Advocacy is not a side activity. It is how cooperatives secure their place in the global economy.
In ICA’s latest Members’ Chat, the focus was clear:
👉 influence, legal recognition, and a stronger voice at every level.
💬 Watch out for our next series of Members' Chats.
Earth Day is also about food systems, local economies, and who shapes them.
In this article, Erbin Crowell of NFCA reflects on how food cooperatives have advanced local sourcing, sustainability, and community wellbeing for decades.
Read: greenenergytimes.org/celebrate-ea...
2025 was the International Year of Cooperatives.
2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
We welcome this global recognition of women’s vital role across agrifood systems.
More info here: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
Women farmers help sustain food systems, rural economies, and communities across the Americas.
Join this CoopAmericas webinar with participation from @FAO.
📅 April 23
🕛 12:00 PM–2:00 PM
🔗 aciamericas.coop/en/eventosac...
Save the date!
On 15-16 October 2026, @CoopsEurope will host a special celebration, awards ceremony and high-level dialogue in Brussels in line wo the their 20th anniversary.
More info here: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
40,000 farmers. One cooperative. 🌱
In Brazil, Coopercitrus is helping small & medium growers compete with big players through tech, education, and collective power.
Read here: cm50.coop/news/a-conve...
Yesterday we hosted the side event “Innovate, Unite and Cooperate” in the framework of the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2026.
🔎 More info: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
🎥 Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bQV...
#ECOSOCYouth #Youth #Cooperatives #GlobalGoals #CooperativesBuildABetterWorld #coops4dev🌍
CM50, the ICA's leadership circle for the world's largest cooperatives and mutuals, establishes a dedicated development team. Joining co-chairs Jeroen Douglas and Shaun Tarbuck are Jan Kellett, Joseph Njuguna, Elsa Scholte and Kristof De Spiegeleer
More: cm50.coop/news/cm50-ac...
🗓️ 5 months to go.
In a world shaped by uncertainty, cooperation builds connections.
“Building Bridges: Cooperative Contributions for a Peaceful World.”
See you in Panama 🇵🇦
14–18 September 2026
Details here: ica.coop/en/events/jo...
#BuildingBridges
What if drivers owned the platform too?
From Belgium to India, two taxi cooperatives are showing that platform cooperatives can offer fairer earnings, lower fees, and worker voice.
▶️ Read more: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
#Cooperatives #PlatformCoops #GigEconomy #ICA
Leaders from 19 national cooperative organisations explored AI, education, tourism, and intercooperation at a forum in Sofia.
Ariel Guarco, Petar Stefanov, Attilio Dadda, and Stephen Gill were among those contributing.
Read more here: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
📬 The April edition of Cooperative Insider is out now!
Inside:
✨ Panama 2026 theme announced
🤝 106 years of ICA–ILO partnership
🕊️ Cultural Heritage List nominations open
and more!
Check your mail or access here:
🔗 bit.ly/aprilnewslet...
📢 Save the date!
The ICA will host a side event at the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2026
📅 15 April
⏰ 15:00 - 16:00 CEST
🔗 Register here (Zoom): zoom.us/meeting/regi...
👉 More info: ica.coop/en/events/ic...
#ECOSOCYouth #GlobalGoals #Youth #Cooperatives #CooperativesBuildABetterWorld #coops4dev🌍
📣 The ICA CCR Europe Research Conference 2026 in Valencia is still accepting abstracts and panel proposals until 10 April
17 research streams spanning governance, law, tech, sustainability, housing, finance, youth, gender, & more.
More info here: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
🍿 Tomorrow: Co-op Snack Break with Peter A. P. Pfatteicher
Join us for a 30-minute session on the economic and social objectives of housing cooperatives in Germany.
🗓 7 April 2026
🕐 1:00–1:30 PM CET
▶️ Register: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
🌍 Nominations are now open for the Cooperative Cultural Heritage List!
👉 If you know a site or intangible element that deserves to be recognised: www.culturalheritage.coop/criteriaAndN...
ℹ️ ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
#Cooperatives #Culture #CulturalHeritage #CooperativeCulturalHeritage #coops4dev🌍
🌍 This September, the global cooperative movement will gather in Panama City for a week of dialogue, exchange, and action under the theme: Building bridges: cooperative contributions for a peaceful world
▶️ Learn more here: ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
#Panama #BuildingBridges
Joining us for the 2026 ICA GA & Global conference? Learn more about cooperatives in Panama!
ica.coop/en/newsroom/...
#Beyond2025 #Panama #CooperativesBuildABetterWorld
At a time of widening inequalities and growing uncertainty, this shared commitment to human rights, decent work, equity and social justice is more important than ever. ICA will continue to work closely with the ILO to help build a more just and inclusive world.
Building on this longstanding cooperation, the ICA looks forward to further strengthening the ICA–ILO partnership, deepening practical cooperation, and advancing the cooperative agenda across the UN system and broader global policy processes.
In recent years, this collaboration has extended to engagement through the multistakeholder multilateral platforms such as @CopacCoop, the @untfsse and the Global Coalition for Social Justice, including in relation to the International Year of Cooperatives 2025.
and sustainable livelihoods. From policy development and implementation to policy monitoring and coherence the ICA has worked with the ILO and its constituents across sectors, regions and over time, including during periods of converging crises.
This collaboration is rooted in a shared understanding of the role of cooperatives as democratic, participatory and member-driven enterprises in advancing employment creation, social inclusion, resilience, the transition from the informal to the formal economy...
Over more than a century, the ICA and the International Labour Organization have been strategic partners in support of social justice, decent work and people-centred development.
ICA–ILO Partnership since 1920: Advancing social justice through 106 years of cooperation
It was in March 1920, when the @ilo established a dedicated section on cooperatives, that continues to this day as the ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit.
50 million farmers. One cooperative.
In this latest #CM50 interview, Dr K.J. Patel of @IFFCO_PR shares what it takes to lead at that scale while staying focused on farmers, innovation, and rural development.
▶️ Watch: youtu.be/-Mcx1UEbEKk
#CooperativesBuildABetterWorld
😊 Happiness is not only a feeling. It is also shaped by whether life feels livable.
Can people afford to get by? Access care? Be heard?
Cooperatives help build those conditions through dignity, participation, and shared ownership.
💬 What makes you happy?
#HappinessDay
🍿 Watch
Missed the first Co-op Snack Break this spring? We got you!
You can watch the recorded livestream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwU...
📢 Date change
The ICBA Symposium 2026 at the UN HQ, New York will now take place on:
🗓 28–29 May 2026
A global gathering on cooperative finance and inclusive growth
▶️ Register: icba.coop/symposium2026/
#CooperativesBuildABetterWorld
🌿 In Brazil, babaçu breaker women came together to protect their livelihoods.
Through COPPALJ, they now produce organic oil and sustain communities across 8 areas.
▶️ Watch their story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5tO...
✍️ Share yours too: stories.coop
#Coops4Women