International Day of Cooperatives

International Day of Cooperatives remembers what cooperatives do to improve the world's economic and social development. Illustration based on artwork from ©iStockphoto.com/Florea Marius Catalin

What do people do?

Cooperatives around the world celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives in many ways. Activities include: messages from the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the UN translated into local languages for worldwide distribution; news articles and radio programs publicizing the awareness of the day; fairs, exhibits, contests and campaigns focused on the topics related to the day; meetings with government officials, UN agencies and other partner organizations; economic, environmental, social and health challenges (such as tree planting); and sponsored cultural events such as theatres and concerts.

In the United Kingdom the day is celebrated with a series of events. For example, the Co-operative Group’s South East membership team and Co-operative College have teamed up to organize a one-day conference “Towards Tomorrow”. The event will include a screening of the 1938 film “Towards Tomorrow — A Pageant of Co-operation”.

Public life

The UN's International Day of Cooperatives is not a public holiday, so public life is not affected.

Background

Cooperatives are important in the world's economic and social development. Based as on the principle of cooperation, cooperatives help create new ethics and values in business and economics. In 1895 ICA was formed and since 1927 it observes the first Saturday of July as International Cooperative Day. In 1994 the United Nations recognized and reaffirmed that cooperatives were vital in the world's economic, social and cultural development. However two years earlier – on December 16, 1992 – the UN General Assembly proclaimed the first Saturday of July 1995 as the International Day of Cooperatives, marking the centenary of ICA's establishment.

Symbols

The United Nations’ logo is often associated with marketing and promotional material for this event. It features a projection of a world map (less Antarctica) centered on the North Pole, enclosed by olive branches. The olive branches symbolize peace and the world map represents all the people of the world. It has been featured in colors such as white against a blue background or blue against a white background.

Promotional material used to publicize the day included images featuring an array of colors similar to those of a rainbow. These colors are linked with those that are used by ICA, which, together with the UN and other organizations, plays a big role in promoting and coordinating events for the day.

International Day of Cooperatives Observances

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