On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Law of 10 September 1947 defining cooperative status, Coop FR organized an awareness raising event on cooperative initiatives that provide concrete, innovative and relevant responses to economic, social and environmental changes.

The event that was held in Paris on 13-14 September brought European and international cooperative speakers together with French co-operators. The initiatives from the French cooperative movement included those on energy transition, sustainable food, access to housing, health and civic education.

ILO COOP presented on the second day of the programme in a panel on cooperative principles and their relevance and applicability to the changing realities on the ground. The other panellists included Hagen Henry from the University of Helsinki, Patrick Klein from the European Commission and David Rodgers, a City Councillor from Ealing (London).

During the ensuing discussion the universality of cooperative values and principles and the uses of ILO Recommendation 193 in reform of cooperative legislation around the world were mentioned. The role of statistics in providing evidence base for advocacy and the need for active engagement of cooperative movement with the international policy frameworks, such as the 2030 sustainable development agenda were also noted.