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The 2019 International Day of Cooperatives will be celebrated at the United Nations on Monday 8th July 2019 (the actual day falls on the first Saturday of July, and this year it is on 6 July).
The theme for this year’s celebration is COOPS 4 DECENT WORK.
The celebration will feature the screening of a short documentary about the Bhabishya Nirman Sana Kishan cooperative, who are bringing decent work and expanding opportunities in the Dakshinkali municipality in Nepal. The documentary makers will attend and take part in the interactive discussions.
Why this theme?
Given today’s widening inequality, increased job insecurity and high unemployment levels, particularly among youth, the 2019 #Coopsday theme was chosen to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 “Inclusive development and decent work.”
As people-centred enterprises and key development actors, cooperatives have an important role to play in the creation of decent jobs and the social and economic empowerment of local communities. The second International Cooperative Principle, “Democratic member control,” enables communities to own and govern cooperatives jointly through democratic control that brings about inclusive and sustainable growth, leaving no one behind.
During this celebration, the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), UN Ambassadors and government representatives and representatives of cooperatives will engage in an interactive debate on the role of cooperatives and how to further enhance their developmental impact.
About the International Day of Cooperatives
On 16 December 1992, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution, which proclaimed the first Saturday of July 1995 as the International Day of Cooperatives, marking the centenary of the establishment of the International Co-operative Alliance. This year’s celebration will be both the 25th United Nations International Day of Cooperatives and the 97th International Cooperative Day.
The aim of this celebration is to increase awareness of cooperatives. The event underscores the contributions of the cooperative movement to resolving the major problems addressed by the United Nations and to strengthening and extending the partnerships between the international cooperative movement and other actors.
Since 1995, the COPAC has been setting the theme of the celebration. COPAC members are the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the International Labour Office (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Farmers’ Organization (WFO).
Learn more about the 2019 International Day of Cooperatives.
