International Seminar on Co-operatives and the Sustainable Development Goals

On March 6, 2017, a seminar on "Co-operatives and the Sustainable Development Goals" was held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, co-organized by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), Brazilian Cooperatives Organization (OCB), Unimed do Brazil and Organization of Cooperatives in the State of Sao Paulo CESP. The event featured outstanding personalities from the global co-operative movement.

The seminar focused on the role of the global cooperatives movement in formulating the SDGs, a campaign of ICA for the Sustainable Development Goals; cooperatives as an intrinsic model for economic growth and social inclusion; the cooperative identity as response to the reduction of inequalities and disparities; and the blueprint for a co-operative decade as an instrument to achieve the SDGs

Maxwell Haywood, Focal point on cooperatives, UNDESA Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), presented on the general context in which SDGs has emerged; the MDGs in relation to the SDGs; the close linkages between the cooperative enterprise model and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the role of cooperatives in implementing the SDGs; the challenges met by cooperatives in implementing the SDGs; and the strategies for integrating the work of the cooperative enterprise model in the implementation of the SDGs.

During the discussions, it was made quite clear that Brazil fosters a very strong cooperative movement comprising over six (6) thousand cooperatives with twelve (12) million members, currently providing about 338,000 jobs, is active in 11 major sectors, and boasts annual exports of approx.US$5.2 billion.

The seminar also launched the Cooperative Day in Sao Paulo, and in the Brazilian capital of Brazilia.

For more information about our work on Cooperatives, please visit: social.un.org/cooperatives
To learn more about the SDGs, please visit: sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs

Source: UNDESA DSPD