International Co-operative Day is an annual celebration of the co-operative movement observed on the first Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Co-operative Alliance

International Co-operative Alliance

The International Co-operative Alliance is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895. The ICA maintains the internationally recognised definition of a co-operative...

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On December 16, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

 proclaimed in resolution 47/90 "the first Saturday of July 1995 to be International Day of Cooperatives, marking the centenary

Century

A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...

 of the establishment of the International Cooperative Alliance." Since 1995 the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' International Day of Co-operatives has been observed jointly alongside International Co-operative Day.

Co-operatives around the world celebrate the day in various fashions and each year the organising institutions agree on a theme for the celebrations. The 2010 theme was Cooperative Enterprise Empowers Women, to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Previous years' themes

• 2009: Driving Recovery through Co-operative Enterprise
• 2008: Confronting Climate Change through Co-operative Enterprise
• 2007 Co-operative Values and Principles for Corporate Social responsibility
• 2006 Peace-building through Co-operatives
• 2005: Microfinance is OUR business! Cooperating out of poverty
• 2004: Co-operatives for Fair Globalisation: Creating Opportunities for All
• 2003: Co-operatives Make Development Happen!: The contribution of co-operatives to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
• 2002: Society and Co-operatives: Concern for Community
• 2001: The Co-operative Advantage in the Third Millennium
• 2000: Co-operatives and Employment Promotion
• 1999: Public Policy and Co-operative Legislation
• 1998: Cooperatives and the Globalization of the Economy
• 1997: The Co-operative Contribution to World Food Security
• 1996: Co-operative Enterprise: Empowerment for People-centred Sustainable Development
• 1995: The ICA Centennial and the Next 100 Years of International Co-operation

External links

• ICA Day information from the International Co-operative Alliance
  International Co-operative Alliance
  The International Co-operative Alliance is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895. The ICA maintains the internationally recognised definition of a co-operative...
  
  
• IDC information from the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC)