Statutes of the International Cooperative Alliance

The seven principles of the International Cooperative Alliance for cooperatives are the principle of voluntary openness, the principle of democratic management of members, the principle of economic participation of members, the principle of autonomy and self-reliance, the principle of education, training and information, the principle of cooperation between cooperatives, and the principle of caring for the community.

The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), founded in London, England in l895, is an independent, non-leading international organization whose goal is to unite, serve and represent cooperatives and the cooperative movement around the world. At present, it has 258 member organizations from 96 countries, covering various fields such as agriculture, finance, health, industry, tourism, etc., representing more than 1 billion cooperative members around the world. The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is not only the world's largest independent non-governmental organization, it was one of the first 41 non-governmental organizations to be granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 1946.

The International Cooperative Alliance is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its member organizations are national cooperative organizations in various fields, involving agriculture, consumption, banking, credit, insurance, industry, energy, storage and transportation, fishery, housing, tourism and other industries.

Over the years, the Alliance has worked closely with countries**, the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Labour Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the World to carry out a series of social and economic development projects, especially in developing countries by supporting the development of cooperatives to promote employment, increase the income of vulnerable groups, improve people's living standards, and designate the first Saturday of July every year as the International Day of Cooperatives (Day). With the unremitting efforts of the Union and the States, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 64 136 on December 18, 2009, which highly affirmed the contribution of cooperatives to social and economic development, and declared 2012 as the "International Year of Cooperatives", which is also the first "International Year of Cooperatives" established by the United Nations nearly 70 years ago.

The All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives officially joined the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) on behalf of Chinese cooperatives in February 1985, co-opted as a member of the ICA Executive Committee in October 1986, and has been representing the Asia-Pacific region as its Vice President since 1997. Over the years, the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives has been committed to the cause of international cooperatives, made significant contributions to the development of the international cooperative movement, and played an increasingly important role in the international cooperative family. Over the years, supply and marketing cooperatives have existed in name only in many places in China's rural areas, but many people remember the convenience provided by supply and marketing cooperatives for food, clothing, housing and transportation, and Zhou Nian still misses the good days when there were supply and marketing cooperatives.

In order to effectively coordinate and address specific economic and social issues in the global cooperative movement, the International Cooperative Alliance has established 14 balancing professional bodies, including:

a) The professional bodies responsible for the issue of cooperatives in different areas are the ICA Committee on Agriculture, the International Committee of Cooperatives for Industrial Handicrafts and Services, the ICA Consumer Committee, the ICA Fisheries Committee, the ICA Housing Committee, the International Association of Cooperative Banks, the International Cooperative Energy Organization, the International Union of Cooperative Mutual Insurance, the International Organization of Cooperatives and the International Organization of Cooperatives;

2) The professional bodies responsible for non-economic issues are the International Committee on Training and Education for Cooperatives, the ICA Communications Committee, the ICA Women's Committee, and the Research and Development Committee for Cooperative Programmes.

The purpose of ICA is to unite, represent and serve cooperative organizations around the world, support and promote the mutually beneficial cooperation and development of the liaison relationship between cooperative organizations around the world, promote the social and economic progress of mankind, and maintain world peace and security.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ICA has five regional offices: Central America and the Caribbean, South America, West Africa, East, Central and South Africa, and Asia and the Pacific.