A two day gathering of leading governance practitioners and researchers to discuss and debate the challenges and opportunities for co-operative governance at a global scale.  A combination of presentations, panels, and working sessions that guarantees to stretch your mind, call on your expertise, and expose you to approaches from around the world.

One of the confirmed participants is Glen Tully, President, Federated Co-operatives Limited:

Glen states, "You can imagine how excited I was to see a Governance Symposium focused on discussing and debating the future of co-operative governance."

Glen's interest in the symposium ties directly to his passion for board development, in particular, competency based board development approaches.  He believes in the importance of the Board of Directors as a strategic asset to the co-operative and the need for a sophisticated approach to raising the level of competencies of board members. For a co-operative like FCL, clarity of roles, responsibilities, and competencies is required so that the Board can be the best strategic asset possible for a very complex $8.5 billion Canadian co-operative.  Glen is confident that the Symposium will stimulate his thinking and provide valuable insight into his governance efforts at FCL.

According to Charles Gould, Director-General of the International Co-operative Alliance:

"The International Co-operative Alliance is excited to see a global event on governance immediately following on the International Year of Co-operatives. Engagement in governance is a vital part of the Participation strategy in our Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade.  We are hopeful that the Symposium will surface key trends and promising practices in this area."

Register for the event here. $250 Canadian until August 15, 2013. Late Registration between August 16-29, 2013 of $325 Canadian. No registration accepted after August 29, 2013.

Symposium Focus Areas

• Emerging governance approaches and models
• Preserving and enhancing democracy in co-operative governance
• Upholding ownership and control by membership
• Challenges applying traditional and corporate approaches to co-ops
• Maintaining governance strength in crisis: demutualization, competition, etc.
• Director education. Leading practices and gaps.
• Other topics are welcome based on participants’ areas of expertise and research.

Why attend

• Be part of the conversation that will explore potential solutions to tough, unanswered questions.
• Provide input into a research, training, and education agenda geared toward improving co-operative governance.
• Broaden your perspective and learn from other experts across the co-operative movement.

Who should attend

Co-operative sector governance experts including:

• Academic researchers and instructors with a governance focus
• Chief governance officers and corporate secretaries, Board Chairs and Directors, CEOs
• Representatives from leading co-operative and social economy think tanks
• Co-operative sector organizations/associations active in governance training
• Governance consultants