February 6, 2003
House of Estates, Helsinki, Finland
SUMMARY OF SPEECHES
Three years ago, Pellervo Confederation of Finnish Cooperatives started a special project to encourage women and young people to become more active in decision-making and leadership in cooperative businesses. The project was named Hedvig as a tribute to the "founding mother"- Hedvig Gebhard - of the cooperative movement in Finland. In February, the Hedvig-project together with the Finnish UN Association organised a seminar on the theme "Women, cooperatives and peace". The purpose of the seminar was to open a discussion on women's role in economy and how they could influence the economic structures and practices so that the economy would strengthen peace and trust between people.
The President of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen agreed to open the seminar, but due to a state visit had to cancel her participation. However, she sent a written address emphasising the importance of the joint efforts of the cooperative movement and the United Nations towards world peace. She noted that the element of global ethics is inbuilt in cooperative values and principles. They are a solid foundation for responsible and sustainable solutions of social and economic problems. President Halonen wished that the seminar would encourage the participants to seek answers to the question how each and every one of us can help building a more just world by our everyday choices. In a global economy we are more and more dependent on each other.
The Chair of Board of the UN Associations, Member of Parliament Sirpa Pietikäinen pointed out in her speech on the effects of the globalised economy that in the present situation the dominant view is that "anything goes": there are no rules to obey. For this reason we should strive to create new rules for the game, rules which would give protection to people. Pietikäinen noted that the United Nations is the only organisation capable of creating such rules. She also said that through the cooperative movement and by strengthening its principles we can as members of society make the world a better place to live.
The 1st Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Sirkka-Liisa Anttila said that hunger and poverty are never politically neutral. Especially women are victims. 70 percent of the hungry of the world are women. Three out of four victims of war, drought or other catastrophes are women and small children. In order to secure enough food for all, the possibilities of women to participate in the development of food production must be enhanced.
The right to safe and healthy food should be a universal ethical norm. Unlimited competition based on price alone cannot guarantee safe food production. Ecologically sound production and good care of animals are not cheap. High standards in industrial production, transport and retail are not cheap, either. Every link in the chain must be reliable. High quality is a major concern in the cooperative businesses, because the main aim is to promote general well-being, not maximum profit. Well-being is a much broader concept than economic benefit alone. It includes safety, justice and equality.
Several studies have shown that women are more concerned about the safety of products, environment, animal rights and human rights. Anttila concluded that the cooperative values are women's values.
Psycho-therapist Britt-Marie Perheentupa expressed her concern about the quality of the debate on gender equality. She observed that the debate has stagnated to the squabble of sharing domestic work, differences in salaries, quotas, and success in public life. True equality is interpersonal exchange between different individuals. Such exchange promotes sustainable development and humanity.
Every person is born of a woman. Perheentupa emphasised the important role of women as birth-givers and leaders of life, but she doubted whether women are fully conscious of the physical wisdom of their sex. She challenged women to process the "womb-wisdom" grounded in their physical bodies to create a new concept of the human being. This would lead to more fulfilling relationships in families, places of work, and other partnerships. To be respected, to respect, to feel joy, gratitude, to will and to strive are feelings which sustain human resources. However, they are usually achieved in communities with an atmosphere of mutual support and interaction.
The woman is the first leader in every person's life. However, the principal image of womanhood is that of partnership. We need partnership in many ways and at many levels. The concept of the human being in our culture is distorted in its emphasis on self-sufficiency, the excessive autonomy of the individual, and the ability to wholly control one's life by rationality. Because of the destructive nature of such a concept, it is vital to stop and revaluate the situation. New, corrective questions need to be asked. Women must create new partnerships together with other women and men. Such partnerships would help bring together the dismembered spheres of economy and administration where they belong: to nurture life for the benefit of people and nature.
Member of Parliament, and Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Elanto Co-operative Society Leena Luhtanen remarked that cooperatives represent the economic dimension of the organisation of society, but at the same time, they function as a social safety net based on self-help and mutual cooperation. The cooperative movement is a popular movement which gives its members the possibility to influence decisions and have a say on what good life is and what a good economic life is. The importance of the cooperative movement is manifested in the guidelines on cooperatives produced by the United Nations in 2001.
The importance of the cooperative form of enterprise in Finland is reflected in the new law on cooperatives. It shows that Finnish society and government believe in the future of cooperatives and support them by giving a well-functioning legal framework.
The cooperative principles have always stressed the importance of education, learning and information in order to understand and apply the cooperative ideology and philosophy. Because the cooperative movement is not based only on knowledge, but is also concerned about action guided by values and principles, it is important that education and information on cooperatives is as many-sided as possible. It embraces all that promote the growth and development of members as moral agents working together in cooperation.
It is justified to say that the cooperative movement is a forerunner of the social and economic independence of women. This principle was visible in the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society whose members - men and women - each had one vote and also women had economic autonomy.
It is important to channel the practical expertise of women into the decision-making of cooperative businesses. In this way the business policies and practices can be improved by making them more down-to-earth and need-oriented.
The seminar was closed by Elisabeth Rehn, Independent Expert of the United Nations. She reminded the participants about the central figure of the Finnish cooperative movement and the source of inspiration for the seminar, Hedvig Gebhard, whose ideas on the participation and education of women and girls are today as valid as ever.
Elisabeth Rehn has written for the United Nations together with Ellen Johnson Firleaf a report Women, War, Peace. The report is about what wars do to women and girls. War destroys everything which society has succeeded to build. In war people forget international agreements and ethical and moral laws. War has changed. Earlier people defended their independence against an outside intruder. That way war could be seen as somehow justified. Modern wars have economic motives. Cruelty acknowledges no borders. Women's bodies have become a battlefield of soldiers, and the one who feels shame is usually the victim. Demand stimulates slave trade and the exploitation of women. The customers are usually wealthy.
The cooperative movement can help in reconstruction after war. It is important to see women as real agents and decision-makers in the economy. Women need better possibilities than today in networking and participating in the information society.
In her word of thanks to the speakers and those who have worked for the Hedvig-project, Anne Äyräväinen, Project Manager, stressed the importance of women in building a world more concerned on protecting and nurturing life than destroying it. Democracy has proved the best instrument to avoid wars. The cooperative movement with its 800 million members is a powerful network in promoting economic democracy and building a more just world. Women responsible for reproduction and every-day choices are in a key position in bringing about a change.