The International Cooperative Alliance held its global conference in Panama this week, with keynote speakers ranging from ministers and co-operative officials to co-operative practitioners, academics and activists following a thread of peace-making and bridge-building.
José Alves de Souza Neto, president of Cooperatives of the Americas, welcomed delegates to Panama on behalf of the regional office. A growing loss of trust in people and institutions means the world needs bridges more than ever,” he said. “You can build walls, or you can build bridges. The co-op movement has chosen to build bridges – this is part of our identity and our story.”
Co-operative ideas are intrinsic to this, he argued. “Someone had to believe that two separate sides could be connected. Someone had to imagine that – and that’s what co-ops do every day.”
Ana Graça, the UN resident coordinator in Panama, noted that sometimes bridges are not made of steel and cement. “Sometimes they are built with trust and solidarity,” she said. “This is what co-operatives do: build bridges between people and communities, inclusion and opportunities, development and peace. It is in these spaces that trust is strengthened, and solutions are found … which is important, because peace is more than the absence of conflict, but is the need for justice, inclusion and opportunities.”
Alex Ortega, of Cooperativas Profesionales, said: “In Panama, we see all of you as co-operative brothers and sisters; we have different ways of expressing a single truth, but in co-operatives, no one walks alone.”
Cooperativas Profesionales is one of two ICA members in Panama who co-hosted the event along with Instituto Panameño Autónomo Cooperativo (Ipacoop).
Erika Vargas, executive director of Ipacoop, talked about the global nature of co-operatives.
“When I look at this room, I don’t see a list of names or organisations,” she said. “I see faces of effort that reflect a global co-operative community that works together with dignity and respect.”
Delegates also participated in a series of breakout sessions exploring the ICA’s 2026-2030 strategy, Practice, Promote, Protect.
In the Practice session, delegates heard about the work of #Coops4Dev and the CM50 leaders group, and how co-operative ideas are being put into practice. The Promote session saw the launch of the ICA’s 2026-2030 ICA Communications Strategy and a discussion around co-operative advocacy. And the Protect strand focused on legislation and how co-operative identity can be kept relevant, resilient and resonant.
Related: Co-operatives are a ‘force for peace’, ICA conference hears
During the week, the ICA held its 2026 in-person General Assembly, where Ariel Guarco was re-elected unopposed as president, and 15 at-large directors were elected from 24 candidates, including seven returning directors and eight who are new to the ICA board.
They join the four vice presidents representing the ICA regions, eight representatives of the global sectoral organisations, one youth representative, and the chair of the Gender Equality Committee. Delegates were also consulted on a proposed overhaul of the ICA’s membership offer. Members tasked the incoming board with continuing to develop a new formula for calculating membership fees and voting rights.
Several ICA side events were hosted during the week, including regional gatherings, and meetings convened by the International Organisation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (Cicopa), the Gender Equality Committee, Co-operative Housing International, the International Cooperative Entrepreneurship Think Tank (Icett) and the International Cooperative Development Platform (ICDP).
There was also a special session on co-operative AI, hosted by Legacoop.
Parallel to the main programme, the ICA and regional Cooperative Law Committees organised the IX Continental Law Congress and II International Symposium on Cooperative Law, exploring how co-op law can respond to today’s challenges.
The venue hosted an expo, showcasing products produced by co-ops in Panama, and Guarco launched his new book, Cooperativas en Acción II (Co-operatives in Action II, currently available in Spanish only).
Wrapping up the conference, Guarco said: “If the co-operative movement was a country, we would be the largest in the world. If the co-operative movement was an economy, we would be the largest in the world. If it were a language, it would be the most widely spoken in the world.
“We need a more equal, inclusive and peaceful world. We know how to do it, and we have the tools, so let’s work together for this better world that I’m sure we all want and that we all deserve.”
