Collaborative Efforts: A Long-Term Plan for the Progression of Tomorrow
The significance of International Cooperativism Day and the UN's declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives lies in their global acknowledgement and promotion of cooperatives as key drivers of sustainable development, social inclusion, and economic empowerment worldwide.
Celebrated since 1923 and officially recognised by the UN in 1995, International Cooperativism Day raises global awareness about cooperatives and their contribution to international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality, and world peace. The 2025 theme, “Cooperatives: Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Solutions for a Better World,” highlights cooperatives’ role in addressing major challenges like inequality, climate change, and economic instability by offering people-centred, democratic, and sustainable solutions.
The day also aligns with major events such as the UN High-Level Political Forum and the Second World Summit for Social Development, emphasising cooperatives’ importance in global development goals like poverty eradication and social inclusion. Cooperatives have a vast impact: over 12% of the global population is involved in cooperatives, which provide jobs or income to 280 million people and collectively earn trillions in revenue, showcasing their economic and social importance.
The UN’s declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives further elevates the cooperative movement’s visibility, encouraging governments, organisations, and youth to support and expand cooperative enterprises. This year-long observance encourages sustainable development through cooperatives by fostering entrepreneurship, improving legal and policy environments, and highlighting cooperative values such as democratic member control, economic participation, and concern for the community.
It serves as a call to action reinforcing how cooperatives empower marginalised groups, promote fair employment, reduce inequality, and create resilient, inclusive communities globally. By 2025, International Cooperativism Day will have more significance due to the UN’s declaration establishing the International Year of Cooperatives. Together, these initiatives underscore the transformative power of cooperatives as collective, democratically governed enterprises vital for achieving sustainable, inclusive economic growth and social development worldwide.
The global celebration of International Cooperativism Day, with its theme for 2025 being "Cooperatives: Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Solutions for a Better World", reaffirms the role of cooperatives in finance, business, and lifestyle, offering sustainable solutions to challenges like inequality, climate change, and economic instability. This year-long focus on cooperatives as a part of the International Year of Cooperatives (2025), initiated by the UN, also emphasizes education-and-self-development, fostering entrepreneurship and improving legal and policy environments to promote community development worldwide.
