The United Nations have declared 2012 the international year of co-operatives. Not cooperation but co-operatives. A co-op is a different way of doing business. All the members of a co-operative shop or bank own and govern the business, enjoy the benefits collectively instead of all profits just going to shareholders.

The motto of the co-operative movement is to be focused on human need not human greed. Having an International Year of Co-operatives gives an opportunity to catch the attention of national governments, the business community and, most importantly, the general public on the advantages provided by the co-operative model.

The slogan of the year is "Cooperative enterprises build a better world". If you are interested in the topic, there are a lot of interesting stories about co-ops from around the world and how they work on the 2012.coop website.

If you have creative ideas about the co-op principle and how to start your own business with this model, you can enter the coop art competition by submitting your piece of music, photography or video. The first prize are USD 3.000 and a trip to Manchester in November 2012.