Co-ops Building a Better World

In this episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin cover:

• The International Cooperative Alliance’s Global Conference in Panama
• UN representatives David Fernández Puyana and Bjørg Sandkjær on how co-ops can help build a more peaceful and stable world
• Co-operative resistance in Rojava
• Measuring the UK’s co-operative and mutual economy 
• UK politics, including Labour & Co-op prime minister Andy Burnham’s conference speech 
  
  

Podcast notes:

- Read Co-op News coverage of Rojava co-operators at ICA Global Cooperative Conference here
- Watch #ICAPanama2026 Special Address by ICA President Dr. Ariel Guarco here
- Access Co-operatives UK’s Co-operative and Mutual Economy report here

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

This episode of Co-ops Building a Better World covers:

• The World Credit Union Conference and the balance between technology and trust
• Stablecoins and cryptocurrency's growing role in the credit union sector
• Kenya's CUSCO/SACCO financial scandal and what it means for cooperative accountability
• The debate over the "common bond" in UK and Irish credit unions

As well as:

• Andy Burnham's premiership as the UK's first Labour & Co-operative Prime Minister
• Cross-party support for co-operatives, from the Greens to the Grimond Society within the Liberal Democrats
• Our interview with Jack Meredith on economic democracy and the Grimond Society
• How co-operatives respond to crisis and disaster, from Indonesia's earthquake recovery to the ICA's CM50 initiative

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

This episode of Co-ops Building a Better World covers:

•  Co-operatives UK Youth Summit
• 'Youth Voices, Co-operative Choices' #coops4dev🌍 event in Budapest 
• Women and Youth Cooperatives Forum 2026: Voices of Change in the Near East and North Africa region 
• India's National Conference on Children’s Cooperatives
• Our interview with ICA Youth Committee president Harsh Sanghani

As well as:

• The UK's new Labour & Co-operative prime minister
• State involvement in the co-op movement
• A look inside the Channel Islands retail co-op

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

In this episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin discuss stories of co-operative failure and success, including:

• What led to the downfall of the Co-operative College?
• Challenges facing the Co-operative Heritage Trust
• India’s most celebrated worker co-op, the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society
• What makes or breaks a co-op?

As well as:

• UK Co-operative Congress
• Co-op News' reader survey

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

In this episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin discuss how agricultural co-ops are feeding the world during challenging times, as well as the possible new UK prime minister, Labour Co-op MP Andy Burnham.

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

In this episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin discuss co-operative principles number 5 (education) and 2 (democratic participation), including:

• Argentina's school co-operatives
• The Co-operative University of Kenya
• An interview with Ilana Gotz from the International Co-operative Business Education Consortium 
• Democratic innovations in the co-op movement, including sociocracy and assemblies 

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

In this episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin discuss:

• Food security and how agri co-ops are responding to the war in Iran  
• Energy security, including an interview with Chris Vrettos, senior policy advisor at REScoop.eu
• The challenges facing rules-based transnational institutions
• Countries offering support to their co-op sectors, such as Singapore 
• The International Cooperative Alliance Global conference theme, Building bridges: cooperative contributions for a peaceful world

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

In this episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin discuss:

• Co-ops tackling caste divides in Nepal
• Co-op development in a post-USAID world
• What co-ops mean to different people across the political spectrum
• The recent Future Co-ops conference
• Community power and the rebirth of the social club
• Professor Dario Azzellini's new book, 'Commoning Labour and Democracy at Work'

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here. 

In this first-ever episode of Co-ops Building a Better World, Rebecca and Colin discuss:

• The UK's Co-op College moving to an unstaffed model
• An interview with Giuseppe Guerini, president of Cooperatives Europe
• A new book from Bruno Roleants, former director general  of the International Cooperative Alliance 
• Rising worker co-ops in the US
• How you, yourself, are a co-op

If you enjoyed this podcast, consider joining Co-op News and becoming a co-owner of the world’s longest-running independent media co-operative! 

Find out more about membership here.