(submitted by Joy Emmanuel)

What do Inclusive Leadership and Co-operatives have in common?  Everything!

They are both about embracing the values of respect, diversity, support, and collaboration in our everyday lives. They both offer us tools for creating caring communities that are enhanced by the quality of connection with one another in our interactions at work, play, accessing or offering services, and for whatever we are doing.

That’s why I am passionate about being an inclusive leader and being someone who helps groups develop co-operatives. I am delighted to be offering an upcoming course in Victoria, BC that will introduce people to the BIG picture of what co-operatives are all about, Click here for the cooperative-course-flyer

The co-operative movement has been around a long time – well over 150 years! The co-operative model has been used in multiple ways to provide housing, employment, social programs, food, financial institutions (such as credit unions) and much more. It has been said that co-operatives have been developed to care for every aspect of our lives – from the cradle to the grave.

Worldwide over ONE billion people belong to co-operatives. That is a lot of people who are learning and using various forms of inclusive leadership skills to engage with their neighbours, customers, co-workers or the public.

While we are hard-wired to cooperate (we would never have made it this far if that was not the case) there are a few things that are helpful to learn in starting a co-operative enterprise. The Starting a Co-operative Business Course is subtitled: Building A Better World. Participants will learn what co-operatives are all about, the particulars of how they work and most important the values and principles that they encourage people everywhere to embrace as they engage in everyday cooperative activities.

If you have an idea for a co-operative or are interested to learn more about what makes co-ops tick, you might consider taking this course. (Or send me a note if you have any questions or ideas you would like to talk over: joy.turningtimes@gmail.com)