The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895 to unite, represent and serve co-operatives worldwide. The Alliance maintains the internationally recognised definition of a co-operative in the "Statement on the Co-operative Identity". The ICA represents 318 co-operative federations and organisations in 112 countries. The Alliance provides a global voice and forum for knowledge, expertise and co-ordinated action for and about co-operatives. The members of the Alliance are international and national co-operative organisations from all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, banking, consumer, fisheries, health, housing, insurance, and workers. The Alliance has members from 100 countries, representing close to one billion individuals worldwide. Around one hundred million people work for co-operatives globally. Co-operatives are values-based businesses owned by their members. Whether they are customers, employees or residents, the members get an equal say in the business and a share of the profits. In 2006 the ICA published the first major index of the world's largest co-operative and mutual enterprises, the ''ICA Global 300'', which demonstrated the scale of the co-operative movement globally. On the first Saturday of July each year, the ICA coordinates celebrations of

International Co-operative Day Co-operative Day is an annual celebration of the co-operative movement observed on the first Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Co-operative Alliance. On December 16, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed iresolu ...

. In December 2009, the United Nations declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives. In 2013 the headquarters moved from Geneva, Switzerland to Brussels, Belgium.

Structure

The ICA consists of a 20-member governing board, a General Assembly, four regions (one each for Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Americas), sectoral organisations and thematic committees.

Statement on the Co-operative Identity

The Statement on the Co-operative Identity, promulgated by the ICA, defines and guides co-operatives worldwide. It contains the definition of a

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

as a special form of

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived f ...

, the values of co-operatives, and the currently accepted cooperative principles (the

Rochdale Principles The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operativ ...

) that direct their behavior and operation. The ''Statement'' with the latest revision of the cooperative principles was adopted by ICA in 1995.

ICA Regions

* ICA Asia-Pacific - based in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

* ICA Africa - based in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Cooperatives Europe Cooperatives Europe is the European regional office of the International Co-operative Alliance and acts for cooperative enterprises in Europe. Representing 83 member organisations from 33 European countries, across all business sectors (data from ...

- based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

* ICA Americas - based in San José,

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Sectoral Organisations

* International Co-operative Agricultural Organisation (ICAO) * Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide (CCW) * International Co-operative Fisheries Organisation (ICFO) * International Health Co-operative Organisation (IHCO) * International Co-operative Housing Organisation (ICA Housing) * International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) * International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal and Service Producers' Co-operatives (CICOPA) * International Cooperative Banking Association. (ICBA)

Thematic Committees

* Committee on Co-operative Research * Cooperative Law Committee * International Cooperative Development Platform * Gender Equality Committee * ICA Youth Committee (constituted 2021)

The flag

ICA adopted its original rainbow flag in 1925, with the seven colors symbolizing unity in diversity and the power of light, enlightenment, and progress.The ICA flag
, ''ICA Weekly Digest'', Vol. 1, Number 14, May 17, 2004. In 2001 a new flag was adopted at the ICA General Assembly in Seoul, Korea, to avoid confusion with other

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recognize ...

s, several of which had become very well known in the 20th century. The present flag shows the ICA seven-color logo on a white background. The logo depicts a quarter rainbow with a flock of stylized doves of peace scattering from the top and the letters ICA underneath. The rainbow has only six stripes (red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue) and the seventh color (purple) appears in the lettering under the rainbow. The flag exists in four different versions showing the ICA acronym in different languages (ACI in Spanish, Italian and French, IGB in German, and МКА in Russian).

Presidents

:1895: Earl Grey and

Henry William Wolff Henry William Wolff (30 December 1840 – 7 March 1931) was a British co-operative activist. Wolff's father ran the Hunslet Flax Mill, and Henry was born in Leeds. He worked in agriculture, spending some in the Vosges and Black Forest. R ...

William P. Watkins, ''The International Co-operative Alliance, 1895-1970'', p.272 :1907: Earl Grey and William Maxwell :1917: William Maxwell :1921: G. J. D. C. Goedhart :1927: Väinö Tanner :1945: Robert Palmer :1948: Harry Gill :1955: Marcel Brot :1960: Mauritz Bonow :1975: Roger KerinecMargaret Prickett and Dionysos Mavrogiannis, ''Thematic guide to ICA congresses 1895-1995'', p.iii :1984: Lars Marcus :1995: Graham Melmoth :1997: Roberto Rodrigues :2001: Ivano Barberini :2009: Pauline Green :2015:

Monique F. Leroux Monique F. Leroux CM OQ (born August 11, 1954 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian businesswoman. From 2008 to 2016, she was chair of the Board and chief executive officer of Desjardins Group. A Companion of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame a ...

:2017: Ariel Guarco

Secretaries

:1895: Edward Owen Greening :1902: Jesse Clement Gray :1908: Hans Müller :1913: Henry John May :1939: Gertrude Polley :1963: ''Position abolished'' Director-Generals :until 2010: Iain Macdonald :2010 - 2018: Charles Gould :2018 - Present: Bruno Roelants

References

External links

The International Co-operative Alliance
{{Authority control Cooperative federations Organizations established in 1895 Organisations based in Brussels