The International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) Short Film Festival will take place on 20 November 2012 at the United Nations Headquarters during the closing ceremony of the Year under the theme "Promoting Cooperatives Beyond 2012".

The seven winners selected raise awareness about cooperatives – what they are, and what they do – and encourage support and development of cooperative enterprises by individuals and their communities. The films also highlighted at least one of the 10 key messages of the International Year of Cooperatives:



Cooperative enterprises build a better world.

Cooperative enterprises are member owned, member serving and member driven

Cooperatives empower people

Cooperatives improve livelihoods and strengthen the economy

Cooperatives enable sustainable development

Cooperatives promote rural development

Cooperatives balance both social and economic demands

Cooperatives promote democratic principles

Cooperatives and gender: a pathway out of poverty

Cooperatives: a sustainable business model for youth

Winners of the International Year of Cooperatives Short Film Festival

1. What's to love about food co-ops? (2 minutes)

Produced by the National Cooperative Grocers Association

Country: USA

2. Cooperative of Apurimac (14 minutes)

Produced by Miko Meloni



Country: Peru



3. Women with courage (15 minutes)

Produced by Charlotte Marchesseault

Country: Brazil

4. Co-op Housing: more than a home (8 minutes)

Produced by the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada

Country: Canada

5. Food For Change: The Twin Cities Story (14:56 minutes)

Produced by Steve Alves

Country: USA

6. Red Chillies (15 minutes)

Produced by Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Sanasa Development Bank

Directed by Rohana Warnakulasooriya

Country: Sri Lanka

7. Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World by meeting Human Need not Human Greed (12:07 minutes)

Produced by the Co-operative Development Division of the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development, Trinidad and Tobago

Country: Trinidad and Tobago

Click here to watch the short films