Kicking Off IYC2025: Soft Launch Event at the UN Headquarters
Yesterday, July 9, marked a significant milestone with the soft launch event for the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC2025), held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. 🌍 This event, organized by the UN Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Mongolia and Kenya, was a key moment in our journey towards celebrating the pivotal role of cooperatives in sustainable development.
The theme for IYC2025, “Cooperatives Build a Better World,” underscores the vital contributions that cooperatives make towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering broader social and economic development. This launch event set the stage for a year of global recognition and celebration of the cooperative model. Further, it unveiled an activity roadmap and announced communications materials.
Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, emphasized, “The decision by the General Assembly could not be timelier. The innovative contributions of cooperatives for sustainable development will be crucial for accelerating progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals as we approach 2030. The second International Year of Cooperatives will be an opportunity to mobilize all stakeholders to support and expand cooperatives everywhere, strengthening their contributions for a better world.”
The official launch of IYC2025 will take place in New Delhi, India, during the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Global Cooperative Conference and General Assembly, scheduled for November 25-30, 2024. This event will be i.a. hosted by Mr. Dileep Sanghani, President of Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and the IRU member organisation National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI).
Sanghani highlighted that “cooperatives play a crucial role in fostering community development and economic growth”. By nature, cooperatives are equipped with the resources needed for this he argued.
