Right now, nearly 60 armed conflicts are being waged around the world – the worst level since World War II – but on International Peace Day (21 September), a new campaign is looking to put co-operation at the heart of post-conflict aid, trade and investment.
Led by the UK’s Co-op Group, the campaign aims to bring the movement together “to demonstrate how co-ops and co-operation are powerful and effective ways to rebuild communities after conflict” and “to urge the government and NGOs to recognise co-operations as a core part of their funding for post-conflict reconstruction”.
“Co-ops build peace because they’re more inclusive, more resilient and open,” says Paul Gerrard, director – campaigns, public affairs and policy at the Group.
“And if all the evidence says co-ops build peace, then co-ops should be a bigger part of international development funding. That’s fundamentally the heart of the campaign: putting co-operation at the service of those who need it most, so they figure as a core part of what we do in terms of our trading and supply choices, but also in terms of what gets government support.”
The initiative has five elements: aid, campaigning, trade, education and development – ACTED – and is launching with a petition calling for increased funding for co-operatives in the UK International Development Budget.
“This is not about charity, it is about investing in inclusive and democratic solutions that create long-term stability,” wrote Group CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq on LBC.
“It is about understanding that peace is not only about politics. It is about people having shared purpose, shared opportunity and a voice in shaping their futures. It is about people looking for what they have in common, not for reasons to highlight differences and division. That is why I have added my name to the petition, and I encourage others to do the same.”
The petition is being launched on World Peace Day “because, as Scottish pacifist, internationalist and co-operator William Maxwell said in 1914, ‘the antithesis of conflict is co-operation’,” adds Gerrard.
“We want people to sign it, because if you get enough signatures, the government has got to engage. If you get a lot of signatures, the government has got to have a debate. There’s a real opportunity here because we know government is interested, but it’s a big, complicated world with complex situations, and the Foreign Office has got a lot on its plate. This is about getting co-ops up the agenda and more visible.”
Alongside signing the petition, the campaign is encouraging people to write to their MPs to tell them they’ve signed the petition and why it’s important, and to urge their MP to ask the foreign secretary where co-ops figure in her plans, Gerrard says. “If a constituent asks an MP to contact a government minister, the MP usually will contact the government minister. The government minister then has to reply to the MP, which means that the government minister has to engage in this.”
The petition is open until the end of October, and builds on work the UK movement is already doing with initiatives such as the Fund for International Co-op Development, the Group’s recent work with West Bank-based Taybeh Brewing Co and Central Co-op’s Our Malawi Partnership.
“This is a real opportunity for the movement to talk about something that doesn’t just affect the businesses they run,” says Gerrard, “and comes to the heart of what co-operation is about. It’s an opportunity for us as a movement to say: ‘You want something different and want to actively support businesses that build peace rather than make money off conflict? Then you should come and look at this existential demonstration of why co-ops are different.’”
Find out more about the campaign here.
