How was the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives for you and your organisation?
2025 has been a year of broadened and deepened partnerships in education, research, and thought leadership for the International Centre of Cooperative Management (ICCM). Marking the International Year of Cooperatives included signing two memoranda of understanding with partners from the Philippines – Cooperative College of the Philippines (Climbs) and NATCCO; contributing to the launch of Asett in San Sebastian; running the Summer School of Cooperative Law in partnership with ICA Law and Ius Cooperativum; organising a study tour of Costa Rican co-operatives with Fundepos Cooperative University; and delivering international postgraduate accredited programs in co-op management, as well as executive education courses and workshops.
The fall season included running a week-long DE programme for credit unions, a one-day course at the NCBA Clusa annual conference, and ending the year with another week-long executive education program with colleagues from NATCCO in the Philippines. Our contributions also included presentations at industry events, as well as research conferences; writing commissioned reports for the sector, and sharing knowledge about governance, co-op networks and sustainability, among others. ICCM’s partnerships are new and old, in education and in research, with a common goal to promote and strengthen the co-operative movement by education aligned with the Co-operative Identity.
What are your hopes for 2026?
With various commitments and pledges made by cooperative leaders in the International year, culminating in a Contract for a New Global Economy, we hope to see 2026 as the year of advancement in authentic co-operative education. As consultations on the Co-operative Identity continue into the year and evidence mounts that education about co-operatives in management, law, economics and related fields is insufficient, co-operative leaders have the opportunity to put Principle 6 to action on Principle 5. Partnering with educational institutions with expertise in co-operative business education to broaden the horizons of current and future leaders in the co-operative movement is a must, in our view. To make a difference, co-operative leadership needs to be unapologetically co-operative. Together we can deliver.
