This seminar examines gender equity in PROCOCER, a Fair Trade coffee co-operative in Nicaragua. Interviews with women producers, co-op leaders, and gender specialists suggest that the co-op has a role in promoting gender equity not only at the organizational level, but in the member familes as well. The study resulted in the development of a series of indicators — evaluation tools that support PROCOCER’s endeavours to consistently plan, implement, and sustain actions to improve gender equity. The participatory process of developing these indicators also highlighted the need for continued efforts to develop a critical awareness and organization response to gender inequities in the co-operative, particularly in providing spaces for women to define their own evaluation tools.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Seminar Series 2011/12
The Boomerang Effect
How Quebec’s School Co-ops Are Training the Next Generation of Co-operators
Jean-Emmanuel Bouchard
President, Fédération québécoise des coopératives en milieu scolaire
Prairie Room
Diefenbaker Building
University of Saskatchewan
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
4:00 – 5:30 PM
The sixty members that make up the Quebec federation of student co-operatives serve more than three hundred thousand people and have a cumulative turnover of $120 million annually. These co-ops belong to the students and staff of Quebec’s educational institutions and offer services such as bookstores, school supplies, computer equipment, and food services. After overcoming many challenges, the co-operatives have been growing steadily since the 1980s. They have a special place in Quebec’s co-op movement, providing valuable services and a training ground for the next generation of co-operators. Reinvesting their profits in their communities, they offer both economic and social benefits for Quebec’s educational institutions and the province as a whole.
About the Presenter
Jean-Emmanuel Bouchard is studying political science at the University of Quebec in Montreal and is a board member of the university co-op, with which he has been involved for four years. He has been president of la Fédération québécoise des coopératives en milieu scolaire (COOPSCO) since June 2011 and also serves on the board of directors of Groupe Fides, a publishing subsidiary of COOPSCO. He sits on numerous co-operative committees in Quebec and has also participated in a variety of projects, including one in Peru that earned him a prize in co-operative involvement in May 2010.
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