International Co-operative Alliance

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.

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 as a special form of organization, the values of co-operatives, and the currently accepted cooperative principles (the Rochdale Principles) 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, India
* ICA Africa - based in Nairobi, Kenya
* Cooperatives Europe - based in Brussels, Belgium
* ICA Americas - based in San José, Costa Rica

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 flags, 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 WolffWilliam 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
: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

See also

* List of Co-operative Federations

References

External links

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