UDHIS Participates in the World Cooperative Monitor Special IYC 2025 Edition Webinar

1. Introduction UDHIS participated in the international webinar titled “The World Cooperative Monitor – Special IYC 2025 Edition,” organized to celebrate and conclude the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives (IYC 2025). The webinar was jointly hosted by Euricse and ICETT and brought together cooperative stakeholders from different sectors and countries around the world. 2. UDHIS Participants • Hassan Mohamed Roble – Chairman of the Somali Fisheries Cooperatives • Mohamed Nor Siyad – Secretary-General of the UDHIS Cooperative Organization 3. Objectives of the Webinar • Present the latest findings and data from the World Cooperative Monitor. • Analyze global trends, scale, and resilience within cooperatives and mutual organizations. • Assess the role of cooperatives in promoting economic and social development and democratic governance. • Discuss the future of the World Cooperative Monitor and ways to strengthen and improve it over the next decade. 4. Key Issues Discussed The webinar was held from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM and attracted more than 200 participants from different countries. The event presented global data and analysis highlighting the significant role of cooperatives in the world economy. Particular attention was given to impactful stories from cooperative leaders representing: • IFFCO (India) – Agriculture sector • Co-op (UK) – Consumer retail sector • Co-op Bank Kenya – Financial sector • Grupo Coomeva (Colombia) – Insurance and social services These stories demonstrated that cooperatives are values-driven, people-centered businesses with the capacity to achieve sustainable success while creating meaningful economic and social impact. 5. Contribution of Co-operative News Co-operative News contributed valuable perspectives from interviews conducted with CM50 cooperative leaders. These insights helped to: • Put the World Cooperative Monitor data into a broader and more understandable context. • Highlight the “cooperative difference”—what distinguishes cooperatives from other forms of business. 6. Lessons and Benefits for Somali CooperativesParticipation in this international webinar was highly valuable for Somali cooperatives, providing deeper insights into how cooperatives can serve as effective tools for economic and social development. The webinar provided international examples and lessons that can be applied in Somalia, including: • Good governance, transparency, and accountability • Member participation and internal democracy • Measuring and demonstrating the social and economic impact of cooperatives • Exploring how the World Cooperative Monitor can be used to increase the visibility, recognition, and global impact of Somali cooperatives. UDHIS representatives actively and effectively participated in the international webinar. Their participation strengthened their understanding of the role of cooperatives in sustainable development and provided an opportunity for Somalia to benefit from international experience and best practices, particularly in strengthening the fisheries sector and its cooperative organizations. Conclusion The webinar clearly demonstrated that the future of cooperatives worldwide is promising. It also highlighted an important opportunity for Somali cooperatives to become more actively connected to global cooperative networks, data systems, and impact measurement initiatives such as the World Cooperative Monitor. For UDHIS and Somali cooperatives, participation in such international platforms represents an important step toward strengthening institutional capacity, improving governance, expanding international partnerships, and increasing the contribution of cooperatives to employment creation, economic growth, community resilience, and sustainable national development in Somalia.