Resources on cooperatives

  1. ILO sheds light upon the role of cooperatives in the elimination of child labour at the Academy on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

    29 October 2021

    The two sessions organized in the framework of the Academy provided insights of the ILO’s work with cooperatives toward the elimination of child labour and presented practical cases of cooperatives that take action to combat child labour.

  2. ILO COOP participates in a webinar on women’s collective entrepreneurship

    01 July 2021

    The webinar, organized by SEWA, IMAGO Global Grassroots and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations focused on women’s collective enterprises and building an enterprises support system.

  3. Launch of FORTER'ESS Project - Strengthening the resilience and promotion of decent work of women-led SSE organizations in Tunisia

    11 March 2021

    The FORTER’ESS project is the result of a partnership between the Tunisian Government, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as donor, and the International Labour Organization as implementing agency. It aims to strengthen the resilience of women-led Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations (SSEOs) affected by COVID-19 in two disadvantaged regions of Tunisia.

  4. ILO launches FORTER'ESS project to promote decent work through women-led social and solidarity economy organizations in Tunisia

    08 March 2021

    The FORTER’ESS project is the result of a partnership between Global Affairs Canada and the International Labour Organization (ILO) that works in collaboration with the Tunisian Government and social partners to strengthen the resilience of women-led Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations (SSEOs) affected by COVID-19.

  5. ILO COOP Chiefs across time

    03 November 2020

    This page provides bibliographies of the chiefs and heads of the ILO's Cooperatives Unit since its establishment in 1920.

  6. The ILO Participates in a session on Gender and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at the GSEF Global Virtual Forum

    27 October 2020

    Representatives from ILO COOP and ILO Pretoria participated and presented at a session on women in SSE institutions that took place on October 20 as part of the GSEF Global Virtual Forum

  7. ILO COOP 100 Webinar II - Advancing gender equality though cooperatives

    28 April 2020

    Four cooperative practitioners reflected on the current situation of gender equality within the cooperative movement, the role cooperatives can play, and the challenges they face in advancing gender equality. Their presentations highlighted the implications of COVID-19 on women in cooperatives and emerging responses. Over 160 people from around the world participated in the webinar.

  8. Waste pickers’ cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations

    20 August 2019

    Waste pickers make significant contributions to public health, sanitation, and the environment by promoting resource circulation and reducing the amount of landfill. However, they are often not legally recognized as workers and suffer from poor working conditions and lack of social protection. This brief highlights the role of waste pickers' cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy organizations (SSEOs) in integrating and formalizing the work of waste pickers in the recycling value chain and improving their working conditions.

  9. GDA Pure Nature: Empowering rural women thorough a cheese making cooperative in Tunisia

    07 August 2019

    “Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators” is a series of interviews with co-operators from around the world with whom ILO officials have crossed paths during the course of their work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE). On this occasion, ILO interviewed Ms. Rihem Bchini, President of GDA Pure Nature – an agricultural cooperative of rural women workers in Tunisia.

  10. ILO’s participation in the WIEGO General Assembly

    29 November 2018

    ILO COOP participated in the seventh General Assembly of Women in Informal Economy: Globalizing Organizing (WIEGO) that took place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 12-14 November 2018.