The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC 2025), with the theme "Cooperatives Build a Better World".

The United Nations resolution proposes that all Member States and all relevant institutions be called upon to seize this opportunity to encourage cooperatives to raise awareness of the contribution of cooperatives to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to the overall social and economic development.

Principal objectives of the initiative:

• Governments creating an enabling environment for cooperatives
• Co-operatives promoting public awareness, developing new leaders and fostering cooperation
• Institutions and development agencies promoting cooperatives through education, capacity building and facilitating international cooperation
•  Raising public awareness of the cooperative identity and supporting cooperative initiatives The United Nations General Assembly declared the first International Year of Cooperatives in 2012 and called for a focus on the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, in particular their impact on poverty reduction, job creation and social inclusion. Cooperatives around the world celebrated this inaugural event under the theme &bquo;Cooperative enterprises build a better world“ to encourage the growth and establishment of cooperatives around the world.