International Co-operative Alliance

The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895. The ICA maintains the internationally recognised definition of a co-operative in the Statement on the Co-operative Identity.^[1] The ICA represents 272 co-operative federations and organisations in 94 countries (January 2014).

In 2006 the ICA published the first major index of the world's largest co-operative and mutual enterprises, the ICA Global 300,^[2] which demonstrated the scale of the co-operative movement globally.

On the first Saturday of July each year, the ICA coordinates celebrations of International Co-operative Day.

In December 2009, the United Nations declared 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives.

Structure

The ICA consists of a 20-member governing board, a General Assembly, four regions (one each for Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Americas), sectoral organisations and thematic committees.

ICA Regions

• ICA Asia - Pacific
• ICA Africa
• Cooperatives Europe
• ICA Americas

Sectoral Organisations

• International Co-operative Agricultural Organisation (ICAO)
• International Co-operative Banking Association (ICBA)
• Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide (CCW)
• International Co-operative Fisheries Organisation (ICFO)
• International Health Co-operative Organisation (IHCO)
• International Co-operative Housing Organisation (ICA Housing)
• International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF)
• International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal and Service Producers' Co-operatives (CICOPA)

Thematic Committees

• Committee on Co-operative Research
• Communications Committee
• Human Resource Development Committee
• Gender Equality Committee

The flag

Former ICA flag (1925)

ICA adopted its original rainbow flag in 1925, with the seven colors symbolizing unity in diversity and the power of light, enlightenment, and progress.^[3]

Current ICA flag (2001)
(see the ICA website)

In 2001 a new flag was adopted at the ICA General Assembly in Seoul, Korea, to avoid confusion with other rainbow flags, several of which had become very well known in the 20th century. The present flag shows the ICA seven-color logo on a white background. The logo depicts a quarter rainbow with a flock of stylized doves of peace scattering from the top and the letters ICA underneath. The rainbow has only six stripes (red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue) and the seventh color (purple) appears in the lettering under the rainbow. The flag exists in four different versions showing the ICA acronym in different languages (ACI in Spanish and French, IGB in German, and МКА in Russian).

See also

• List of Co-operative Federations
• Capital and the Debt Trap

References

External links

• The International Co-operative Alliance
• The ICA news aggregation website
• global300.coop
• The story of the ICA flag