The United Nations International Day of Cooperatives is annually celebrated on the first Saturday of July which falls on 4th of July in 2020. The day is celebrated to create awareness on the importance of cooperatives and to highlight the goals and objectives of the United Nations and the cooperative movements.
The theme of International Day of Cooperatives 2020 is “Cooperatives for Climate Action”, is chosen to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action and to focus on the contribution of the cooperatives in the combat against climate change.
COOPS 4 Climate Action:
i.The climate changes affects the livelihood of the people all around the world and the effect is severe on the small scale farmers, women, youth, indigenous people and ethnic minorities.
ii.The global warming and the increase in carbon emissions causes long lasting changes in the climate system.
International Cooperative Alliance:
i.The International Cooperative Alliance(ICA) was founded during the 1st Cooperative Congress in London, England on 19th August 1895, in the attendance of the delegates of cooperatives from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, India, Italy, Switzerland, Serbia, and the USA.
ii.The ICA was established to provide information, define and defend the cooperative principles and to develop international trade.
Background:
i.Since 1923 the first Saturday of July is marked as the international day of Cooperatives to celebrate the cooperative movement.
ii.The United Nations General Assembly declared the first Saturday of July as the International Day of Cooperatives on the resolution adopted on 16 December 1992.
iii.The International Cooperative Alliance(ICA) and the United Nations(UN) has been setting the theme of the celebration since 1995.
Events of 2020:
i.The Committee for the Promotion and advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) will celebrate the 2020 International Day of Cooperatives on 9th July as an online event with #CoopsDay and #Coops4ClimateAction
ii.A short documentary illustrating the Creando Conciencia cooperative will be screened.
iii.A Presentation on cooperative work for climate action and sustainable development, followed by a discussion.
iv.ICA with DotCoop launches the 2020 International Cooperative Day interactive map, illustrating the world wide actions of the cooperatives against climate change.
About ICA:
President– Ariel Guarco
Director General– Bruno Roelants
Headquarters– Brussels, Belgium
