Dear ICA Members,
As this special year is coming to an end, I would like to extend friendly greetings on behalf of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and express my gratitude for the committed, vigorous and devoted efforts that you put into each of the initiatives we achieved throughout this International Year of Cooperatives, a year that will be remembered as a true landmark for our movement.
This year demonstrated that when organizations collaborate while expressing their unique identities and expertise, our collective voice becomes stronger and reaches more communities worldwide. The ICA is and will remain the global home for all cooperators, offering every cooperative—regardless of size, sector, or country—a pluralistic, diverse, and democratic space to connect, cooperate, and shape positive social, economic, and environmental change.
I am particularly grateful for the great efforts made by ICA’s regional and sectoral organizations, as well as by each and every committee and working group which is part of this big family.
It would not have been possible to implement our activities, meetings, surveys, statements and projects which we launched this year without the tireless, professional and dedicated efforts of all of you. I would like to bring into the light and acknowledge especially the staff from our global office and from our regional and sectoral offices for their achievements.
In 2025, we have indeed put forward an intense and ambitious agenda, which was also deeply transformative. It has allowed us to reaffirm our priorities, strengthen our structure, and demonstrate, with concrete facts, that the cooperative movement is ready to tackle the current challenges.
Today, we can claim that this experience is not the end of a cycle, but that it opens a new one. We are currently expecting an announcement from the United Nations calling for the proclamation of another International Year of Cooperatives in 2035 and every ten years thereafter. It’s a historic recognition for our movement, but also an extraordinary opportunity to continue promoting cooperativism in the global agenda for sustainable development.
Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, 2025 is a starting point. Through the contribution of every one of you, we have achieved a qualitative advancement in the institutional and territorial positioning of our model, while reinforcing its impact and consolidating effective cooperation across our organizations.
To sum up, we have shown that cooperativism is the most direct and efficient vehicle for advancing towards a truly sustainable, fair and peaceful world. This success is yours and the success of all the people who, on a daily basis, build collective solutions where communities are in need.
I send you my cooperative greetings and my best wishes for the end of the year. I wish you a merry Christmas and all the best for the start of the year.
Let’s hope that, in 2026, we will be even more united, integrated and convinced that cooperation will enable us to keep on building together the better future we are all looking for and that we all deserve.
Ariel Guarco
President
International Cooperative Alliance
