Cooperative Development Forum
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| Headquarters | Maledonia, Entropan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Members | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leaders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Presiding Officer | Raqshu Umar Kamur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Chair of the Sovereign Chamber | Yuhara Kagehisa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Establishment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 September 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 December 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website www | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Cooperative Development Forum (CDF) is an international cooperative organisation founded in 2011 to unite, represent, and serve cooperatives worldwide, and act as a direct channel to policymakers interested in promoting and protecting the cooperative model of government. The CDF is the custodian of the internationally recognised definition, values, and principles of a cooperative in their Statement on the Cooperative Identity. It represents XXX organisations in XXX countries, and is consulted and participated in by representation of the governments of Entropan, Girisko, Majocco, Monsilva, and New Aran.
The CDF consists of two chambers: the General Chamber, which provides representation for member cooperative organisations from all sectors of the economy, and the Sovereign Chamber, an independent body formed of 100 delegates split equally amongst the five participating governments, formed in 2021 to consult and develop policies for constituent member states that promote the cooperative model, actively drawing upon the expertise found in the General Chamber to recommend policies to each of the member states. Despite nominally being different chambers of the same organisation, both chambers operate independently of each other, with each playing an entirely consultative role in the other's decisionmaking.
History
Majorca Declaration
The manifesto of the Progressive Socialist Party for the 2011 Entropanian general election contained within a pledge to "work with international allies to promote the development of the cooperative sector domestically and abroad" if elected. When the election resulted in a slim majority for the PSP, the party formed a government in February 2011, and in his inaugural Stately Address, Prime Minister Dobos Renáta promised to "gear the Entropanian state's foreign policy towards cooperating with the Majoccan, Monsilvan, Giriskonese, and New Aranian governments to promote the cooperative form". On 13 March 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Majocco announced that dialogue had been opened with the Entropanian, Giriskonese, Monsilvan and New Aranian governments with the eventual goal of forming an "international organisation dedicated to development of the cooperative sector".
Negotiations continued in the following months, with several public meetings between delegations to discuss the structure, nature, and funding of such an organisation. According to Renáta's autobiography Seeing Like a State, negotiations took long because of "persistent worries about the sovereignty of the peoples within, and conflicts with the powers of the existing intergovernmental organisations of the constitutent states", later remarking that "there was significant hesitancy among the delegates, many of whom feared that any chamber would end up being a waste of energy and resources due to the existing commitments to economic democracy of the respective legislatures", but consensus eventually arrived that "the accumulated expertise of the member states would be vital to furthering the goal of economic democracy both within and without the borders of the organisation". While initial negotiations were pointing towards the resultant body being more akin to a supranational organisation, conflicts with existing settlements, including Entropanian commitments to the Eastern Ecros Free Trade Area and Giriskonese committments to the Guishan Commonwealth, caused the body to take a purely advisory form.
On 13 September 2011, Dobos Renáta, Giriskonese Prime Minister Arima Bunko, Monsilvan President Chiu Zan, Majoccan President Tatouri Nour and New Aranian Síndic Carles Aribau Sosa signed the Majorcan Declaration in Majorca, Majocco, a treaty that established the Cooperative Development Forum as a unicameral organisation with free membership for all cooperative organisations and with a consultative function to the governments of its participating member states, as well as affirming each member state's commitment to the promotion of the core cooperatist values: economic democracy, circularity, common development, and sustainability.
2011 Congress
The CDF was officially opened with its first Congress from 17 to 21 November 2011, in Ichinomiya, Girisko. Delegates from dozens of nations attended, including the heads of state of the Member States, members of national cooperative federations, and representatives from several non-governmental political parties. During the inaugural Congress, the structure of the organisation was officially laid out by resolution, with resolutions establishing the exact function and scope of the CDF, including the establishment of its Sectoral and Thematic Committees. 137 resolutions were passed during this Congress, primarily focusing on the structure and function of the organisation, but also concerning its core values. Commitments to respect cultural diversity, non-discrimination and to reduce differences in standards of living and economic development between developed and less-developed countries were passed.
59 of what were therefore defined as Advisory Resolutions were passed, encouraging the governments of the member states to carry out particular actions in support of the cooperative sector, and the fundamental values of the organisation. In accordance with this, each member state published an official report within the month following the Congress outlining their response to the Advisory Resolutions passed concerning their state. Among the resolutions included those calling for national skills boards amongst fully cooperative states to retrain redundant workers, amongst other suggestions. Famously, Entropanian Prime Minister Dobos Renáta gave an inconclusive response to Resolution 71, which called for a "gradual transition from the predominance of the hierarchical corporate form to the cooperative form through state regulation", causing him to be challenged for leadership of his party due to the perceived ineffectiveness of his promotion of the cooperative model by the left wing of the party.
2014 Congress
The CDF's second Congress took place in Maledonia, Entropan, from 16 to 20 October 2014. This Congress saw the establishment of several new bodies for the organisation, including the Committee on Cooperative Research, the Cooperative Law Committee, and the Annual Report Committee. Three papers were presented on behalf of several groups of delegates by the Presiding Officer of the body; the Promotion of Cooperation in Less-Developed Countries, the Promotion of the Cooperative Form in the Developed World, and the Progress of International Technical Assistance. The Congress was also the first and only attended by Giriskonese Prime Minister Machi Hitomi, the first attended by Majoccan President Moulay Ahmed Mohamed, and the final one attended by Entropanian Prime Minister Dobos Renáta.
