The Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) in collaboration with other stakeholders will on Saturday, July 6, join cooperative societies around the world to celebrate International Cooperatives Day (ICD).
The day is set aside by the United Nations General Assembly Proclamation Resolution 47/90 that the first Saturday of July be observed as International Cooperatives Day.
In Liberia, the CDA in collaboration with the Liberia National of Cooperative Societies, the Liberia Credit Union National Association (LCUNA), Ministry of Agriculture, UN Agencies and other stakeholders will celebrate the ICD in Voinjama, Lofa County.
According to reports reaching the Daily Observer, President Joseph Nyumah Boakai is expected to deliver a special message on the celebration of ICD.
ICD is held on July 6 every year with the aim to create awareness of the roles and significance of cooperatives in ensuring sustainable development and growth of countries’ economies.
The event will also underscore the contributions of the cooperative movement to resolving the many challenges addressed by member states of the United Nations.
According to the CDA, the message of the president will center on the importance of the country’s ARREST agenda in using cooperatives to boost the growth and development of the Liberian economy.
The CDA Registrar General, Madam Lwopu G. Kandakai has described the occasion as relevant because of the roles cooperatives played in transforming societies.
The 2024 ICD global theme, “Cooperatives Build a Better Future for All” was chosen to support the SDG #8, Inclusive Development and Decent Work. The theme also aligns with the objectives of the upcoming, whose theme is Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow.
However, in Liberia, the theme selected by the CDA and other stakeholders is, Food Security and Sustainability through Cooperatives. This theme also aligns with the National Agriculture Development (NADP) of the government’s ARREST agenda.
The 1936 Cooperative Societies Act, enacted by the National Legislature, mainstreamed cooperative activities into Liberia’s national development plan. Hence, cooperatives are to operate following international cooperative principles based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, autonomy, equality, equity, and solidarity.
