OTTAWA, November 20, 2024. On June 20, 2024, the United Nations (UN) declared 2025 to be the International Year of Co-operatives (IYC). As such, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC) is pleased to be celebrating this special year with its Members, partners and collaborators as well as the whole Canadian co-operative and mutual ecosystem. As declared by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), the theme for the 2025 IYC will be “Co-operatives Build a Better World.” This theme will highlight how co-operatives and mutuals are essential to overcoming many global challenges, and play a vital role in accelerating efforts to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
CMC’s Strategic Approach for 2025 IYC
CMC intends to make the most of 2025, with its four different strategies which will drive its activities in the next year. CMC will leverage this very special occasion by:
Enabling Canadian Co-operatives to Create a Better World by Ensuring Government Policies and Other Frameworks Acknowledge and Support Them
CMC will continue to foster its relationships with the federal government and provide tools to support its Members, as well as the sector at large, in their own advocacy efforts.
Released in late September, these tools include fact sheets, a Canadian co-operative ecosystem booklet and an advocacy guidebook. CMC encourages you to use them for your own advocacy efforts by downloading them today.
CMC will continue to leverage its relationships with parliamentarians to raise awareness on the co-operative and mutual sector, especially during IYC 2025. CMC is currently evaluating the possibility of hosting a parliamentarian reception with the help of its Members and partners to encourage networking between the movement and the federal government. CMC invites you to reach out to Daniel P. Brunette, Director of External Affairs, should you wish to collaborate on this potential project.
Increasing Awareness of the Co-operative Model and Sector
Awareness has continuously been a barrier for the co-operative and mutual sector for years. CMC aims to create tools for its Members and sector to explain the business models in different formats, including short and effective ways to reach different audiences.
For example, CMC has already worked on two different facts sheets that can help you quickly inform an audience about the co-operative sector.
Showcasing How Canadian Co-operatives are Creating a Better World
Storytelling is one of the best ways to showcase the impact and the importance of Canadian co-operatives and mutuals in their communities. To highlight how the Canadian movement is building a better world, CMC will collaborate with its past CMC Award winners, the Indigenous Working Group and the Communication Peer Gathering to share more stories about the sector’s success. CMC aims to collect these stories to explain how the sector solves local and global challenges all while leading the way with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Enabling the Canadian Co-operative Movement’s Innovation and World-Changing Potential by Serving as a Convener and a Knowledge Hub
As reflected in the co-operative principles, the co-operative and mutual movement’s strength comes from collaboration and co-operation. This is why CMC wants to create events and spaces to foster collaboration, networking and knowledge sharing.
CMC will launch, during 2025, an exclusive Member portal that will feature useful tools, conference videos and overviews, interviews with thought leaders and much more.
Through its yearly events, CMC will honour and celebrate the 2025 IYC by showcasing how the co-operatives and mutuals are shaping the future with their innovative way of tackling local and global challenges, as well as the UN’s SDGs. These events are:
CMC 2025 Congress
From June 10 to 12, 2025, CMC will host once again the co-operative and mutual sector in Regina, Saskatchewan at the Hotel Saskatchewan.
Leading the way with innovation, the UN’s SDG as well as local and international challenges, CMC knows the “Future is Co-op.”
2025 Co-op Week
From October 12 to 18, 2025, CMC will once again highlight once again Co-op Week, celebrating the co-operative model with the movement across Canada.
CMC is currently receiving submissions for suggestions and ideas for this exciting week and Congress. CMC is looking to collaborate closely with its Members and the Canadian sector to make these events truly special. Please contact Véronique Boucher, Communications Manager, to submit any suggestions or ideas.
Media Kit
Lastly, CMC is pleased to provide its Members and the sector with media kit for the 2025 IYC. This media kit includes a copy of CMC’s logo and the ICA logo, for the 2025 IYC as well as different visuals to support any initiatives related to this special year of celebrations. You will also find a copy of the tagline and sample social media posts, newsletter templates and other information you can use for your own communication channels in order to promote the 2025 IYC. Furthermore, CMC also invites you to share local stories about your own co-operative or mutual or about your Members with the tagline “The Future is Co-op.” These stories should highlight how co-operatives and mutuals are taking the lead in solving local and global challenges as well as SDGs, making the co-operative model essential for a sustainable future.
If you have any questions regarding the media kit, feel free to contact Véronique Boucher, Communications Manager.