In September, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and Cooperatives of the Americas will jointly hold the Global Conference and their Assemblies in Panama City, under the theme Building bridges – cooperative contributions to a peaceful world.
Co-op leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and partners are being invited from around the world to exchange ideas, share experiences, and highlight the impact and future of the global co-operative movement.
The ICA says the theme, agreed at its board meeting this month, recognises how the co-operative values and principles contribute to global peace and prosperity.
In its guidance on the co-op values and principles, the ICA acknowledges that “co-operatives and co-operators have a long tradition of being concerned about and working for peace and social justice [and] recognise that lasting peace can only be built on social justice – and that lasting peace is the essential precondition for the sustainable development of communities locally, nationally, regionally and globally.”
It adds: “We increasingly live in a global community connected through media and the power of virtual communication technologies. Although co-operatives are rooted in local communities, co-operators are citizens of the world. Conflict is the antithesis of co-operation.”
Related: Global co-operative movement meets in Kigali
In 2019, the ICA’s General Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, approved a Declaration on positive peace through cooperatives, which noted that the co-op movement can demonstrate its contributions to positive peace from its earliest beginnings. The declaration called on the movement to “uphold and deepen” its commitment to positive peace and urged members to strengthen actions to build positive peace based on the ICA’s Agenda of Cooperative Action for Positive Peace.
As the world faces multiple political, economic and environmental crises, the work of co-operatives to build bridges and contribute to a more peaceful world has never been more vital, the ICA added. A forthcoming ICA/Copac policy brief on Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) will explore this further.
Dr Ariel Guarco, President of the ICA, said: “We have a long tradition of respecting the autonomy of each community, to which we add, at regional and global levels, our tireless efforts to build bridges for peace..” said ICA president Ariel Guarco. “Today, we see how violence is the path chosen by some to resolve various types of conflict in many parts of the world. We remain committed to peace and are convinced that wherever there is a cooperative, there is a seed of peace, democracy, inclusion and equity, which we must nurture so that it grows and multiplies in every region.”
Dr José Alves de Souza Neto, president of Cooperatives of the Americas, added: “We are delighted to welcome co-operative friends from all over the world to our region. We look forward to welcoming them to a place that is particularly significant, because here in Panama, the Bridge of the Americas connects us from north to south and symbolises the unity in diversity of our continent.
“We hope this conference will bear fruit so that, throughout the world, we can continue to build bridges for peace, as we cooperative members have been doing for many decades.”
The conference, supported by ICA member organisation Instituto Panameño Autónomo Cooperativo (Ipacoop) and Cooperativa de Servicios Múltiples Profesionales, will feature keynote sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, alongside the Cooperative Law Congress, the Coop Expo and optional visits to sites such as the Panama Canal, the historic district of Casco Viejo and local cooperatives.
The 2026 Global Conference of the International Cooperative Alliance will take place 16–17 September 2026 at the Panama Convention Centre. The conference week will include side events and meetings of ICA bodies (13–14 September), the ICA Elective General Assembly (15 September), The Global Confernece (16-17 September) and Cooperatives of the Americas, including its Regional Elective Assembly (17-18 September).
