April 7, 2009

Coady International Institute encourages Canadians
to support Moses Coady's nomination
as Greatest Canadian Cooperator

ANTIGONISH - Rev. Dr. Moses Coady has been nominated for the Canadian Cooperative Association's (CCA's) first ever Greatest Canadian Cooperator Award, and the Coady International Institute encourages Canadians to support Coady's candidacy. The CCA has launched this new award and a virtual Hall of Fame as part of their 100th anniversary celebrations. Voting has begun, and will run until April 30th. You can cast your vote by visiting http://www.coopscanada.coop/100th/vote.php.

"The legacy of Moses Coady, as founding director of St. Francis Xavier University's Extension Department, as a pioneer of the Antigonish Movement, and the inspiration behind the founding of the Coady International Institute 50 years ago this year, has helped to unleash enormous human potential to work through cooperation to build a better world," says Mary Coyle, StFX Vice President and Director of the Coady International Institute. "Moses Coady was a great Canadian. He was an enlightened social entrepreneur with a far-reaching vision for the creation of the 'Good Society' - a society where all people could enjoy a good life and be 'Masters of Their Own Destiny.' He worked hard to achieve that vision at home in Atlantic Canada, and eventually right across the country and throughout the world."

"He was a man who was far ahead of his time: in the 1920s, Moses Coady promoted women's leadership, active citizenship, self-reliant communities, fair and prosperous economies and international cooperation. He believed in people and their innate abilities to improve their own lives," says Coyle.

"The Coady International Institute, with its more than 5,000 graduates and partners active on the ground in 130 countries, working to achieve Moses Coady's vision of the 'Good Society,' is a living testament to this great cooperative leader. Revered around the world and across Canada, Rev. Dr. Moses Coady was an inspired and inspiring visionary. On this 50th anniversary year of his death, it is a most appropriate time to honour his great legacy of achievement."

For more information:

Janet Becigneul
Manager of Communications
Coady International Institute
Phone: 902-867-3648   
Mobile: 902-971-0704
E-mail:jbecigneul@stfx.ca
Fax:902-867-3907 Web: www.coady.stfx.ca