The cooperative model of business is based on ethics, values and principles that put the needs and aspirations of their members above the simple goal of maximising profit. Through self-help and empowerment, reinvesting in their communities and concern for the well-being of people and the world in which we live, cooperatives nurture a long-term vision for sustainable economic growth, social development and environmental responsibility, making them well-suited partners to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2030 Agenda indeed explicitly recognises cooperatives as important players within the private sector.

Cooperatives are already putting into place innovative approaches to achieving the SDGs, making valuable contributions in particular to creating decent work, eradicating hunger, ensuring food security and empowering women and girls.

To best share these initiatives, the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) will host the observance of the 2016 International Day of Cooperatives during the High-level Political Forum. The HLPF theme of “Ensuring no one is left behind” captures the people-centred spirit of cooperatives and their efforts to make inclusive growth a reality. The theme for the 2016 International Day of Cooperatives is “Cooperatives: The power to act for a sustainable future”.

The event will feature high-level speakers from COPAC’s membership and Permanent Representations to the UN, who will discuss how cooperatives are concretely implementing the 2030 Agenda, how progress is being tracked and what cooperatives need to ramp up their efforts. Participants will be invited to engage in an interactive discussion on this final point and respond to speakers’ interventions. COPAC is a multi-stakeholder partnership of global public and private institutions that promotes and advances people-centred, self-sustaining cooperative enterprises, guided by the principles of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – in all aspects of its work. The Committee’s current members are the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the International Co-operative Alliance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Farmers’ Organisation.

Organizers: Division For Social Policy And Development (DSPD)