The second Congress also saw the establishment of new bodies to research the cooperative form and collect statistics, who would report directly to the Committee on Cooperative Research, and saw an increased focus on the cooperative press, and cooperative education in non-member states. 178 resolutions were passed, with further subdivision into Member, Nonmember, and General resolutions, of which the resolutions numbered 51, 39, and 81 respectively. Significantly, the Congress again passed a resolution calling for a transition of the Entropanian state to require organisations to adopt the cooperative model; Resolution 184. Internal party pressure from "hard co-operatist" wings of the Progressive Socialist Party meant that the official report by the Entropanian government, entitled "Response to the Recommendations Made to the Second Republic of Entropan by the Cooperative Development Forum", directly addressed the Resolution, committing to the "genuine consideration of the Resolution and how effectively it could be implemented by the State".
2017 Congress
The CDF's third Congress took place in Majorca, Majocco, from 11 to 15 December 2017. This Congress saw the further development of the policy-making framework of the organisation, including the establishment of the Equalities Committee and the World Cooperative Monitor. The majority of the Congress was oriented around the Third Congressional Report, a report developed by the Annual Report Committee to summarise developments in the cooperative sector, including nascent opportunities and emerging problems facing the sector, including the worsening threat of climate change, which was added to the portfolio of the Annual Report Committee by resolution, meaning the development of an official annual report on how it threatens the cooperative sector and living standards more generally, alongside mitigatory recommendations. This Congress was the first attended by newly elected Entropanian Prime Minister Håkon Martinsen, the first attended by Giriskonese Prime Minister Kimoto Aketi, and the last attended by New Aranian Síndic Carles Aribau Sosa.
The third Congress also saw a dramatic shift in the focus of the Member Resolutions towards Entropan, due to the recent rise of ideologically "hard co-operatist" Håkon Martinsen to leadership of the ruling PSP in 2016, and his obtainment of an increased majority in the 2017 general election, on a platform to directly mandate corporate transitions to the cooperative model. Among the Member Resolutions passed included those advising the Entropanian government on the nature and logistics of the transition, including those requesting an official advisory position for a representative from the CDF in the oversight of the transition. Overall, 194 resolutions were passed, including 97 Member, 45 Nonmember, and 52 General resolutions.
2020 Congress
The CDF's fourth Congress took place in Amking, Monsilva, from 11 to 15 December 2020. This Congress saw the further development of the statistical wing of the organisation, but with a primary focus on the proposed 'Sovereign Chamber', a body proposed by the Entropanian government with formal consultant powers with the legislatures of the constituent nations. The Congress passed 13 resolutions advising on the establishment of this chamber, partiuclarly on its scope, structure, and underlying values. This Congress was the first and only attended by New Aranian Síndic Thaigo Guy Tural, and the last attended by Giriskonese Prime Minister Kimoto Aketi.
Central to much of the discussion around Congress was the transition to a cooperative economy Entropan undertook from 2 March to 18 September of that year. Many Member Resolutions focused on advising on new bodies to be set up following the transition, including, notably, advice on the establishment of a National Skills and Retraining Service to allow organisations to make workers redundant without backlash from members, and ensure a smooth transition into other employment. While the National Skills and Retraining Service was a body which the Entropanian Government had pledged to set up at the beginning of the transition, the Member Resolutions around it were pivotal in shaping its eventual structure. Overall, 203 resolutions were passed, consisting of 104 Member, 63 Nonmember, and 36 General resolutions.
Eleveklo Charter
On 7 November 2020, Moulay Ahmed Mohamed, President of Majocco, announced official consultations with the Entropanian, Giriskonese, Monsilvan and New Aranian governments on a new chamber to the CDF, which would have an official consultative status with the nations' corresponding legislatures. The concept was developed slowly throughout the following year, due primarily to Håkon Martinsen's work in setting up the new legislative bodies of Entropan in the new National Council and Citizens' Assembly, following the passage of wide-ranging constitutional reforms in a 2020 referendum. In September 2021, Martinsen announced that talks surrounding the new body would intensify, following the elections and the official opening of the new Entropanian legislature in July.
From 30 November to 1 December of that year, talks took place in the Entropanian city of Elveklo, leading to the official signature of the Elveklo Charter on 1 December. The Elveklo Charter established a new body in the CDF with official consultative powers to each of the constituent nations -- the Sovereign Chamber -- that would deliberate and vote on policies beneficial to its member states on account of its foundational values: economic democracy, common development, circularity, and sustainability, with official mechanisms in place for each constituent member on how legislation passed by the Chamber would be responded to by their domestic governments. The chamber itself opened on 14 February 2022.
2023 Congress
The CDF's fifth Congress took place in Monegros, New Aran, from 11 to 15 December 2023. No new structures were proposed for the body at this Congress. Discussions revolved primarily around the recent Akvatika Island genocide and the subsequent OU military intervention in Akvatika in which the island was returned to Monsilva, with a majority of resolutions passed revolving around the development of the island. Overall, 198 resolutions were passed; 129 member, 21 nonmember, and 48 general.
2026 Congress
The CDF's sixth Congress is going to take place in North Uchijma Megacity, Girisko, from 11 to 15 December 2026.