Co-operatives, owned and controlled by the people who use their services, represent a radically different way of running the businesses of the world, a strategy which is engaging the active commitment and creativity of more and more people world-wide. It is an approach to meeting our needs that gives ordinary people the chance to get involved in shaping the world they live in. It is a way of getting things done which is already transforming people's lives for the better and can have an even greater impact as more of us learn about the possibility of doing things differently. And it is not just a strategy for far-flung places. In Ireland and the UK, people are successfully adapting the co-operative idea to a whole new range of 21st Century needs, such as environmental protection, health care, and elder care.