The International Cooperative Alliance has announced “rebuild better together” as the theme for this year’s International Day of Co-operatives (3 July).
Celebrated on the first Saturday of July, the day will showcase the role of co-operatives in driving a people-centred and environmentally just recovery after Covid-19.
“In the last year, we have witnessed how the co-operative model has been working towards the wellbeing of people and respect for the planet, underscoring what the co-operative movement stands for,” said Bruno Roelants, director general of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).
“We will indeed rebuild better together, and I’m confident that we will see many stories of how the co-operative movement can help communities become stronger in the post-pandemic world.”
The theme was chosen by the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), a multi-stakeholder partnership of organisations, made up the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the ICA. Copac has been setting the theme of the International Day of Co-operatives since 1995.
The ICA calls on members and co-operators from across the world to join the #CoopsDay campaign on 3 July to show how co-operatives are meeting the COVID-19 crisis with solidarity and resilience.
The ICA will release a media pack with logos, key messages and digital resources that co-ops can use to promote the day.
The day has been celebrated by the International Co-operative Alliance since 1923. In 1992 the United Nations General Assembly also proclaimed the first Saturday of July 1995 to be International Day of Cooperatives to mark the centenary of the establishment of the International Cooperative Alliance.
Since 1995 the United Nations’ International Day of Co-operatives has been observed jointly alongside International Co-operative Day. Thus this year’s celebration will be both the 27th United Nations International Day of Co-operatives and the 98th International Co-operative Day.
More information about the International Day of Co-operatives is available at www.coopsday.coop.
