News about the international year of cooperatives. 2025

Cooperatives of the world

The Twilight of Giants: The Peculiar Case of Cooperativism in Iceland

In the heart of Sauðárkrókur, a small town in northern Iceland, time flows at a different pace. There, the Kaupfélag Skagfirðinga (KS) cooperative is not just a company; it is the region's lifeblood. It manages supermarkets, hotels, and processing plants, reminding Icelanders that before becoming a nation of financiers and a tourist paradise, Iceland was, above all, a nation of cooperativists.

Technology

Tech cooperatives: The human side of Silicon Valley

While big tech companies carry out waves of mass layoffs despite reporting record profits, a silent movement is redefining the rules of the game in the digital sector. Tech cooperatives propose something radical in Silicon Valley culture: that workers own what they build.

CMDS

The solidarity economy takes off at the UN: cooperatives set the global course

On November 4, 2025, the World Summit for Social Development (WSSD) in Doha, Qatar, was the venue for the official closing ceremony of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC 2025). The event, organized by the UN Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), served to cement the demonstration that “cooperatives build a better world.”

Cooperatives in the world

Uruguay: the cooperative housing model used as a state policy

The International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC 2025) has put the global spotlight on how the cooperative company model can be an essential tool for sustainable development. A brilliant example of this thesis can be found in Uruguay, a country that has turned housing cooperativism into a successful, internationally renowned public policy.

Rural Spain

Healthcare cooperatives in rural areas: a safeguard against depopulation in Spain's increasingly empty regions

In so-called “empty Spain”, having a doctor nearby or accessing treatment is not always easy. Villages with few inhabitants and winding roads mean that many elderly people have to travel dozens of kilometres to reach the nearest hospital. In these empty areas, where the public model is overwhelmed and the private model is not profitable, health cooperatives in rural areas have proven that a different way of organising healthcare is possible.

Ecology

Co-operatives and the green transition: stories that inspire change

The green transition isn’t just measured in gigawatts of renewable energy or hectares of organic farming. It is also measured in shared stories, in communities that decide to organise themselves differently in order to make progress towards a fairer and more sustainable future. And in Spain, these stories have a recurring leading actor: cooperatives.

Cooperatives around the world

Cooperatives in Brazil: A successful model in the healthcare sector

In Brazil, cooperatives are an essential pillar of both the economy and society, with an undeniable impact in different sectors. In this gigantic Latin-American country, the cooperative model has been shown to be particularly innovative and effective, making a significant contribution to the accessibility, quality and efficiency of medical care. Let us analyse how these entities face up to the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities in a constantly evolving environment.

Artificial intelligence

AI for cooperatives: advantages, challenges and steps towards an ethical, participatory futureticipativo

Cooperatives move in areas where efficiency cannot be separated from values and democratic participation. For this reason, when thinking about AI for cooperatives, the debate revolves less around the pure technology in itself and more around how to integrate it, without giving up the group identity.

International Year of Cooperatives 2025: boosting social economy and sustainable development

The International Year of Cooperatives 2025, designated by the United Nations (UN), aims to recognize and promote the essential role of cooperatives in the social economy. These organizations, based on a democratic, equitable, and sustainable management model, seek to generate economic, social, and cultural benefits for their members, while contributing to collective well-being and community development.

The International Year of Cooperatives 2025 will highlight the importance of these entities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing their ability to foster inclusive economic growth, gender equality, access to technology, and the promotion of a green and socially responsible economy.

Throughout this year, various initiatives will be launched to increase the visibility of cooperatives and raise awareness about their contribution to global economic and social development. Cooperatives are a key part of building a more just and sustainable world for everyone.

COOPERATIVISM

News about the International Year