ILO Cooperative Unit – YSI Meet/Greet/Familiarize

According to Professor Hagen Henry (2013) Cooperatives contribute significantly to economic and social development in virtually all countries of the world. Their documented resilience to crisis and thus sustainability, and their particularity of being principles based enterprises that are member controlled and led are increasingly drawing the attention of governments, policy-makers and citizens around the world.

The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) has since its creation in 1895 as an independent association been saddled with the responsibilities to unite, represent and serve cooperatives across the globe. ICA has in the truest spirit of the cooperative movement elected to remain a non-governmental organization, hence its classification as a private international organization.

The ICA has over the years evolve as a viable apex for cooperative representation, service, and administration. There growing capacity of the ICA remains unarguably one of the reason for the growing awareness and membership, of not only the cooperative movement, but the larger social solidarity economy.

Despite the foregoing, the ICA may periodically face some limitation by virtue of its identity as a private international organization, hence the imperative for synergies that provides remedial.
In response, the International Labour Organization (ILO) an agency of the United Nations, hence a public international organisation has played a key role in providing guidance and advice on the creation of enabling environments for cooperative development at national, regional and international levels.
Importantly, the ILO has in-place a dedicated unit for the administration and management of cooperatives, otherwise referred to as the ILO Coop-Unit. This unit is dedicated to works on the cooperatives, social solidarity economy, small medium scale enterprises, and multinational enterprises.

Thus, as part of the effort to develop the expertise of early career researchers and professionals with interest in core areas of interest of the ILO Coop Unit, the Cooperative working group of the Young Scholars Initiative has organized this webinar to meet, greet, and familiarize with the Coop Unit of ILO.

It is hoped, that this webinar will support participants’ appreciation of the ILO and its uniqueness to new economic thinking, and cooperatives, particularly as we prepare for the 2025 United Nations International Year of Cooperatives.

Thank you.