By Rodrigo Gouveia
The Alliance and a delegation of members including the National Cooperative Union of Turkey and Cooperar from Argentina participated in the B20 Turkey conference that took place in Ankara from 3-5 September. They provided a much-needed co-operative counterweight to investor-owned enterprises from around the world. Co-operators joined policymakers to discuss the B20’s recommendations to be presented to the Heads of State of G20 countries, who will meet this November in Antalya, which is also hosting the Alliance’s 2015 Global Conference and General Assembly.
During its second year of representation in the B20, the Alliance managed to increase its influence and bring to the table the main concerns of co-operative enterprises related to the key topics identified by the Turkish Presidency: Trade, Financing Growth, Employment, Investment and Infrastructure, Anti-corruption and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Entrepreneurship. Among the conclusions there is an indication of future work in order to “provide guidance on best practices for creation of co-operatives and raise awareness among SMEs about how co-operative engagement has been effective in overcoming problems SMEs often face (e.g., lack of expertise, lack of market power, lack of economies of scale)”.
In Ankara, Alliance members seized the opportunity to connect with other B20 members and officials, and set the agenda early on for the next Presidency of the G20, China.