Rebuild better together

The 3 July is the International Day of Cooperatives, which this year is dedicated to the theme «Rebuild Better Together». Through this celebration, cooperatives around the world wanted to show how they have faced the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with solidarity and resilience, and to offer their business model for a people-centred and environmentally just recovery.

On the occasion, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), an independent non-governmental organization that brings together and represents cooperatives worldwide, assured that “over the last year, we have observed that the main priorities of the cooperative model have been the well-being of people and respect for the planet, thus reinforcing the principles on which the model is based.”

The theme chosen for this edition aimed to highlight the success of cooperatives as a model for recovery and joint work that will help create a stronger society after the pandemic.

Although the celebration dates back to 1923, it was not until 1995, the year of the ICA’s centenary, that the United Nations officially proclaimed the International Day of Cooperatives, which has been celebrated yearly since then on the first Saturday in July.