The UN has adopted a resolution calling on governments worldwide to strengthen their support for co-ops, with measures including plans for an International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) every 10 years.
Adopted on 15 December, resolution A/RES/80/182 recognises the global importance of co-operatives, and calls for broad measures to support them such as improved legal and regulatory frameworks, enhanced access to capital and fair taxation, support for agricultural and financial co-operatives, plus expanded digital access, data collection, public awareness, and gender equality.
The resolution also calls on governments, NGOs and co-operatives to observe International Day of Cooperatives (aka CoopsDay) on the first Saturday of July each year – which this year falls on July 4.
Declaring an IYC every 10 years, it says the move will “encourage effective leveraging of the co-operative enterprise model to advance social and economic development”.
Related: How can co-ops keep the momentum from the international year?
This follows hot on the heels of IYC 2025, which took the theme Cooperatives Build a Better World. This month, Co-op News explored the practical achievements of IYC 2025. Key milestones included a joint policy brief series with the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA); co-operative policy reform at the national level across a number of countries; plus more than 200 IYC-related events held in over 100 countries.
“Having both 2012 and 2025 declared as International Years of Cooperatives is rare,” said Jeroen Douglas, director general of the ICA, “as the UN does not usually repeat designated year themes. So this decade cycle is an immense global recognition of cooperatives’ enduring contributions towards a more just and equitable world.
“The slogan of both IYCs – ‘Cooperatives build a better world’ – captures the heart of our movement’s mission.”
ICA president Ariel Guarco added: “In times of environmental crisis, inequality, and global mistrust, cooperatives prove that it is possible to produce and distribute wealth without exclusion, care for the environment, and strengthen social bonds. This UN resolution to declare an International Year of Cooperatives every decade gives our movement renewed optimism.”
