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The 2025 International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) was an opportunity to celebrate and demonstrate how cooperatives build a better world - but the work does not end there. In an unprecedented move, the UN General Assembly in December voted to declare an IYC every 10 years. This is a cause of joy, but also a call to all of us to Practice, Promote and Protect cooperatives around the world, and help them grow and thrive.

During 2025, more than 200 IYC-related events were held in over 100 countries, ranging from policy dialogues and youth summits to cooperative fairs and research symposia. These activities connected cooperatives, governments, UN agencies, and partners across regions and sectors. The official IYC website, 2025.coop, received over 80,000 visitors from more than 120 countries and served as a central hub for information, resources, and event listings. Over 1,000 organisations formally applied to use the official IYC 2025 logo – and a common message was amplified throughout the Year through the hashtags #IYC2025 and #CooperativesBuildABetterWorld, helping to elevate cooperative stories of innovation, resilience, and impact. 

The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) will now analyse IYC impact and look at next steps. They will also launch a global IYC impact survey to permanently capture valuable lessons and outcomes, which will be used to help prepare a full report on #IYC2025 and inform preparation for future International Years of Cooperatives.

As we stand at the threshold of 2026, we find ourselves at a historic crossroads. We are witnessing a tectonic shift in the global landscape: a move away from traditional multilateralism toward a fractured multipolarism. In a world where geopolitical regionalisation threatens to overshadow global unity, many feel the echoes of early warnings: a world where the "Force of Power" seeks to replace the "Force of Law.

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted Resolution A/RES/80/182, recognising the vital role of cooperatives in promoting inclusive economic and social development worldwide. Following the success of the International Years of Cooperatives in 2012 and 2025, the resolution “calls for the proclamation of an International Year of Cooperatives every 10 years … to encourage effective leveraging of the cooperative enterprise model to advance social and economic development”.

CSocD64 is taking place at the UN Headquarters in New York from 2 to 10 February 2026, with the ICA’s participation building on the momentum created by the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2025 and the outcomes of the Second World Summit for Social Development. Both will be broadcast live on UN Web TV.

On 5 February 2026, ICA Director General Jeroen Douglas will serve as moderator of the Multi-stakeholder Forum entitled “Partnerships that deliver: How to scale-up good practices at the local level to end poverty, create jobs and build inclusive societies”. 

On 6 February, the ICA, together with COPAC, will organise the Side Event “Advancing Social Development and Social Justice Through Cooperative and Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) Solutions: From the World Social Summit to Implementation”. This session is organised under the ICA-EU Partnership (2024-2028) - also called #coops4dev🌍. 

On 27 January, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (EURICSE) and the International Cooperative Entrepreneurship Think Tank (ICETT) hosted a webinar on the World Cooperative Monitor 2025 – Special Edition, marking the conclusion of the UN International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025).

The Cooperative Identity Advisory Group of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) met in Paris on 22–23 January 2026 for two intensive days of discussion focused on the evolution of the Statement on the Cooperative Identity, including the cooperative Definition, Values and Principles. The meeting was arranged at the invitation of Jean-Louis Bancel, and followed a detailed working agenda designed to review feedback received on Discussion Draft 2 and to guide the group’s next steps in this important global consultation process. Jeroen Douglas participated in the deliberations on both days.

The ICA welcomed its first new member of the year in January: the Hubei Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives from China. This umbrella organisation serves supply and marketing co-ops in the Hubei province’s agricultural sector and supports the integrated activities of Hubei’s Agricultural Inputs Supply Chain, Daily Consumables Distribution Network, Agricultural Products Value Chain, and Renewable Resources Circulation System.

Hubei Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives has 260 direct members representing over 95,000 workers, and last year generated a revenue of CNY 2 million.

The ICA now has 323 member organisations from 106 countries.

The 2026 International Cooperative Alliance General Assembly falls in an ICA election year and will take place at the Panama Convention Centre, Panamá. It will be co-hosted by Cooperatives of the Americas, with the main ICA events taking place from 15-17 September. 

