Cooperatives

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A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

The ILO views cooperatives as important in improving the living and working conditions of women and men globally as well as making essential infrastructure and services available even in areas neglected by the state and investor-driven enterprises. Cooperatives have a proven record of creating and sustaining employment – they are estimated to provide at least 279 million jobs today; they contribute to promoting decent work and advancing sustainable development goals. The ILO activities are guided by the international standard on cooperatives, the ILO Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No.193).

As people-centered, principle driven, member owned businesses cooperatives have a long tradition of promoting equality.

Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, International Day of Cooperatives 2015
In 2020, the ILO's Cooperatives Unit celebrates its centenary. During the course of the year, there will be series of events, publications, and a photo exhibit to commemorate this anniversary. These activities will not only be looking back in history but also reflecting on the future of cooperation and the role of the ILO in contributing to it. Find out more on our ILO COOP 100 feature page

The ILO has launched a call for photos for the "ILO COOP 100 Photo Exhibitions" in the second part of 2020. The call invites individuals and organizations to submit photos that illustrate the contributions of cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE) to advancing decent work and sustainable development. Check it out here





This year, the International Day of Cooperatives will be celebrated on Saturday, 4 July 2020 under the theme "Cooperatives for Climate Action". As part of the ILO COOP Centenary Webinar series, the ILO will organize a webinar on this theme on Friday, 3 July 2020 between 13:30 and 15:00 (CEST). The webinar aims to highlight climate change mitigation and adaptation actions being undertaken by cooperative enterprises around the world and their relevance to the promotion of decent work. For more details, see here


The ILO has also launched a call for papers for the "ILO COOP 100 Symposium" to be organized from 16 to 17 November 2020. The symposium aims to bring together together scholars and practitioners working with governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, as well as cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE). Check it out here

What's new

  1. News

    UNTFSSE members and observers discuss COVID-19 responses and work-plan priorities

    27 May 2020

  2. ILO COOP 100 Interview

    Interview with Edgar Parnell, Cooperative Practitioner

    27 May 2020

  3. ILO COOP 100 Interview

    Interview with Andrew Bibby, Journalist and Writer on cooperatives

    25 May 2020

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Focus on May

  1. ILO resources on crisis responses by cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy (SSE)

  2. Formalization of the informal economy

  3. Worker Cooperatives

Featured publications

  1. Monthly newsletter

  2. Statistics on Cooperatives Countries in Focus series

  3. Transforming our world: A cooperative 2030 series

  4. Cooperatives and the World of Work Series 

  5. Cooperative legislation and policy

Spotlight interview with co-operators

  1. Brightly® – Scaling up worker cooperatives through the franchise model

    19 December 2019

  2. OCB: Promoting and innovating in cooperative enterprises in Brazil

    30 September 2019

  3. GDA Pure Nature: Empowering rural women thorough a cheese making cooperative in Tunisia

    07 August 2019

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Training Resources

  1. Job preservation through worker cooperatives: An overview of international experiences and strategies" - this is also relevant for the current crises.

  2. The Role of Cooperatives and Other Self-Help Organizations in Crisis Resolution and Socio-Economic Recovery

  3. Start.COOP

  4. Think.COOP

  5. My.COOP - Managing your agricultural cooperative

  6. ApexFinCoop – Advance Policy and Effectiveness for Financial Cooperative Apexes

  7. ILO SSE Academy

  8. Training resource pack for agricultural cooperatives on the elimination of hazardous child labour

  9. Cooperatives legislation and policy

  10. Project design manual

  11. MATCOM - Training for the management of cooperatives

Videos

  1. ILO's message for the Global Youth Forum

  2. ILO Statistics on Cooperatives

  3. ILO Our.Coop Training Package

  4. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder – International Day of Cooperatives, 2019

  5. Cooperatives for decent work - International Day of Cooperatives 2019

  6. More ILO videos on cooperatives

COOP Champions

  1. COOP Champions

    Kerryn Krige, ILO DWT/CO-Pretoria

    22 July 2019

    COOP Champions features ILO colleagues from around the world working on cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy enterprises. It highlights their contributions, and shares highlights of their experiences, current work, and future aspirations.

  2. COOP Champions

    John Bliek, Enterprises Specialist at ILO Office for the Andean Countries

    18 April 2019

    COOP Champions features ILO colleagues from around the world working on cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy enterprises. It highlights their contributions, and shares highlights of their experiences, current work, and future aspirations.

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