ILO Cooperatives Unit Manager participated in the Platform Coop Brussels held at the European Committee of Regions as a speaker and reflected on how to ensure workers’ rights in the platform economy, including through worker cooperative ownership of digital platforms. More

Organized by the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA), the 3^rd Co-op IMPACT Conference brought together 400 participants from close to 200 organizations to discuss how cooperatives, as member-owned and principle-driven enterprises, can build a stable, inclusive and sustainable economy. An ILO official participated as a speaker at a panel on “Scalability of the Worker Co-op Model”. More

The Forum was organized by La Coop des Communs to network emerging cooperative platforms focused on bringing economic benefits and positive externalities in local communities and to identify common challenges and opportunities. A representative from ILO Cooperatives Unit participated in a panel on the measurement of positive externalities brought by these new models of platforms. More

The study tour was co-organized by the ILO and the Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union (JCCU) with five cooperative leaders from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria. They visited a range of cooperative enterprises in Japan and exchanged knowledge and experiences on improving members’ livelihoods and addressing development challenges through cooperatives. In line with the ILO Centenary Initiative, this year’s study tour highlighted cooperative responses to the key issues in the future of work, such as demographic shifts, technological advances, and climate change. The tour was concluded with a public seminar on cooperatives and the future of work, which brought together over 80 participants. The summary report of the seminar and participants’ observations are available here.

ILO Cooperatives Unit Manager provided a video message to the Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy in the US on how trade unions and cooperatives can work together to promote decent work for all. More

ILO Cooperatives Unit sent a video message to the research conference organized by Sistema OCB, the national apex organization for the Brazilian cooperative movement, aimed at promoting research on how to improve effectiveness, efficiency and competitiveness of cooperative enterprises in practice. More

The Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), currently chaired by the ILO, has released a brief on cooperatives’ contributions to SDG 13 – climate action – as part of its "A Cooperative 2030" series. More

As part of the “Country in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives” series launched by the ILO in collaboration with COPAC, a case study for Nepal is out. More

The Government Programme "Inclusive and competent Finland - a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable society" has references to cooperative enterprises under different strategic themes, particularly in promoting sustainable economic growth, achieving carbon neutrality, and responding to new forms of work. More

The European Association of Co-operative Banks, in collaboration with Tilburg University, launched key statistics on cooperative banking in EU for 2018. The report presents a concise overview of the main financial metrics of the co-operative banking sector. According to this study, one in every five European citizens is a member of a cooperative bank. The market share of cooperative banks for SME financing is 30 per cent on average, and in some countries like Finland, France, Germany and the Netherlands, it is even higher. More

The international credit union movement added more than 14 million members in 2018 to reach a new high of more than 274 million in 118 countries, according to World Council of Credit Unions’ newly released 2018 Statistical Report. African credit unions saw the largest increase in membership, with a 21 per cent jump from 2017. More