News from the field
Promoting rural women economic empowerment through cooperatives in Upper Egypt
Within the framework of “The way forward after the revolution: Decent work for women in Egypt and Tunisia” project, the ILO has supported the development of cooperatives since 2012 to improve livelihood opportunities for women working in handicrafts and in agriculture in rural areas of Upper Egypt. >>More
Piloting MyFinCoop - a training programme for financial cooperatives’ apex organizations in Ghana
In December 2017, the ILO, ITC-ILO and FAO collaborated with the Ghana Co-operative Credit Unions Association (CUA) to organize a workshop to pilot a training programme for financial cooperatives’ apex organizations, “MyFinCoop”. >>More
My.Coop training package adapted and piloted in Lebanon
As part of a wider ILO project, My.Coop was adapted to the Lebanese context using the outputs of a qualitative agro-food cooperatives survey of 150 formally registered agro-food cooperatives in Lebanon. >>More
Quince nuevos formadores bolivianos se capacitan en la metodología My.COOP de la OIT
En La Paz, Bolivia, la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico del Gobierno Autónomo Municipal, en coordinación directa y con el apoyo de la OIT decidió desarrollar e institucionalizar My.Coop. En noviembre 2017 se realizó un taller de formación de formadores para los técnicos y profesionales que son parte de la Secretaria. Quince personas se certificaron como nuevos formadores de My.Coop, incluido un miembro del Comité Ejecutivo de la Central Obrera Boliviana (COB). >>Más
Meeting updates
Reflecting on the efficiency of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at the Mont-Blanc Meetings
The 8th Mont Blanc Meetings were organized in Archamps, France in December 2017 by SSE International Forum. The ILO was represented by the Deputy Director-General for Policy and the Director of the Enterprises Department, who provided ILO’s perspective on the key issues round SSE at the international level, and its relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. >>More
Tripartite conference in Tunisia on the role of Social and Solidarity Economy as a bridge to the formal economy
From 4 to 5 December, ILO held a tripartite conference in Tunisia on the role of SSE as a bridge to the formal economy bringing around 60 participants from countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas to share experiences and discuss an ILO strategy on formalization of the informal economy through cooperatives and other SSE enterprises. >>More
Elective session of cooperatives in rural areas in the ILO Academy on Rural Development
The third Academy on Rural Development was held in Turin, Italy jointly by the ILO and ITC-ILO in December 2017. Among the topics, an elective session on the various roles played by cooperatives in rural areas was organized by the ILO in collaboration with ITC-ILO and FAO. >>More
ILO’s participation in the social cooperative panel at the Turkey cooperatives fair
From 7 to 10 December 2017, Turkey’s General Directorate of Cooperatives at the Ministry of Customs and Trade organized the second edition of a nation-wide cooperatives fair in Ankara. A representative from ILO Office for Turkey presented on a panel on social cooperatives, along with representatives from CECOP CICOPA, Legacoop Sociali and Turkey’s leading social cooperatives. >>More
Spotlight interviews with co-operators
Bruno Roelants appointed as new Director-General of the ICA
On 18 January, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Board appointed Bruno Roelants as its new Director-General. Mr Roelants was interviewed for the Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators series shortly after his appointment. >>More
New ILO publication on cooperatives
Synthesis report of the national dialogues on the future of work
This report aims at providing a coherent synthesis of the myriad topics raised in the national dialogues on the future of work. It includes references to the role of cooperatives and other SSE enterprises as highlighted in the national dialogues, including as a response to challenges faced by workers in digital platforms or through a system of “worker-buyouts” in case of enterprise transition and restructuring. It also suggests that cooperatives should be covered in the ILO’s research or social dialogue on the future of work, along with other stakeholders. >>More
Statistics on cooperatives in Turkey and the Republic of Korea
As part of “Country in Focus on Statistics on Cooperatives” series launched by the ILO in collaboration with COPAC, case studies for Turkey (in English and Turkish) and the Republic of Korea (in English with Korean version coming soon) are now available.
Transforming our world: A cooperative 2030 - Cooperative contributions to SDG 1
The ILO and other members of COPAC are launching the “Transforming our world: A cooperative 2030” series that highlights cooperative contributions to each of the 17 SDGs. The first brief focuses on the SDG 1, on ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. COPAC will organize a side event to the 56th Session on the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) on 1st of February at UN Headquarters in New York to share cooperative contributions to eradicating poverty. Vinicius Carvalho Pinheiro, Director of ILO Office for the UN is participating in the event, representing the ILO as Chair of COPAC. >>Check out the brief here.
Noteworthy resources
Recent evolution of the social economy in EU
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) published a report on the recent evolution of the social economy in the European Union. The report, carried out by CIRIEC, focuses on three areas: the social economy and the emergent concepts and movement related to it; the public policies adopted in EU to enhance social economy; and the measurement of the weight of the social economy. It is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Polish. >>More
Report of the UN Secretary-General on the potential of cooperatives in achieving Sustainable Development Goals
Submitted pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 70/128, the report highlights the role of cooperatives in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the means through which they advance the central pledge to leave no one behind >>Read the full report here.
New laws passed on agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan and China
On 21 December 2017, the Kyrgyz Parliament approved the bills aimed at developing a unified state policy on agricultural cooperatives and creating an enabling legal framework. Subsequently on 27 December, China’s National People’s Congress adopted a revision to the Law on Farmer’s Specialized Cooperatives that grants them equal legal status with other market entities as well as rights to invest in enterprises.
Guidebook for creation of care cooperatives
Cooperatives Europe, in partnership with the iCareCoops project consortium, released a guidebook to support the creation of care cooperatives for older people at an event “Cooperatives and innovation – building the future of care in Europe”. >> More
Co-operative ownership: new report on the business alternative
The second edition of “The Governance of Large Co-operative Businesses” report, written by Professor Johnston Birchall has been published by Co-operatives UK looking at how the world’s largest cooperatives share ownership, control and profits.>>More
DAWI reports on the provision of child care through cooperatives and business conversions to worker ownership
Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) at the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) published a report on how cooperatives can contribute to the creation of better, more affordable child care in the city of New York. DAWI also published the 2017 Workers to Owners Annual Impact Report that introduces the first year work of the Workers to Owners Collaborative, a national collaborative to bring worker ownership to scale in the United States.
ILO COOP staff news
Ms Annelien Gansemans joined ILO COOP as an intern in January 2018. She will support the development of a self-assessment tool for cooperatives to improve their compliance with decent work principles.. >>More
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