NCBA CLUSA stands in solidarity with the international co-op community’s pledge to build sustainable societies through cooperation, the organization’s Vice President of Communications and Public Relations John Torres said.
Representing NCBA CLUSA at the United Nations, Torres joined UN ambassadors, government representatives and cooperators from the field to discuss ways to better support cooperatives as key contributors to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The July 5 event corresponded with International Day of Cooperatives. Celebrated annually on the first Saturday in July, this observance day is an opportunity to promote how co-ops are making the world a better place today and for future generations.
Connecting NCBA CLUSA’s long history of development work to the international co-op community’s current goals, Torres said co-op enterprise is a proven strategy to empower people.
“In times of economic or social anxiety, the values, principles and utility of co-ops become even more relevant,” Torres said. “This was true at the turn of the 20th century as the U.S. moved from an agricultural to an industrial economy, in the 1930s as we struggled under the weight of the depression, and in the 1960s and 70s as many became dissatisfied with the status quo domestically and others saw cooperatives as a key strategy for development internationally.”
Now, on the cusp of a similar cooperative moment, people are looking for effective tools for economic opportunity, equity and stability and increasingly turning to cooperatives, Torres added.
“[NCBA CLUSA] pledges to continue doing our part in creating sustainable societies through cooperation.”