On 9 April 2015, the president of the General Assembly of the United Nations organised a hearing for civil society organisations on the topic of Financing for Development. As the Zero Draft of the outcome document for the Third World Conference on Financing for Development was released at the beginning of April, these hearings were the perfect opportunity to collect the first views from member states and civil society about this document.
Rodrigo Gouveia, director of policy for the International Co-operative Alliance was one of the lead civil society respondents at one of the sessions and he took the opportunity to highlight the need for the development of innovative sources and mechanisms for financing and implementing sustainable development, including looking at partnerships with co-operative organisations.
Overall, participants and member states present at the event agreed that there was a need to make sure that the financing mechanisms for development had greater democratic control and that they were more efficient in reaching the people that most needed them. There was also a general agreement that mobilising national domestic financial resources for development was necessary without reducing the official development assistance provided by more economically developed countries.
Co-operatives, mutuals and other social and solidarity economy organisations have an important role to play in financing for development. Financial co-operatives are an ideal tool to provide access to basic financial services in less developed areas to individuals and SMEs. But the role of co-operatives extends beyond that. By promoting and supporting the development of co-operatives, national governments can increase the sustainable development of their economies and societies, providing people with a democratic and values based model of business that looks to serve the needs of its members and the community at large.
The International Co-operative Alliance published its position on the Zero Draft of the outcome document for the Third World Conference on Financing for Development (http://s.coop/1wk9b) and will continue to advocate for the recognition and inclusion of co-operatives in this process.
Photo:UN Trusteeship Council Chambers in New York where the meeting took place
