Acknowledging the overwhelming global impact of the pandemic, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has created the ICA G20 Working Group to bring cooperatives’ voice into G20 Summit discussions that will take place in October 2021 in Rome, Italy. This will build on previous participation, advocacy and recommendations submitted to the G20 leaders which have referenced and impacted cooperatives.
The G20 Engagement Groups will discuss and develop action-oriented Policy Recommendations that will be conveyed to the G20 leaders for consideration, adoption, and implementation. The ICA G20 Working Group is joining forces with the Italian Cooperative Alliance members to contribute to these discussions, particularly involving Business 20 (B20) and Civil Society 20 (C20) task forces.
“The ICA G20 working group will help create a more significant impact and amplify cooperatives' voices to influence and be included in the recommendations submitted to the Heads of States and Governments at the G20 Summit”, said Bruno Roelants, Director General of the ICA. “Members from 13 G20 countries are currently represented in the group, we look forward to welcome more participants from the remaining countries”.
The ICA G20 working group was established under the leadership of a coordinating Chairperson and two Vice-Chairs. In the first meeting held on 23 March, members appointed Howard Brodsky, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CCA Global Partners, United States, as the Chair of ICA G20 Working Group.
“Cooperatives' role could not be more critical than now, as the world is going through a pandemic. Cooperatives are quite important and meaningful to people worldwide, yet so little is known about them and what they do. Therefore, having a stake in the G20 engagements is a very opportune time for us to share what cooperatives do and how it solves some of the global challenges that have been on the rise, and how they contribute to equality and democratic voice to everybody”, said Howard Brodsky.
The Vice-Chairs will be coordinating the discussions for the B20 or C20, and their position will be rotate, depending on the country hosting the G20 Presidency each year. The Vice-Chairs and the B20 and C20 taskforces facilitators from the Italian Cooperative Alliance are:
- Vice-Chair in charge of B20 task forces: Alessandro Hinna, President of Consorzio Nazionale dei Servizi, a National Consortium of Service Cooperatives and Associate Professor at the University of Rome.
- B20 task forces Facilitator: Stefania Marcone, Chief International Relations & European Policies, Legacoop Italy.
- Vice-Chair in charge of C20 taskforces: Giuseppe Guerini, President of CECOP CICOPA-Europe.
- C20 task forces Facilitator: Danila Curcio, Head of International Institutional Relations, Confcooperative.
Cooperative representatives are taking part in four of the eight B20 task forces. This includes:
- Employment & Education ;
- Energy & Resource Efficiency ;
- Health & Life Sciences ; and
- Action Council on Sustainability and Global Emergencies.
Simultaneously, cooperative representatives are taking part in all the eight task forces of the C20, which include:
- Finance;
- Agenda 2030 & Sustainable Development;
- Global Health;
- Climate, Biodiversity and Ecological Transition;
- Global Citizenship and Education;
- Anti-corruption;
- Digitalization and
- Gender.
Cooperatives have been participating in the previous editions of B20 with taskforce representatives ensuring they are recognized as key contributors to solving the world's challenges. Their participation and advocacy have resulted in several references to and recognition of cooperatives in the final B20 policy papers submitted to the G20 leaders.
These cooperative representatives achieved a key milestone by increasing awareness about cooperatives with business leaders, resulting in a broader understanding of the role and importance of cooperatives as a fundamental actor in enhancing sustainable development.
If you are a cooperative leader in a G20 country and want to participate, kindly contact Joseph Njuguna.
For more information, download the “Background document on ICA participation in G20 discussions” below:
