Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy as vehicles to decent work in the culture and creative sector

28 October 2021

Recognizing the important role that the creative economy plays in social and economic progress, the UN General Assembly declared 2021 as the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. The culture and creative sector (CCS), includes music production, movies, theatres and radio broadcasting, with many artists in the sector working in informal and precarious arrangements. With the COVID-19 pandemic, existing vulnerabilities have been further exacerbated, calling for attention to socially innovative organizing and business models in CCS. Social and solidarity economy (SSE) units, including cooperatives, mutuals, associations, foundations and social enterprises, can provide value and principle based services and livelihoods options to CCS workers. In light of the upcoming general discussion on SSE for a human-centred future of work at the 110th Session of the International Labour Conference, this brief highlights how SSE units in the CCS can contribute to advancing rights at work, improving quality of jobs, ensuring access to social protection, and fostering local economic development

ILO COOP participates in two parallel events at CSW65

23 March 2021

ILO COOP Manager presented at two parallel events during the 65th session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) that took place between March 15-26.

Advancing decent work in the rural economy through cooperatives in post-conflict Northern Province in Sri Lanka

20 June 2018

ILO calls for decent job creation at 2nd Cooperative Congress in Nepal

26 April 2018

Nepal hosted a jamboree of cooperative leaders in Kathmandu from 4-5 April 2018, underlying the role of cooperatives to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Reflections on the role of SSE in job creation in Southern Neighbourhood Countries of the EU

22 November 2017

Improving livelihoods through cooperatives - ILO LEED project in Northern Sri Lanka

27 September 2017

ILO COOP Resources on Cooperatives and Women’s Employment and Entrepreneurship

16 October 2015

The adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 laid the foundation for action towards gender equality in all aspects of economic, social, cultural and political life. As women’s empowerment and gender equality emerges as a goal of the sustainable development agenda, organizational and entrepreneurial models that are egalitarian and build on principles of democratic participation are needed.

Rediscovering cooperatives: Young people finding work the cooperative way

14 August 2015

This note on youth employment and cooperatives, is the fourth in the ILO COOP series on Cooperatives and the World of Work.

ILO Academy on Social and Solidarity Economy: towards inclusive and sustainable development: Brochure (English, Portuguese and Spanish)

The fourth edition of the ILO Academy on Social and Solidarity Economy will be held in Campinas, Brazil, 28 July – 1 August 2014

Economic and other benefits of the entreprenuers’ cooperative as a specific form of enterprise cluster

03 January 2011

This book presents entrepreneurs’ cooperatives - cooperatives formed by groups of entrepreneurs, independently owned businesses, tradesmen, professionals, or by municipalities and other public bodies. It shows that cooperatives have helped small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in many countries to become and remain competitive. Although this form of business clustering is not wide spread, there are signs that its development and entrepreneurship effects are gradually being considered. This study analyses the set up and the economic, social and employment benefits of entrepreneurs‘ cooperatives as well as the reasons why their use has not spread. It further indicates those features which allow for replication of the model elsewhere and concludes with a number of recommendations.