Cooperation among cooperatives: Learning from the best

The ICA knows that good things happen when cooperators gather. Minds connect, people get inspired, and groups get energized. At ICA's in-person events, networks are created in hallways, ideas are shared over meals, and sessions are buzzing with active debate to create tangible pathways to affect change. The cooperative movement is invited to the ICA Global Conference which will be the launch of the UN International Year of Cooperatives, in New Delhi, India from 25 to 30 November 2024. An ICA General Assembly will also be held, and meetings of ICA’s Sectoral Organisations, Regional Offices and Thematic Committees.

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NGO CSW68 Forum Virtual Side Event

The ICA-AP Committee on Women and Committee on Credit and Banking organized a virtual side event at the NGO CSW68 Forum on 12 March 2024. Themed, ‘Impact of Cooperative Financing on Women’s Empowerment in Asia-Pacific’, it was joined by expert speakers from cooperatives in India, Nepal, Japan, and the Philippines who discussed how cooperative banks, credit societies and cooperative insurance businesses impact women, and contribute to SDG 5 on gender equality.

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Cooperatives: actors in food security for better production, better nutrition, better environment, better lives

Cooperatives of the Americas participated in the 38th FAO Regional Conference in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The participation of Cooperatives of the Americas in the recent FAO Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean was a clear advance in the incidence and protagonism of cooperatives in terms of the sustainability of agrifood systems at regional level

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New ICA video tells the cooperative story

Created to raise awareness of the cooperative business model and the role of the ICA, the video explains how cooperatives build a better world by empowering their members and putting the planet’s well-being ahead of profit. In three minutes, the video explains how the ICA plays a key role in connecting cooperatives around the world, advocating for the interests and successes of cooperatives worldwide and collaborating with global and regional institutions to promote the model.

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Celebrating our Love for Cooperatives through Storytelling

On Valentine's Day we celebrated our love for cooperatives and relaunched stories.coop, to showcase the inspiring work of cooperatives and cooperators around the world. Using the tradition of storytelling, stories.coop is part of a global, digital campaign aimed at disseminating the benefits of cooperation, and how the cooperative enterprise model is making a tangible impact to build a better world.

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ICA member NCBA CLUSA addresses the 62nd Session of the Commission for Social Development

The 62nd session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD62) explored how social policies can accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the session included a multistakeholder panel on 8 February featuring Doug O’Brien, CEO of our member in the USA, NCBA-CLUSA.

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New ICA-EU Partnership on International Cooperative Development launched in Brussels

The ICA has signed a new partnership agreement with the European Commission in Brussels. Starting this month, this five-year international cooperative development programme aims to strengthen the ICA network and boost its role in promoting international cooperative development policies and programmes. This includes closer cooperation between the different ICA regional and global offices, as well as member organisations, partners, civil society organisations, international institutions, and other development stakeholders. 

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1st ICA-MAFF (Japan) Training Course on “Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture and Improvement of Farmer’s Income”

The first ICA-MAFF (Japan) Training Course on “the Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture and Improvement of Farmer’s Income through Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in FY-2023" was held in Thailand and Japan from 01 to 29 March 2024. The four-week-long course is guided by a shared purpose to promote sustainable agriculture and enhance farmer's income. The course brought together a diverse cohort of seven participants from Cambodia, Bhutan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Fiji.

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International Women's Day Webinar

To commemorate International Women's Day 2024, the ICA-AP Committee on Youth Cooperation (ICYC) convened an online forum titled “INSPIRE INCLUSION: An International Forum on Youth, Women, and Cooperatives” on 8 March 2024. It focused on advancing women's economic empowerment in the cooperative sector, recognizing the transformative impact women can have on the growth of cooperatives, inclusivity, gender balance, and the importance of youth and women in cooperatives.

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ICA Global Cooperative Conference preparations underway

ICA team arrived in India last week to fine-tune the global cooperative event scheduled to take place later this year. Besides meeting the core team tasked with the successful organization of the event, they also met the Cooperation Secretary, Ashish Kumar Bhutani, and IFFCO MD Dr. U S Awasthi.

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Belgium’s EU Council Presidency and Cooperatives, a Look Forward

On January 1st, 2024, Belgium took over the presidency of the Council of the EU, rolling out their programme under the banner “Protect, Strengthen, Prepare.” This presidency holds particular significance for cooperatives throughout Europe, as it will act as a closing chapter for many current files while also paving the way for the next mandate after the EU elections.

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Agreement to Strengthen American Consumer Cooperativism and Generate New Opportunities at a Global Level

A working group has been created following the recent visit of the president of the CCW (ICA's consumer sectoral organization), Petar Stefanov, and the joint seminar held in Uruguay, where the agricultural and consumer cooperative networks of the Americas played a leading role. 

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Accelerating progress in gender equality through cooperatives

Under the theme “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”, the 2024 International Women’s Day focuses on the need to provide the necessary and appropriate resources to ensure the success of gender equality policies and measures. It also stresses the importance of expenditure with gender focus, so that it truly mitigates gender inequalities.

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FAO Recognition of the Consumer Cooperative Model for the Sustainability of the Agrifood System of the Americas

Cooperatives of the Americas, which participated in the recent FAO Regional Conference, accompanied the presentation of a report in which the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization showed the results of a study on Cooperativa Obrera, present in 71 locations in Argentina.

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 Launching of the Ibero-American Network for the Promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy

Cooperatives of the Americas actively participated in the Framework Conference where this new tool for the promotion of the sector was presented, promoted by the governments of the Americas and Spain and accompanied by cooperative organizations from our region and Europe

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Cooperators launches Indigenous Youth Employability Initiative

Canadian ICMIF member Cooperators has announced the launch of its Indigenous Youth Employability Initiative, a CAD 1 million commitment to support cultural safety, personal resilience, and employability of Indigenous youth at Cooperators, the broader cooperative sector, and beyond. 

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CICOPA at the OECD’s conference on ‘Worker co-operatives across continents: Policy and practical experiences from Japan’

On 12 March, CICOPA participated in a conference on ‘Worker co-operatives across continents: Policy and practical experiences from Japan’. The webinar was organized by the OECD’s Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Programme and the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. It is the first event the OECD is dedicating entirely to worker cooperatives. Its aim was to present the effects so far of the recent legislative changes related to worker cooperatives in Japan, and to exchange knowledge on international experiences related to worker cooperatives and their development.

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ICMIF announces agenda for the 2024 ICMIF Biennial Conference

ICMIF has announced the agenda for the 2024 ICMIF Biennial Conference, which takes place in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from 12-15 November 2024. The ICMIF Biennial Conference is the premier global gathering of 350+ mutual and cooperative insurance leaders from across the world.

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UNDP and ICMIF announce four winners of the Insurance Innovation Challenge

On International Women’s Day 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Insurance & Risk Finance Facility and the ICMIF Foundation have announced the four winning projects of the Insurance Innovation Challenge (IIC) Fund. 

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Professor Hans-Hermann Münkner – Memorial Book Project

We mourn the passing of Professor Hans Münkner last November and we will honor his legacy with a Memorial book featuring essays from colleagues and collaborators in the field of cooperative law and development. Contributors are invited to express their interest and submit abstracts by May 2024, with full manuscripts due by September 2024.

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