On Saturday 4 July, more than one billion co-operators are marking the UN International Day of Cooperatives (CoopsDay), which this year has the theme Cooperatives for a Peaceful World.
Celebrated on the first Saturday of July since 1923 and officially recognised by the United Nations since 1995, CoopsDay is also an opportunity for co-operatives to engage with national governments and the international community and emphasise the role of co-operatives as partners that can contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sharing a message marking the day, Dr Ariel Guarco, president of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), highlighted how more than 120 armed conflicts are currently affecting millions of people in different parts of our planet, with 830 million people living in extreme poverty.
“As schools for peace, co-operatives promote dialogue, transparency, and fraternal exchange among people from the most diverse cultural, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds,” he said. “For all these reasons, we believe that the social, cultural, and environmental harmony produced by the co-operative economy is an indispensable requirement for achieving positive peace.
“On this International Day of Cooperatives, let us, together with our members and our communities, recognise the daily contribution we make, from this perspective, to a world at peace. Humanity urgently needs to move towards a future of peace as a result of solidarity, inclusion, and social justice. Let us continue building together the future we want and deserve, for ourselves and for the generations that come after us.”
Jeroen Douglas, ICA director general, said: “Co-operatives are valued contributors to peace, and can have a tangible impact before, during and after conflicts, crises and natural disasters.
“Pre-conflict, for example, they build communities of trust and wellbeing, which provide a foundation of resilience that helps to mitigate potential hostilities and bring societies together. During conflict, they act as agents of support, including as practical suppliers and distributors of basic needs such as mediation and food. And post-conflict, they are rebuilders of people, place and community.”
In June, the ICA and the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) published a policy brief exploring how the co-operative model can help accelerate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The brief is part of an ongoing project between the ICA and COPAC addressing the co-operative contribution to all SDGs.
The promotion of positive peace will be on the agenda of the joint ICA and Cooperatives of the Americas conference in Panama in September, too, which takes the theme Building bridges: co-operative contributions for a peaceful world.
Also marking CoopsDay, International Labour Organization director-general, Gilbert F. Houngbo, highlighted the vital role of co-operatives in advancing peace through decent work, social justice and resilient communities.
“Peace is more than the absence of war. It rests on social justice,” he said, adding that that conviction lies at the heart of the ILO’s mandate.
“Today, peace is under strain. Conflict, displacement, inequality, economic insecurity, environmental disruption and declining trust affect people’s lives. In this context, co-operatives make a vital contribution … On this International Day, let us recognise co-operatives for their role in bringing people together for a more peaceful world rooted in decent work and social justice.”