The 13 and 14 will include side events, Board meetings and General Assemblies of ICA bodies (including ICA regions, sectoral organisations, and thematic committees), with the ICA elective General Assembly scheduled for 15 September. This will be followed by a joint conference on the 16 and the morning of the 17 September, with the afternoon of the 17 and the 18 reserved for Cooperatives of the Americas events, including its Regional Elective Assembly.

Have you confirmed your spot in this year’s premier cooperative law learning event? Join a thriving cohort of cooperative law and public policy professionals at the 2026 Co-operative Law Summer School in stunning Pula, Croatia.

After a successful 2025 event with 21 countries represented, the International Centre for Co-operative Management at Saint Mary’s University, the International Cooperative Alliance, ICA Cooperative Law Committee and IUS Cooperativum are collaborating to once again run a five-day co-op law masterclass from August 23 – 28, 2026.

This course builds links between cooperative law, Cooperative Identity (ICA, 1995), and sustainable development. 

The International Cooperative Banking Association (ICBA) is hosting its 2026 Symposium at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on 6 and 7 May 2026. Organised in cooperation with the ICA Global Office, this exclusive gathering will bring together leaders and practitioners from cooperative financial institutions across the globe.

Throughout 2025, the ICA and COPAC published a series of policy briefs, demonstrating through facts, figures and case studies how cooperatives contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Cooperatives are uniquely positioned to address intersecting inequalities by expanding access to economic opportunity, strengthening labour protections, and ensuring that marginalised populations have a voice in economic decision-making.

The next policy brief, to be published on 6 February, will focus on SDG 2 - Zero Hunger. Then, beyond that, monthly briefs will address:

SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation.

The new Practice, Promote, and Protect strategy, adopted by the ICA General Assembly in July 2025 and launched publicly in November, is a robust blueprint that will guide our collective efforts to strengthen the cooperative movement globally, ensuring its continued relevance and impact. The ICA has been busy translating this overarching global strategy into concrete, relevant interpretations and actionable work plans. 

Throughout 2026, the ICA is hosting a series of online sessions for members to learn more about the strategy, the ICA's work plan, and their role. They will focus on the strategy’s five pillars – people, data, advocacy, finance and future – and are an opportunity to give the ICA feedback to ensure member value. The first takes place online at 2pm CET on 10 February.

Cooperative-friendly legislation is essential to creating an enabling and supportive environment for the development of cooperatives. Yet, in many countries, legal frameworks do not adequately translate the cooperative values and principles into legal rules, and often do not fully consider the existing international legal standards on cooperatives, limiting the full potential of the cooperative model and its impact on communities at the local, regional and international levels.

Work to change this is underway, spearheaded by ICA Regional and Global teams under the ICA-EU partnership, and we invite ICA members to take part in a public webinar, which will be announced soon to present this international initiative, its methodology, scope, objectives and relevance for the cooperative movement worldwide.

High Chief Ayeola Tajudeen Oriyomi, a cooperative leader, development advocate and community builder from Nigeria, died suddenly on 25 December 2025, at the age of 56. He served as the President of ICA Africa since his election in 2021, and had been re-elected on 7 October 2025 at the ICA Africa Regional Assembly, during the 14th Africa Ministerial Cooperative Conference (AMCCO) held in Nairobi, Kenya.

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ICA at CSocD64: Multi-stakeholder Forum on Partnerships that Deliver (Online, 5 February)
ICA at CSocD64: Cooperative and SSE Solutions (Online, 6 February)
Members' Chat: ICA 2026-2030 Strategy (Online, 10 February)
5th International Forum on Cooperative Law (Tanzania, 11-12 February)
International Day of Cooperatives (4 July 2026)
International Workshop on Cooperative Law (Croatia, 22 August 2026)
Cooperative Law Summer School (Croatia, 23-28 August)
ICA General Assembly and Global Conference week (Panama, 13-18 September)
ICMIF Biennial Conference 2026 (Canada, 3-6 November)
CCR Europe Conference (Spain, 4-6 November)

The articles in this newsletter related to international development are co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the International Cooperative Alliance and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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