Delivering the keynote address at the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society’s (ICOS) national conference on Tuesday, the Canadian ambassador to Ireland, Kevin Vickers, gave a profound account of his family life growing up in Canada and, in particular, his father’s dedication to the co-op movement in that country.

“My father dedicated his life to the co-op movement,” said Vickers. “In my home province of New Brunswick, they called him Mr Co-op.” Vickers said that over the years there would often be dozens of students staying at his family house when they came to learn about the co-op during those years.

Vickers recounted how his father often told him that “the role of the co-op is to make rural life so worthwhile that the drift to the cities is stopped”.

For the co-ops of today, Vickers said the board of directors at a co-operative had two primary objectivesk; firstly, to increase the economic welfare of its members and, secondly, to increase the development of the human capacities of its members.

To achieve these, Vickers argued that education is fundamental to the better understanding of these core aims.

Listen to an interview with Kevin Vickers below:

Listen to “CETA is good for Irish farmers - Canadian ambassador to Ireland” on Spreaker.

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