The United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC2025) concluded in Doha on 4 November during the World Social Summit, marking a renewed global commitment to cooperation and social development. Co-hosted by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and COPAC, the ceremony highlighted how cooperatives continue to build inclusive economies and stronger communities by placing people, not profit, at the centre of decision-making.

The event coincided with the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration, in which UN Member States recognised cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy as key partners in advancing decent work, poverty eradication, and sustainable development. Speakers from the United Nations, governments and the cooperative movement echoed a shared message: real progress depends on tackling the structural causes of inequality, not only its consequences.

In his closing address, ICA President Ariel Guarco reflected on how today’s housing crisis is intertwined with wider global challenges — from violence and forced displacement to growing exposure to natural disasters. He called for a renewed capacity to identify the root causes of these pressures, reminding that striving for the common good is “the ultimate objective and the DNA of cooperatives.”

For Cooperative Housing International, these reflections resonate across every level of action. Adequate housing is not only a social right but a condition for security, health, and civic participation — and therefore a foundation for peace, equality, and environmental resilience. Housing cooperatives demonstrate that collective ownership and democratic management can translate solidarity into daily practice, turning shared responsibility into tangible stability for millions of people.

As the International Year of Cooperatives draws to a close, CHI joins the global cooperative family in reaffirming its commitment to build safe, inclusive and sustainable homes — and, through them, a better world.

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