International Co-operative Day
The first Saturday in July
In 1921, at the International Co-operative Congress of World Co-op Leaders wanted to identify and define the growing co-operative movements common values and ideals to help unite co-ops around the world. They decided to hold a special event to celebrate the movements growing diversity.
In Essen, Germany in 1922, ICA leaders made plans for the very first international Co-operators Day which was held in July 1923. Since then, on the first Saturday every July, International Co-operative Day has been celebrated. The day is a chance for co-op members and supporters to work together and promote the co-op movements successes and ideals of international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality, and world peace. To celebrate the Centennialof the International Co-operative Alliance, the United Nations declared in 1995 that the first Saturday of July to be celebrated as the United Nations International Day of Co-operatives and requested all member governments to join with their co-operative movements to celebrate the day.
Over several years various national movements were trying to register the Rainbow Flag as a trade mark, seeking ICA help in finding out arguments to prove that the flag is a distinctivesymbol, reserved to the co-op movement. For us, co-operators it is, but in fact, it has never been registered as the ICA symbol.
After the Basel Congress in 1921, which was the first congress to be held after an interruption of eight years caused by the Great World War and facing the new challenges in Europe, the ICA Executive Committee decided to devote some time to Co-operative Propaganda. The membership had grown dramatically, thus, the idea was to find a point of rally which would give an identity to movements scattered from Japan to Canada.
The political map, and most singularlyEuropes political map, changed to such an extension that it become urgent to find some common denominatorfor all the different co-operative traditions. At the same time the established co-operatives suffered attacks from fascist and communist
parties both of which claimed property rights on co-opdoctrineand incidentally on co-op assets.
In these troubled times, the ICA President, G.J.D.C. Goedhart, questioned himself on the causes which hinder the development of the co-op movement. He detected three: lack of information among the general public, lack of knowledge among members and finally lack of ideological commitment among managers.
What can be done to remedy these evils? The best means seems to be by general propaganda which must bring to the minds and hearts of outsiders, as in a flash, vivid pictures of the Co-operative Movement, the ideals for which it stands, the real significance of its aims, and how it must necessary give us a much better human society than that in which we live.
And already in 1922 the best support for publicity appeared to him to be a film. However, since not many societies could have supported such a financial investment, he suggested childrens books,lantern slides and other means of visual propaganda such as exhibitions.
Arrangements should also be made to hold a Propaganda Day or Evening in every country, town and village on the same day in order to draw the attention of the universe to what we are doing, and also to the whole world
A special Co-operators Day is necessary for this purpose. You are, therefore, called upon to rally to the Standard of Each for all, all for each in a great International Demonstration on the First Saturday in July next, when the first organized attempt will be made to broadcast our rejoicings, our ideals, our successes, and our determination to pursue them to their ultimate goal.