The cooperative movement at the service of social medicine
Cooperativism is getting ready to experience one of its most important years. In 2025, the International Year of Cooperatives will be held to emphasise the global impact of cooperatives.
Cooperativism is putting its glad rags on. In 2025, the launch of the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025) will be held with the slogan “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World.”
The United Nations Organisation (UN) has marked next year as a key date in cooperativism, as it also did back in 2012, the first year of cooperatives.
This time, the celebration will act as a loudspeaker for the enormous contribution made by cooperatives around the world in reaching the UN’s Sustainability Goals.
The Year of Cooperativism, the second to be held in history, has some clear goals:
In order to prepare for the International Year of Cooperatives and make the best possible use of it, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is organising the World Cooperative Congress in New Delhi (India), between the 25th and 30th of November. This is the first time in 130 years that the Global Conference of the ICA will be held in India.
The congress will include inspiring speakers, debates and the joint creation of strategies. With the slogan “Cooperatives build prosperity for all,” the ICA seeks to transmit the fact that cooperatives are institutions centred on people, driven by shared goals and progress.
The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres will be amongst the speakers attending, alongside other members of the UN, representatives from global cooperativism and thinkers and social activists.
Healthcare cooperatives will have their own meeting at the World Cooperative Congress. The event will take place on the 28th of November and it will involve debates on innovative solutions for digital health, centring on the cooperative model. The workshop will show successful experiences by members of the IHCO and it will cover critical subjects such as AI, cyber security and literacy in e-Health.
The panel of experts is formed by those in charge of the main healthcare cooperatives in different countries. Carlos Zarco, General Manager of the Fundació Espriu and Chairman of the International Healthcare Cooperatives Organisation will intervene, along with representatives from healthcare cooperatives from Panama, the Philippines, India and Italy.
The UN has published a logo for the Year of Cooperativism. The design, using different colours and shapes, shows people joined together, forming the world. This logo symbolises unity and global collaboration, values that are intrinsic to cooperativism. With this logo, the UN is seeking to emphasise the principles of cooperativism: people working together to build a better world.
The logotype is a powerful tool for making people aware of the cooperative model and promoting it.
Cooperatives, based on principles of democracy and equality, have been crucial in many economic and social achievements on a global scale. With this event, the idea is to communicate the work carried out by cooperatives and to boost their growth to achieve a global development that is more sustainable and fair.
This promotion will not only be carried out by cooperatives. In 2025, governments and associations will promote the cooperative business model, emphasising its role in reaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
In July, the UN organised an initial event to show the high standards of inclusive, sustainable growth that are represented by cooperatives and their commitment to the environment.
“By way of democratic governance and shared property, cooperatives are an example of peace and stability, bringing together people from different origins under conditions of equality and promoting comprehension and respect,” sources from the UN declared.
The general manager of the International Cooperative Alliance speaks with Fundació Espriu from Delhi, where the cooperative movement summit will take place in a few days, marking the kickoff for the International Year of Cooperatives scheduled for 2025.
We explain what a cooperative is; what makes cooperativism into a movement and what its principles and values are. We also indicate its ownership model and the next challenges to be faced.