On July 6, discover the International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay): The cooperative movement
Photo caption: “225,000 cooperators, 1,500 cooperatives. The movement is winning everywhere,” reads the poster above a group of cooperators surrounding Father Georges-Henri Lévesque at the 5th General Congress of Cooperators, held in Quebec City in 1943. Source: Ensemble, December 1943. In 1943, the theme of the event was “The Inventory of the Movement.”
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This year, on July 6, the International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay) has the theme “Cooperatives build a better future for all”
The cooperative movement
Cooperatives have been recognized as associations and enterprises through which citizens can effectively improve their lives while contributing to the economic, social, cultural and political progress of their community and nation. The cooperative movement has also been recognized as a distinct and major stakeholder in national and international affairs.
The open membership model of cooperatives provides access to wealth creation and poverty eradication.
Indeed, the cooperative principle of economic participation of members implies that all contribute equitably to the capital of their cooperative and control it democratically. Because cooperatives are centered on people and not on capital, they do not perpetuate or accelerate the concentration of capital and they distribute wealth more equitably.
Cooperatives also promote equality around them. Founded on the community principle, they are committed to the sustainable development of their communities – environmentally, socially and economically. This commitment is reflected in the support they provide to them, for example by sourcing goods and supplies locally to benefit the local economy and by making strategic decisions that take into account the impact on their communities.
Although they are focused on the local community, cooperatives also aspire to extend the benefits of their economic and social model to all people on the planet.
Globalization should be governed by a set of values such as those of the cooperative movement, otherwise it creates more inequalities and excesses that make it unsustainable.
The cooperative movement is highly democratic, locally autonomous, but internationally integrated, and a form of organization of associations and enterprises where citizens themselves rely on mutual aid and their own responsibility to achieve not only economic, but also social and environmental goals, such as combating poverty, ensuring productive employment and encouraging social integration.
