Cooperatives of the Americas, the region of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), welcomes with deep satisfaction the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/182 about Cooperatives in Social Development, approved on December 15, 2025.
This resolution constitutes a high-level political recognition of the strategic role played by cooperatives in building a more inclusive, democratic and sustainable economic and social development, and reinforces a vision long held by the cooperative movement on a global and regional scale.
The United Nations' decision to request the proclamation of an International Year of Cooperatives every decade represents a historic milestone. It not only consolidates the lessons learned and achievements from 2012 to 2025Rather, it projects the cooperative model as a key tool to address the structural challenges of contemporary development: inequality, poverty, food insecurity, financial exclusion, and the climate crisis.
For the Americas, a region marked by profound social, territorial, and gender inequalities, this recognition takes on special significance. last International Year of Cooperatives For the Americas, it was an opportunity for encounters, reflection, and collective action. Throughout the year, cooperatives demonstrated their capacity to generate decent employment, strengthen local economies, promote gender equality, and guarantee access to essential goods and services, even in highly vulnerable contexts.
From agricultural and consumer cooperatives to savings and credit cooperatives, worker cooperatives, housing cooperatives, health cooperatives, and public service cooperatives, the impact of the cooperative model became visible in urban and rural communities throughout the region. Cooperatives of the Americas, together with its Allied Parties Committee, promoted four high-level regional events during 2025 that addressed strategic issues for the future of cooperativism in the Americas.
These meetings, held in a hybrid format with broad participation from cooperative organizations, governments, academia, and international bodies, focused on the contribution of cooperatives to sustainable development, financial inclusion, gender equality and youth leadership, innovation and digital transformation, and the role of cooperatives in addressing climate change and ensuring a just transition. Information and results from these spaces for dialogue and collective action are available at [link to website/website]. AIC2025americas.coop as a testament to the regional commitment to the global agenda.
Resolution A/RES/80/182 recognizes and validates many of the contributions that cooperatives in the Americas have been making for decades. The text explicitly acknowledges the cooperative contribution to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with particular emphasis on eradicating poverty and hunger, promoting social inclusion, fostering gender equality, and supporting the development of rural communities, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable populations. It also highlights the role of cooperatives in promoting financial inclusion and local economic development, areas in which the cooperative movement in the Americas has historically been a pioneer.
The resolution also makes a clear call to States to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks that enable the development of cooperatives, improve their access to financing, guarantee fair taxation, support agricultural and financial cooperatives, expand digital access, and strengthen research, data collection, and public awareness. For Cooperatives of the Americas, these guidelines constitute a roadmap that must be translated into concrete public policies, developed in dialogue with the cooperative movement and adapted to national and territorial realities.
In the words of the president of Cooperatives of the Americas, José Alves de Sousa Neto, “the resolution adopted by the United Nations confirms what millions of cooperative members in our continent know and practice every day: that cooperatives are not just businesses, but fundamental social actors for development with equity, economic democracy, and sustainability. The International Year of Cooperatives 2025 demonstrated that, when the cooperative model is embraced, the results benefit all of society.”
For his part, Danilo Salerno, Regional Director of Cooperatives of the Americas, noted that “the challenge now is to translate this international recognition into concrete actions at the national and local levels. In the Americas, we have a diverse, innovative, and committed cooperative movement that is ready to contribute decisively to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the building of a fairer and more inclusive future.”
Finally, Cooperatives of the Americas reaffirms its commitment to continue working alongside the ICA, cooperative organizations in the region, governments, and allied parties to build on the momentum generated by Resolution A/RES/80/182. The annual celebration of International Day of Cooperatives, every first Saturday of July, and the planning of new International Years of Cooperatives, should be opportunities to deepen the impact of cooperativism on the continent and to consolidate a development model centered on people and communities.
