This document was considered in draft by the General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) in Manchester in October 2012. Following comment and discussion (now reflected in this revised version) the Blueprint was approved by the General Assembly. It is now issued in its final form.
The intention of the General Assembly is that the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives marks the beginning of a worldwide campaign to take the co-operative way of doing business to a new level. The ambitious plan in this Blueprint - the “2020 vision” - is for the co-operative form of business by 2020 to become:
• The acknowledged leader in economic, social and environmental sustainability
• The model preferred by people
• The fastest growing form of enterprise
The 2020 vision seeks to build on the achievements of the International Year of Co-operatives and the resilience demonstrated by the co-op