Celebrating cooperatives as drivers of SDGs

More than 3,000 delegates from 107 countries resolved to strengthen cooperatives to drive inclusive global development at the launch of the UN International Year of Cooperatives in New Delhi this week. 

In June 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives under the theme ‘Cooperatives build a better world’ - to foster growth in the cooperative sector and to celebrate the cooperative model as a means to advance sustainable development. 

The official flag of the International Year of Cooperatives was hoisted at the venue at Bharat Mandapam in the heart of the Indian capital to mark the start of the year, as delegates gathered to deliberate on ways to promote cooperative values at the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Global Conference and General Assembly - the first to be held in India and hosted by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), in collaboration with the ICA, the Government of India, and Indian cooperatives AMUL and Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited.
 

Cooperatives are “vital to the success of the Sustainable Development Goals,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a special video address to the gathering, urging united efforts to build momentum ahead of the Second World Summit on Social Development. 

“For the world, cooperative is a model, but for India, it is a lifestyle,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as he launched a commemorative stamp to mark the year alongside UN in India Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji Manoa Kamikamica, and ICA President Ariel Guarco. The stamp features a lotus with symbols representing sectors ranging from agriculture to housing and technology, in a nod to India's commitment to the cooperative movement. 
 

Lauding successful homegrown cooperatives within India's eight lakh-strong cooperative sector, UN in India Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp said: "India is driving development solutions at unmatched scale, including the largest cooperative movement in the world, and sharing these successes with others through South-South Cooperation".

Over a series of panel discussions and sessions during the five-day conference, participants shared insights on how cooperatives can help accelerate progress of the SDGs, strengthen community resilience, alleviate poverty and empower marginalized communities. Representatives from ILO, FAO and DESA presented insights on how cooperative law can keep pace with a changing world, with ILO officials highlighting the need to nurture cooperatives to advance decent work, while activists from the informal economy shared their insights on how cooperatives can contribute to the transition to the formal economy.

"We will show how cooperatives build a better world,” ICA Director-General Jeroen Douglas said as he presented the New Delhi Action Agenda on the Future of Cooperatives at the closing ceremony of the conference. The agenda charts a roadmap to reaffirm cooperative identity and deepen collaboration, with a focus on enabling supportive policies and cultivating inclusive leadership.

Visit the official website to participate in the International Year of Cooperatives: 2025.coop