During 2025 - the second International Year of Cooperatives proclaimed by the United Nations and 130th anniversary of the ICA - the team is preparing a very special General Assembly. The Assembly will be held during a four-day celebration of cooperative activity in Manchester & Rochdale, UK – the place where the modern day cooperative movement was born.
Hosted by the Co-operative Group and Co-operatives UK, the ICA General Assembly will take place on 2 July in Manchester. There are also celebratory activities planned for international participants lasting throughout the week, including Saturday 5 July 2025 to celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives.
On 3 July, ICA and its Thematic Committees and Sectoral Organisations will organise meetings where there will be a programme of activities for participants to take part in.
Additional activities are being organised in both Manchester and Rochdale aimed to inform about and celebrate the history of the cooperative movement in the United Kingdom. Activities will include:
- Visits to cooperatives in Manchester and the region
- Tours of the Rochdale Pioneers Museum
- Co-operative Seminars and more
There are over 7,000 cooperatives in the United Kingdom, with 200,000 employees and 15 million memberships, making up more than a fifth of the population of the UK (Co-operatives UK, 2024). Rochdale, just ten miles outside Manchester, is steeped in rich cooperative history as 180 years ago this year, Rochdale became the founding place of the very first modern cooperative movement.
On the 4 and 5 July, Co-operatives UK’s national Co-op Congress takes place – a ‘parliament’ for the UK’s co-operative movement. This year’s conference takes place at Rochdale Town Hall and will have a special focus on the International Year of Co-operatives 2025. President Dr Ariel Guarco and Director-General Jeroen Douglas are already announced as speakers, and the event attracts leading figures from co‑operatives, politics and journalism. There is opportunity for ICA delegates to book onto part, or all of, Co-op Congress, which also includes a special International Supper to celebrate our global movement.
Ariel Guarco, President of the International Cooperative Alliance:
"The assembly is the most important moment in the institutional life of our organizations. This year, this gathering holds special significance because of the timing and the location. I invite all our members to share in these meaningful days — including the International Day of Cooperatives in 2025, the International Year of Cooperatives — in a place where the modern cooperative enterprise was born almost two centuries ago."
Rose Marley, CEO, Co-operatives UK, and ICA Board Member, said:
“I am so excited and proud that the UK and Greater Manchester will welcome the global delegation in July 2025. We are really excited to be hosting during the UN International Year of Co-operatives and we have a special programme lined-up.”
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Chief Executive of Co-op Group said:
“Co-op Group are honoured to be hosting the ICA General Assembly during the second International year of Co-operatives. 180 years after we were founded in Rochdale our co-operative values still guide how our Co-op does business. Co-operatives have a vital role to play to demonstrate a different and fairer way of doing business and most importantly delivering value and better outcomes for our Members and society.”
Visit https://ica.coop/en/events/festival-co-operatives-manchester-and-rochdale for the week at a glance, registration and other logistics.
Notes to Editor
Co-op Group is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives, with interests across food retail, funerals, insurance, and legal services. Co-op is owned by and run for its 6.2 million members. With over 2,300 food stores and more than 800 funeral homes, Co-op also supplies products to 6,000 other outlets, including those run by independent co-operatives, through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.
Employing 55,000 people, Co-op has an annual turnover of over £11 billion and is a recognised leader in social goals and community-led programmes. Co-op exists to meet members’ needs and champion the causes they believe in.
