PREFACE BYTHE ICCI2011 SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
People have vast potentials that emerge in the form of individual, group and social potentials, each one underlying as an infrastructure for the next respectively.

A major part of these potentials, actually, can be realized under favorable situations provided but, the rest tends to join the next group to be fulfilled.
A cooperative is a favorable vehicle intermediating unfulfilled individual and group potentials to empower people to contribute effectively to the development of themselves and their group. Investigating potentials and capacities of cooperative is the prime foundation for individual, group and social development.
A cooperative is a user-driven business owned and controlled by the people who use its services and whose benefits (services received and earnings allocations) are shared by the users on the basis of use. Cooperative can be translated as a private members field school (PMFS) with numerous opportunities for learning. Education is a lifetime endeavor to empower members to contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. This business institution is protected by law to secure its autonomy and independence from governments, persons, and entities other than members.
Realizing the incredible role of cooperatives, in their various forms, to promote the fullest possible participation in the economic and social development by people from all walks of life, including women, the youth, the elderly, people with disabilities and indigenous people, prompted the United Nations General Assembly to declare 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives: Cooperative Enterprise builds a better world, highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, in particular recognizing their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
Declaring the year of ۲۰۱۲ as the International Cooperative Year (IYC) by the UN has provided us a unique opportunity to organize this international conference to exchange our knowledge, inspirations and experiences towards introduction and promotion of cooperative capacities in the following areas:
1. Factors influencing self-motivated voluntary participation in cooperatives.
۲. Cooperatives' role in developing social collaborations.
3. The structure and function of cooperatives, associational democracy and representative democracy.
۴. Cooperatives' role in creation and enhancement of social capital.
5. Cooperatives as civil institutions and their role in social development.
۶. Cooperatives, government and social development.
7. Application of fundamental concepts of social sciences in the field of cooperative.
The ICCI۲۰۱۱ Scientific Committee cordially appreciates ۳۱۸ eminent contributors (i.e. keynote speakers, guest speakers, and authors) for creating such an inconceivable learning environment for the keen participants and many others around the world who will review the ICCI۲۰۱۱ proceedings. At the same time, we deeply regret for not being able to use all the informative abstracts and papers we have received for the conference. Fruitful responses and cooperation of our colleagues from around the world to "Call for the First International Conference on Cooperative, Social Economic and Cultural Capacities", before proclamation of ۲۰۱۲ as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC), were amazingly encouraging by receiving ۳۹۹ abstracts at the preliminary stage. These abstracts were reviewed by renowned experts and members of the ICCI۲۰۱۱ Scientific Committee and ۳۴۴ interestingly relevant abstracts to the conference themes were selected for full papers. Reviewing ۲۵۶ well-prepared full articles by almost ۷۰۰ reviewers at the second stage provided an invaluable opportunity to the ICCI۲۰۱۱ Scientific Committee to learn from over ۴۰۰ potential authors, whilst selecting the outstanding and updated contributions from ۱۴۵ authors in ۶۰ full papers for oral presentation, ۱۱۲ authors in ۵۲ articles for poster presentation, and with a view to the potential of an international conference, ۵۶ authors in ۲۰ articles for publication in the ICCI۲۰۱۱ Proceedings.
Due to the effective entrepreneurial role of cooperatives, the ICCI2011 has organized three pre-conference workshops entitled as follows:
۱. Global Cooperative Extension to Securing Worldwide GNPs through a Synergic Model for Entrepreneurship, Employment and Human Development with Emphasis on Agricultural Cooperatives.
2. Analyzing Institutional Foundations of Collective Action: Cooperative-State Relations in Cooperative Perspective.
۳.Development of Cooperatives Capacity Building of Vulnerable Artisans Community in Unorganized Sector.
The ICCI2011 Scientific Committee is greatly honored to take this opportunity as a platform to promote cooperatives and raise awareness and their contribution to social and economic development and promote the formation and growth of cooperatives by hosting over 750 participants at this conference.
We will be delighted to share our experiences with the next country willing to host ICCI۲۰۱۲. Also, we are fully prepared to join our colleagues around the world to conduct joint Cooperatives Extension/ Research/ and Education projects to build a better world, should we reach a consensus in this conference to establish a Regional Institute for Cooperatives Extension, Research and Education in cooperation with ICA and regional stakeholders.
Allow me to remind with my heartfelt appreciation the key role of the contributors, Scientific Committee members, reviewers, academic and office staff of the secretariat, whereby without their encouraging assistance and cooperation, during almost two years, this great event would not be possible today.
I hope that all the distinguished participants will reap the benefits of the ICCI۲۰۱۱ keynote speeches, oral and poster presentations and pre-conference workshops while staying at Kish Island.
Finally, let me remind and congratulate you the second of July 02, 2011 as the International Day of Cooperatives.