Cooperative enterprises, whether for food, health or banking were given some important support in late October when the UN General Assembly announced that 2012 will be the International Year of Cooperatives. The idea is to raise awareness of the role cooperatives can play in both developed and developing countries as well as ensuring the fulfillment of the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

Cooperatives have long provided an alternative economic sector in areas such as agriculture, credit, health, insurance and banking and are built upon a business model where members own and control the entreprise. In this way the cooperative business model goes beyond shareholder profit to consider the interest of its own members.

Under the theme “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World", UN officials in New York told journalists that around the world cooperatives have gained momentum as a consequence of the financial crisis and that increased attention is being given to the potential benefits of using the cooperative business model. 

According to Pauline Green, President of ICA, (International Co-operative Alliance), cooperatives have remained more resilient in facing the present financial crisis by making more cautious investments and keeping their priorities on the long-term interests of their members.

Cooperatives have long provided an alternative economic sector in areas such as agriculture, credit, health, insurance and banking and are built upon a business model where members own and control the entreprise. In this way the cooperative business model goes beyond shareholder profit to consider the interest of its own members.

According to ICA's 2011 Global 300 Report, the "largest 300 co-operative enterprises in the world and their collective revenues of $1.6 trillion, which is comparable to the GDP of the world’s ninth largest economy."

The biggest revenue sectors are agriculture and forestry representing $472 billion followed by banks and credit unions with a combined revenue of $430 billion.  The top agriculture cooperatives are Zen-Noh and Zenkyoren of Japan and CHS Inc. in the United States.  In the banking/credit sector,  Crédit Agricole Group and Group Caisse d'Epargne of France and Rabobank Group of the Netherlands rank amongst the 20 top cooperatives in the world.

Québec will host the International Summit of Cooperatives in October 2012 in partnership with the European Association of Co-operative Banks, Canada's Co-operative Association and the International Co-operative Alliance-Americas with sponsors such as Deloitte and McKinsey & Company.