High-level representatives highlight co-operatives as key partners in international development

At the International Co-operative Alliance’s Global Conference and General Assembly held in Kuala Lumpur from 14 to 17 November in Malaysia, high-level representatives of the European Union, International Labor Organization, CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness, International Trade Union Confederation and United Cities of Local Authorities stressed the importance of partnerships with co-operatives for international development. The International Cooperative Development Platform celebrated its first meeting and several publications on international co-operative development were launched.

During the #coops4dev session entitled Building Partnerships for the Future We Want on the 15^th on November, which received over 200 participants, highlighted the importance of alternative economic models for development that can put human and economic growth as the first priority in their approach towards development. Co-operatives, following a value and people centered approach have been mentioned as the main development actor to partner with.

On the previous day, the International Co-operative Development Platform (ICDP) held its first meeting to discuss an action plan based on the 9 recommendations drafted at the Platform’s launch in the International Summit of Co-operatives. During the world café session, high representatives from co-operative organizations working in international development in different regions, concretized the recommendations to kick-off and further develop the action plan for 2018.

New publications on international co-operative development

The ICA-EU partnership‘s angle on partnership collaboration has also been emphasized in the launch of the new publication “A matter of principle: co-operatives in development“, presented at the Global Conference. The publication is the result a joint effort between the global and the regional offices of the ICA to showcase success stories of co-operative development that highlight the inherent synergy between co-operative values and sustainable development for all.

During the Global Conference, the Cooperatives Europe Development Platform (CEDP) also launched its report “Good practices in international cooperative development: Why creating a knowledge sharing culture is key for international cooperative development work” intended to encourage partnerships between CEDP members and to enable external actors to better understand the advantages of international co-operative development as a successful development approach.

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Source: ica.coop