ILO participates and contributes to the General Assembly and the Americas Summit of the International Cooperative Alliance

ILO’s Enterprises Department Director Vic Van Vuuren participated in the General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday, 21 October 2018. The ILO also contributed a video message to the Summit of the Cooperatives of the Americas.

News | 24 October 2018
During the General Assembly, the members of the ICA voted for the adoption of a declaration on decent work and against harassment. In the declaration the ICA reaffirms its endorsement of the ILO’s Recommendation (No 193) on the Promotion of Cooperatives; commits itself to supporting fundamental principles and rights at work; and to defending dignity and equality in the new and emerging forms of employment toward a more inclusive future of work. In this Declaration the ICA also pronounces zero tolerance for violence in the workplace, in any form and affirms its obligation to respect and promote the UN’s zero tolerance policy with respect to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Mr Van Vuuren at the round table (right)
At the General Assembly, the ILO’s Enterprises Department Director Vic van Vuuren participated in a round table discussion with the ICA President, Ariel Guarco, Secretary of IFAD Marco Marzano de Marinis and Senior Vice President for External Affairs and Member Relations at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Martin Lowery.

In his presentation on “job creation, global challenges for food security and value chains” Mr Van Vuuren noted that “In a fast changing world cooperatives need to keep ahead of the game and elevate the debate to show how they offer a model that can address key deficits.” He also mentioned that “the cooperative model is not well integrated into the discussions at the United Nations and there is a need to bring cooperatives into the key debates taking place in our institutions”.

The V Summit of the Cooperatives of the Americas was held between 23 and 26 October 2018 in conjunction with the ICA General Assembly. The summit was organized by Co-operatives of the Americas and the Co-operative Confederation of Argentina (Cooperar) under the theme "Co-operatives at a time of global challenges".

During the Summit CICOPA Mercosur organized a half day event on October 24, 2018 bringing together workers’ cooperatives to analyze the role of cooperatives in the face of global challenges that affect the present and future of work. A video message from the ILO’s Cooperatives Unit on cooperatives and the future of work was shown at the event. Key sessions focused on cooperatives in defense of the planet and financing for sustainable development.