International Day of Cooperatives celebrated on the first Saturday of July since 1995. The cooperative model of management is considered the most fair, which ensures comprehensive development of society. It is based on the partnership of state institutions and private enterprises.

The history of the International Day of Cooperatives

The prototype of the modern cooperative was created in 1944 in England. Its founders were 28 cotton factory workers who founded the Rochdale Society. The weavers decided to pool their financial resources to purchase food products – sugar, flour, groats and butter. The Rochdale pioneers are considered the founders of the co-operative movement, which today is the main source of livelihood for 279 million people around the world.

How is the International Day of Cooperatives celebrated?

Each year, the Committee for the Promotion and Development of Cooperatives under the International Cooperative Alliance selects a separate theme for the celebration. Thus, the day of combating climate change was designed to draw public attention to climate changes, which have become the cause of global warming. This problem is particularly acutely felt by the most vulnerable groups of the population, which include small farmers, representatives of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples who suffer from the depletion of natural resources and natural disasters.