Cooperatives Europe kicks off the Second ICA-EU Partnership on International Development 

The teams of ICA Global and the regional offices came together in Brussels to jointly set the stage for the activities of the second phase of #coops4dev🌍.  

Following the summer break, from 17th to 20th September 2024, the global and regional teams of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) came together in Brussels for an intensive project kick-off week. Hosted at La Tricoterie, a Belgian cooperative focused on culture and sustainability, the week featured a well-balanced mix of participatory training sessions to support the staff in the coming 4.5 years.

In April 2024, the ICA and the European Commission’s Directorate General International Partnerships (DG INTPA) signed a second Financial Framework Partnership Agreement on Cooperatives for Development. Building upon its successful predecessor, #coops4dev, the activities of the new partnership will be more decentralised, to the benefit of the regions and with a stronger role for Cooperatives Europe. 

These four days of exchanges proved incredibly valuable to get to know colleagues, receive training on financial and impact monitoring, find synergies and set expectations.. There were also many opportunities for the programme management, policy, finance, communications and research staff to join efforts to identify synergies and draft a common action plan for the first year of the Partnership, which also coincides with the UN International Year of Cooperatives #IYC25. 

The project’s diverse team – comprising both veterans of the previous program and newcomers – adds unique a richness to this second Partnership. During the wrap-up session, staff shared personal takeaways and reaffirmed their commitment to the work ahead.

Interested in learning more about the ICA-EU partnership? 

Titled “Cooperatives in development – people-centred businesses for sustainable, democratic, and inclusive development”, it formally started in April 2024 and is to run until October 2028. Following up on the first #coops4dev, the EU program, co-funded by our members, will strengthen and upscale the activities of the ICA global and regional offices to promote the uniqueness of the cooperative model. It aims at increasing coops’ visibility within international and national development policies and programs to the benefit of a growing cooperative sector worldwide.
 As co-applicant to the programme, Cooperatives Europe will be implementing advocacy, research and capacity–building actions across Europe, with a stronger focus on the Eastern Neighborhood and Western Balkans. Given its impactful EU Advocacy efforts, Cooperatives Europe Development Platform (CEDP), the movement’s working group on international cooperative development, will play a key role in co-designing and promoting the regional activities among the EU institutions.  

The Partnership is steered by a Strategy Unit, including Regional Directors and the ICA Director General, a Grant Coordination Unit, and four Program Units made up of regional staff members from Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific. 

Watch the kick-off week aftermovie

Learn more about our work on international development

Learn more about the second international development partnership 

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