The International Day of Cooperatives is a perfect opportunity to emphasize that our enterprises build a better future for all people. Cooperatives create decent work, uphold gender equality, and foster innovation, particularly with the involvement of new generations. With an innate sense of social responsibility, cooperatives prioritize people and the environment, creating optimal conditions for producers and consumers. They educate, care for, and manage the natural, human, and financial resources of each community in pursuit of the common good.

This way of organizing social-economic relations has 200 years of proven history and is today the most direct path towards a sustainable future in social, economic, and environmental matters.

For all these reasons, cooperation is also another name for peace.

In a world convulsed by unacceptable war conflicts, experiencing growing inequalities, and threatened by climate change, we must deepen the cooperative paradigm, not only inside our organizations but also externally, to increase our impact on a global scale.

The International Cooperative Alliance has positioned itself at the forefront of key debates within the international cooperation ecosystem.

The strengthened relationships with many of these entities and with the United Nations have resulted in the proclamation of 2025 as the second International Year of Cooperatives after a successful first edition in 2012. We will kick off this celebration in New Delhi, from November 25 to 30 at the ICA Global Cooperative Conference and General Assembly.

Thanks to the efforts of everyone who believes in and tirelessly works within their cooperatives, we are achieving increasing prominence on the global stage.

Rooted in our communities, we respond locally to global challenges, integrated by the ICA, and articulated by each of its regional and sectoral organizations.

We live in a historic time that demands a lot of responsibility and commitment from us. And we have the tools to meet these challenges.

We celebrate this Day knowing that we are part of a great family with more than one billion members worldwide. Let us live this day with joy, hope, and conviction that we are building a better future for all.

Happy International Day of Cooperatives!