Cooperatives in the United Kingdom are hosting the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)’s 2025 General Assembly in Manchester this week. The meeting is part of a four-day celebration of the cooperative movement in the region, which began in 1844 when a group of 28 artisans working in cotton mills in Rochdale, England pooled their resources to access flour and other basic goods at an affordable price.
Today, there are more than 7,000 cooperatives in the United Kingdom, with 200,000 employees and 15 million members, making up more than one-fifth of the population of the UK. Rochdale, just ten miles outside Manchester, is steeped in almost two centuries of rich cooperative history.
Valeria Roach, NCBA CLUSA’s Executive Vice President and CFO; and Carl Hammerdorfer, Senior Director of Cooperatives and Innovation at NCBA CLUSA, are representing the U.S. cooperative community in Manchester this week. Joining them are NCBA CLUSA board members Erbin Crowell (Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association) and Michelle Schry (Development Manager for the Central U.S. at National Co+op Grocers).
The week’s events will include visits to cooperatives in Manchester, tours of the Rochdale Pioneers Museum, a festival of cooperation and more. On July 4 and 5, Co-operatives UK will hold its national Co-op Congress at Rochdale Town Hall, with a special focus on the International Year of Cooperatives. The event attracts leading figures from cooperatives, politics and journalism. July 5 is also the International Day of Cooperatives, observed globally.
“I am so excited and proud that the UK and Greater Manchester will welcome the global delegation in July 2025,” said Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK. “We are really excited to be hosting during the International Year of Cooperatives and we have a special program lined up.”