February—the shortest month of the year, but I often hear it feels like the longest. Here at CMC, the month has flown by with the blink of an eye. We kicked off February with a great in-person meeting and team development session which fuelled our fire for this upcoming year. Congress planning has been rapidly moving forward and we’ve continued to work on Member value-add projects as well.
Speaking of Congress, our early bird prices end on March 31st, so I highly recommend you register today. This year, in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council, CMC is honoured to host the Canadian co-operative movement once again from June 11 to June 13, 2024, at the Halifax Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Under this year’s theme of “Navigating Change Together”, leaders of co-operatives and mutuals from Coast to Coast to Coast will attend thought-provoking plenaries as well as participate in interactive workshops and breakout sessions. I cannot wait for everyone to see what kind of panels our team has been planning, and I am sure they will be crowd-pleasers!
The end of the month of February means the beginning of the month of March, and we’ve got a couple of important deadlines to remind everyone of. To begin, in collaboration with Co-operators, CMC is championing the next generation of co-operative leaders with the . If you work, volunteer, or learn in the co-operatives and mutuals sector in Canada and are between the ages of 18 to 35, you’re eligible! The deadline to apply is March 8, 2024. Following this, we have the Board of Directors’ nominations. This year, there are four at-large openings on the Board, both open for three-year terms. CMC aims to have a diverse group of individuals serving on its Board, with directors drawn from a variety of demographic groups, geographic regions and co-operative sectors who together possess a wide range of skills and knowledge. The deadline to apply is March 14. Lastly, the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation bursaries are also coming up on March 31st. In collaboration with the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada and the Ontario Credit Union Foundation, CMC is calling for applications for the three Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC) scholarships: Alexander Fraser Laidlaw Fellowship (graduate students only), Amy and Tim Dauphinee Scholarship (graduate students only) and the Lemaire Co-operative Studies Award (undergraduate or graduate students). In addition to the monetary prizes, winners of all three scholarships will be awarded a free one-year membership in the CASC as well as free registration to their conference.
I hope this newsletter gives you insight on all the hard work the team is doing as we get closer and closer to Congress. Only a couple months left until we see each other in Halifax!