CM50 leaders pledge to ‘drive impactful change globally’

Fifty leaders of co-ops and mutuals set priorities in Madrid ahead of November’s Second UN World Social Summit in Doha, Qatar

Leaders from the world’s largest co-operatives and mutuals met in Madrid on 21-22 May to set out a joint vision ahead of the Second UN Social Summit in Doha.

The meeting was the first in-person event for the Cooperatives and Mutuals Leadership Circle (CM50), a network set up by the International Cooperative Alliance, the global apex for co-ops, which aims to expand the co-operative and mutual market share as part of the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and beyond.

Ahead of the meeting, participants attended a welcome dinner at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the home of fan-owned Real Madrid football club.

Welcoming the CM50 leaders, Dr Carlos Zarco, event host and president of the International Health Cooperative Organisation, said: “Today we meet here to celebrate the power of the co-operative business model, which proves it’s possible to combine economic success with social objectives, such as democracy, and sustainability. All of us here are an example of what we can do when we work together for the common good and without any limits.

“The experiences that you will bring to the table from different sectors and continents show that co-operatives are not only a business model, but also a transforming business model that put people at the heart of everything they do. In a world facing complex challenges, principles of caring, equity, responsibility and mutual-help are more important than ever.”

Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of the Co-op Group (the UK’s largest retail co-operative), talked about her organisation’s work to build on the government’s commitment to double the size of the co-operative economy.

“The Co-op Group launched a campaign that we called, ‘Owned by you, right by you’, that we advertised across the entire country,” she said. “We put a lot of funding behind it to explain to people what co-ops were and that they were owned by their members and delivered for them.

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“Today, we’ve also built parliamentary alliances to deliver campaigns on the issues that our members have said mattered to them like modern slavery, climate and retail crime.  And then the most recent campaign, based on what our members told us really matters to them, is around peace and co-operation, both in the UK, but also worldwide as well. And we are asking the government to use co-operative development in areas that are recovering from conflict and to build out there. 

“We have been able to influence the government that is increasingly calling on the co-operative and mutual sector to engage on these critical issues. They can see that we do get things done. They can see that we can mobilise our members to get things done, as well.”

Jeroen Douglas, ICA director general, described the ICA’s history from its creation in 1895 to unite the movement, exchange information, act as custodian of the co-operative identity and promote trade among co-ops.

“We have an opportunity in Doha to show there is another way. We want to be our own Davos that can develop solutions to the world’s challenges,” he said.

“Co-operatives, as people-centred enterprises jointly owned and democratically controlled by and for their members to realise common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations, are well-placed to accelerate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Related: Theme announced for 2025 International Day of Cooperatives

He added: “As we witness social, economic and political challenges play out on a global stage – and in the context of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives – it is vital that co-operatives work together to demonstrate the difference we can make. Through the CM50 we are not only showcasing our ability to advance a more sustainable future, but highlighting how our organisations, as models of good business, are able to impact and transform society, and increase the market share for co-operatives which in turn will help to build a better world.”

One way co-ops can work together is by joining Principle Six, a platform where co-ops can share information, said Howard Brodsky, founder of CCA Global Partners in the USA.

“Principle Six is the first global digital platform built for co-operatives by co-operatives and owned by co-operatives,” he said. “This is not by a third party. This is for co-operatives by co-operatives. It’s a digital platform that will serve to understand how to deliver the best practices. It’s using AI technology in a way that maybe every individual co-operative could not do.

“We have built collaboration into Principle Six. So if there’s an issue, whether it’s a mutual issue on taxes, a credit union issue, or a regular co-op issue, we will have a platform that all the co-ops can come together, to have common emails, to have common social media posts, the strength of all of us is 100 times much more powerful than the strength of each of us individually.”

Matheus Marino, chair of Coopercitrus growers’ co-op in Brazil, which has more than 40,000 members, told the event: “We help the growers adopt the best solutions with technology, assets, machinery.”

Turning to the OCB, the Brazilian co-operative organisation that is lobbying the government for favourable co-operative policies, he added: “We increase our power when we work together.”

Leaders from a range of regions and sectors attended the meeting on 22 May, hosted by the International Health Cooperative Organisation (an ICA sectoral organisation), and took part in a collaborative design sprint to come up with solutions to global challenges. Working together, they pitched solutions related to leadership and advocacy; expanding market share and B2B collaboration; and enabling co-operative solutions, which they debated before selecting three main pitches.

Pitches included establishing a co-op-to-co-op/mutual-to-mutual platform for trade; investing in co-op education, and supporting co-operative development projects as a means to foster peace.

Yolanda Diaz

Addressing the meeting, Spain’s second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, said: “Cooperativism is a transformative force that goes beyond economics and is capable of addressing the climate, geopolitical, and social challenges we face.

“In the current global context – marked by war and climate crisis – the answer lies in more cooperativism and more social economy, not to displace the traditional economy, but to compete on equal footing.

“Those of us gathered here share two fundamental values: solidarity over individualism, and democracy over the concentration of power. That is why this is not just another meeting, but a fertile space for shared work, from which proposals will emerge to serve as a roadmap for political decision-making in defence of these values.”

The meeting concluded with the adoption of a CM50 manifesto for the Second UN World Summit of Social Development (WSSD2) in Doha in November.

The zero draft of the political declaration to be adopted at the Second World Summit for Social Development in November mentions co-ops. The CM50 meeting in Madrid served as an opportunity for co-op and mutual leaders to discuss how to engage with their respective governments and UN representatives to advocate for a declaration that features co-operatives as solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

The CM50 leaders have also co-developed a commitment plan for the International Year of Cooperatives and the 2026–2030 strategic period and outlined a long-term roadmap for co-operative and mutual engagement beyond 2030, aligned with emerging global policy priorities.

ICA head of policy, Joseph Njuguna, encouraged CM50 leaders to register to participate in the World Social Summit and engage with national governments to influence global policy outcomes and push for a co-operative agenda at the UN. The deadline for organisations to get accredited for the Summit is 13 June. Once organisations are accredited, individuals representing the organisation can register to attend the Summit as well.

The ICA will launch its annual World Cooperative Monitor, which explores the economic and social impact of the largest co-operatives and mutuals, at the Summit.