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Welcome to our April newsletter, bringing cooperative updates from the ICA Global Office! 

From 13-18 September 2026, the ICA and Cooperatives of the Americas are jointly organising the Global Conference and their Assemblies in Panama City, under the theme Building bridges - cooperative contributions to a peaceful world. The theme was agreed at the ICA board meeting in March, and recognises how the cooperative values and principles create a unique capacity to contribute to global peace and prosperity.

It was in March 1920 that the International Labour Organization established a dedicated section on cooperatives, which continues to this day as the ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit. At a time of widening inequalities and growing uncertainty, this shared commitment to human rights, decent work, equity and social justice is more important than ever. ICA will continue to work closely with the ILO to help build a more just and inclusive world.

CICOPA – International Organisation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives – has also recently shared a statement in support of the International Labour Organization. 

In 2025, the ICA established the Cooperative Cultural Heritage programme to safeguard tangible and intangible elements of cooperation around the world. The inaugural list featured 32 sites from 25 countries on its website and interactive map, culturalheritage.coop. In 2026, the goal is to continue expanding both the geographic and cultural scope of the programme - and nominations from ICA members are open now. The call out is coinciding with the week that marks the UN International Day of Conscience, which aims to build a Culture of Peace.

While the UN declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives, 2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF) - a move that was welcomed by cooperatives around the world. IYWF 2026 aims to spotlight the essential (but often unrecognised) roles women play across agrifood systems, while promoting actions to close the gender gaps and improve women’s livelihoods worldwide.

The UN’s 12th Sustainable Development Goal aims to encourage the world to do better with less and promotes a shift to a model that prioritises reuse, repair, and recycling. These activities are already embedded in cooperative identity, governance, and operations, but cooperative solutions need more support to grow and reach their full potential.

CM50, the International Cooperative Alliance’s (ICA) leadership circle for the world's largest cooperatives and mutuals, is taking concrete steps forward to operationalize its vision for a fairer world, with Co-Chairs Jeroen Douglas and Shaun Tarbuck establishing a dedicated development team, including Jan Kellett (Executive Lead), Joseph Njuguna (Membership), Elsa Scholte (Communications and PR) and Kristof De Spiegeleer (Chief Technical Officer).

On 15-16 October 2026, Cooperatives Europe will mark a major milestone: two decades of working together to strengthen cooperativism and champion the "People First" model across the continent. Building on the momentum of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025, the organisation will host a special celebration, awards ceremony and high-level dialogue in Brussels in the European Economic and Social Committee: “Cooperatives Europe’s 20th Anniversary: What’s the Next Chapter towards Economic Democracy?”

Official registration and the call for Award nominations will open in spring 2026. 

The ICA Committee on Cooperative Research (CCR)  Europe 2026 conference takes place at the Universitat Politècnica de València on 3-6 November under the theme "Cooperative Enterprises for Shared Progress: Facing Global Challenges Together”. 

The theme, says the organisers, “reflects the conviction that cooperatives – in their organisational and territorial diversity – are essential tools to face today’s economic, social, and environmental challenges."

Bruno Roelants served as director general of the International Cooperative Alliance from 2018 to 2023, following secretary general roles at CECOP and CICOPA. In February, he published a new book - Cooperativism at Work - which draws on his decades of experience to collect stories of worker-owned cooperatives around the world.

The ICA Asia Pacific (ICA-AP) Committee on Women has released a new study report, ‘Review of Gender-Based Policies in Cooperatives in Asia-Pacific', coinciding with this year’s International Women’s Day. The report examines how cooperatives across Australia, Fiji, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam are addressing gender equality.

On 5 March 2026, the Forum of Cooperative Leaders from the Balkans and the Black Sea region was held in Sofia under the auspices of Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide (CCW), hosted by the Central Union of Cooperatives of Bulgaria. The event was attended by Dr. Ariel Guarco (ICA President), Attilio Dadda (President of Legacoop Lombardy and ICA Director), and 45 leaders from 19 national cooperative organisations, who discussed collaboration, education, and cooperative tourism.

In March, the five offices leading the implementation of the #coops4dev🌍 programme: ICA Africa, Cooperativas de las Américas, ICA Asia and Pacific, Cooperatives Europe, and the ICA Global Office held the Annual Review Meeting (ARM) in Rome. The meeting provided a key opportunity to assess the progress made over the past two years, exchange knowledge across regions, and strengthen cross-regional collaboration – and served as a space to align on priorities and set objectives for the year ahead.

Uber was founded in 2009 and now has around 10 million active drivers and couriers worldwide. Taxi cooperatives exist around the world, but two recent examples in Belgium (Uride) and India (Bharat Taxi) are reaffirming that a platform cooperative alternative continues to be viable and can be replicated globally.

"The Bharat Taxi project shows how cooperatives can succeed beyond traditional sectors by addressing structural inefficiencies - and including worker voices in decisions" - Rohit Gupta, Deputy Managing Director at India’s National Cooperative Development Corporation.

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ICA at the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2026: Innovate, Unite and Cooperate (Online, 15 April)
ICA-AP Regional Conference to commemorate the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 (Hanoi, 7-9 May 2026)
ICMIF AI Summit (London, 19 May)
ICBA Symposium (New York, 28-29 May)
12th Technical Committee of the Africa Ministerial Cooperative Conference (TCAMCCO)  (Mozambique, 9-11 June)
International Day of Cooperatives (4 July)
International Workshop on Cooperative Law (Croatia, 22 August)
Cooperative Law Summer School (Croatia, 23-28 August)
ICA General Assembly and Global Conference (Panama, 15-17 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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