The president of Cooperatives of the Americas, Graciela Fernández, and other cooperative leaders from the region and the world participated in the day. Fernández proposed a work agenda for 2025.
“We have learned with the covid-19 pandemic that no one is saved alone and we are convinced that to build a better future, multilateralism and the efforts of all actors are needed now more than ever, so that the future we hope for is more fair, equitable, inclusive, respectful of human rights and sustainable.”
Graciela Fernández's message at the UN aimed to highlight the strategic alliances that the regional organization has been weaving. The latest developments in this regard were the meetings held days ago with senior officials of Cepal and FAO Americas, in Santiago, Chile.
“We will comply with the reference resolutions for the Year and its celebration modalities, leveraging efforts with the governments of the 24 countries of America where we have representation and the institutions of the UN system with which we have agreements such as ECLAC, FAO, ILO, UN Women and UNESCO but also IICA, ALADI and Parlatino,” Fernández said.
The president of Cooperatives of the Americas also pointed out the priority topics: Territorial economic and productive development with ECLAC; sustainable food systems with FAO Americas; work and care economy with ILO; education with UNESCO; cooperative finance with the World Bank for sectoral integration and to contribute to the Addis+10 Agenda.
To carry out this agenda, the constitution of a Regional Committee dedicated to the International Year under the operational coordination of the Regional Director, Danilo Salerno, will be proposed to the Board of Directors. “From the Americas we will work especially in dialogue with all the actors of the social and solidarity economy, to leverage efforts, to multiply the future, so that no one is left behind,” concluded the President, who was accompanied by the vice presidents, Jose Alves de Sousa Neto and Carla Decker.
ICA offices in Asia-Pacific, Africa and Europe also shared their regional plans for this year's commemorations.
During the meeting at the United Nations, the president of the ACI, Ariel Guarco, also spoke: “There is no need to delve into an area like this, which is the cooperation between the communities of the world that has allowed us to overcome the dramatic impacts of world wars, natural disasters and health crises like the one we experienced very recently.”
“It is time to turn on the engines of cooperation at the government level together with other public and private actors to carry out a true stabilization process at a global level and put the economy back in the hands of the communities, of the real needs. of people, of the prosperity of families, to re-anchor economic growth in the dynamics of production and work, distributing opportunities in a fair and balanced manner.”
Also speaking at the opening session were Ankhbayar Nyamdorj, permanent representative of Mongolia to the UN; Njambi Kinyungu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Kenya; R Ravindra, permanent representative of India; and John Wilmoth, director of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Undesa).
The president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc), Paula Narváez Ojeda, considered that “the values and principles of cooperatives make them directly relevant to sustainable development. Participatory decision-making, democratic control by partners, quality, solidarity, cooperation and concern for the community are fundamental principles that allow them to contribute to the construction of a better world.”
During the event, different countries and institutions were encouraged to create national and regional committees to organize events and activities to commemorate and celebrate the international year. These committees will involve governments, cooperatives, UN agencies and other stakeholders with the idea of translating the cooperative identity to the general public and ensuring that, by the end of 2025, cooperatives are better known, have a more conducive environment for their activities and are better positioned to support Member States towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting was organized by the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of UN Cooperatives (COPAC) in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Mongolia and Kenya to the United Nations, and took place during the High Level Political Forum of the ONU.
To conclude, COPAC President Wenyan Yang made a call to action and proposed some future measures to the various UN delegations, governments, embassies and cooperatives.
The official launch of #2025AñoCoop will take place during the ICA World Cooperative Conference, 25-29 November 2024 in New Delhi, India.
This afternoon Graciela Fernández reaffirmed the commitment of the American region of the @icacoop ahead of the International Year of Cooperatives (2025).
— Coop Americas (@CoopAmericas) July 9, 2024
🎙@FernandezGCoop I speak in @ONU_en in the presentation of this event accompanied by representatives from America and the world. pic.twitter.com/FRrBMkTBkU
