The ILO and the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union (JCCU) African Cooperative Leaders Study Tour has been completed successfully with five participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. On the occasion of the ILO Centenary, the programme included emerging cooperative responses to key trends in the world of work, including climate change, technological advances, and ageing population. On the last day, a public conference on the African cooperative movement and the future of work was organized with the participation of Ambassador of Nigeria to Japan and officials of Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan Embassies to Japan. More elaborate reflections on the study tour from the participant will be forthcoming in the October 2019 newsletter.

ILO’s Enterprises Department Director and Chair of the UN Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), Mr van Vuuren, participated as a speaker at a side meeting at the UN General Assembly organized by the Pact for Impact in New York City on 24 September 2019. More

The Summit brought together more than 300 participants from fair trade businesses and associations, development cooperation agencies, and local governments interested in supporting the fair trade initiative. The ILO participated in the Summit through a keynote speech and a session of cooperatives and fair trade. More

ILO Cooperatives Unit Manager sent a video message to the 14th National Festival of “Superior Cooperatives” organized by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare in Tehran, Iran. More

Organized by the Japan Co-operative Alliance (JCA) in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, the symposium brought together over 120 participants from trade unions, cooperatives, academics and the media. ILO Cooperatives Unit Manager contributed to the event through a video message on the relevance of the cooperative model in improving working conditions of workers in the platform economy. More

“Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators” is a series of interviews with co-operators from around the world with whom ILO officials have crossed paths during the course of their work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE). On this occasion, ILO interviewed Mr. João Marcos Silva Martins, Institutional Analyst of the Organization of Brazilian Cooperative (OCB), the national apex organization for the cooperative movement. More

WeOwnIt, a US start-up non-profit that is building a national network for all types of cooperatives, and New Economy Coalition, a US network of non-profits working for sustainable economic development, have released a toolkit aimed at promoting understanding on the role of rural electric cooperatives. The toolkit includes information on the state and scope of rural electric cooperatives across the country, case studies, organizing materials and guides on member engagement and cooperative finance. More

Building on theories of finance and distribution, and the political economy of finance, this book explains the influence of financial cooperatives on wealth and income distribution, and institutional factors that determine the development of financial cooperatives. More