Co-operatives: The power to act for a sustainable future | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed, in its resolution 47/90 of 16 December 1992, the International Day of Cooperatives to be celebrated annually on the first Saturday of July.

The aim of this International Day is to:

Increase awareness on cooperatives;
Highlight the complementarily of the goals and objectives of the United Nations and the international cooperative movement;
Underscore the contribution of the movement to the resolution of the major problems addressed by the United Nations;
Strengthen and extend partnerships between the international cooperative movement and other actors, including governments, at local, national and international levels.

In September 2015, the UN Member States adopted a 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, containing the seventeen SDGs. In paragraphs 41 and 67 of the outcome document, cooperatives are acknowledged within the private sector as important actors in implementing the Agenda. Cooperatives are similarly mentioned in paragraphs 13, 35 and 39 of the Financing for Development outcome document adopted in August 2015.

This year, International Co-operative Day, to be celebrated on 2 July, will have the theme ‘Co-operatives: The power to act for a sustainable future.’ The slogan coincides with the theme of implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to which the cooperative movement has pledged its commitment. It also echoes the slogan of the 2016 International Summit of Cooperatives, which will take place in October 2016 and address cooperative engagement in SDG achievement.

This year, The Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in partnership with the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) will co-host the UN observance of the 2016 International Day of Cooperatives on 11 July 2016 from 1:15pm to 2:30pm at UN headquarters in New York, during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

To learn more about the International Day of Cooperatives, please visit: bit.ly/UN-IDC2016 | www.copac.coop | www.un.org/en/events/cooperativesday

To learn more about our work on Cooperatives, please visit: social.un.org/cooperatives