With this year’s International Day of Cooperatives – CoopsDay 2026 – taking place on Saturday, 4 July, the International Cooperative Alliance held an online Members’ Chat to share information on how to join the celebrations.
Led by Leire Luengo, ICA Director of Communications, and Joseph Njuguna, ICA Director of Policy, the chat shared ways to access resources and communicate this year’s theme, “Cooperatives for a Peaceful World”.
Njuguna said cooperatives contribute to peace in four ways: by practising democracy; building trust across divides; addressing the root causes of conflict, such as inequality and unemployment; and creating platforms for participation and dialogue.
Giving examples of cooperatives in divided or post-conflict places such as Cyprus and the West Balkans, Njuguna argued that when people share responsibility and economic interest, trust can emerge. He added that further insights, recommendations, and practical examples can be found in the new SDG 16 policy brief, which highlights how cooperatives contribute to promoting positive peace and social cohesion.
He recommended that, to promote CoopsDay, cooperatives share examples of their work to build social cohesion, for instance by supporting decent work and delivering access to markets. CoopsDay is a United Nations day, he added, and is “an opportunity to show governments we are not just an alternative model … we contribute to peace”.
From the online audience, Carlos Acero, President of Confecoop in Colombia, shared his own example of how cooperatives contribute to peace in his country, and said his organisation will hold two webinars “to mobilise ideas, and show specific examples of cooperatives as peace makers and development builders”.
Luengo presented the Chat with a guide to resources for the CoopsDay, which are available on its official website at www.coopsday.coop. This includes a downloadable logo and media kit, a guide to this year’s theme, and video of celebrations for last year’s CoopsDay.
Cooperatives can organise workshops or events on cooperatives and peace, she added, either for their members or by working with partner organisations, and share details of that event with the ICA. Events can be held in person or online, with the media kit designed so that celebrations can be held inexpensively.
She called on member cooperatives to take pictures of their events with the CoopsDay 2026 message and logo so they can be shared online. “It sends a powerful message, a call for a peaceful world”, she added.
Cooperatives can share their images on social media with the logo and #CoopsDay hashtag, and should tag the ICA to build a complete picture of CoopsDay around the world.
Luengo finished with a guide to the CoopsDay website, and invited members to the ICA Global Conference and Assemblies in Panama from 13-18 September, which will also celebrate the contribution of cooperatives to peace.
