Ask your MP to support the role of co-ops in peacebuilding

Ask your MP to support co-operation in peacebuilding

Earlier this year, the UK co-operative movement came together to mark the International Year of Co-operatives and honour its long and proud history of supporting peace and post-conflict rebuilding by establishing a new Fund for International Co-operative Development.

From Rwanda to Guatemala, co-operatives have long helped to rebuild communities following disasters and conflict, both by providing immediate aid and by laying the long-term foundations for peace and resilience. Whether they are supporting women’s education or fighting food poverty, co-operatives in every sector empower their members, create sustainable livelihoods, and strengthen communities.

Recognising the power of co-operatives within our international development strategy could be key to bringing together communities and rebuilding livelihoods in post-conflict areas. That's why as part of the International Year of Co-operatives, the co-operative movement is encouraging the Government to ensure co-operatives are a core part of our international development strategy for post-conflict areas.

With the appointment of new International Development minister and recent developments in UK aid funding, there has never been a more important time to promote the importance of international development, and the role co-operatives could and do play in post-conflict rebuilding. Take action now: ask your MP to write to the new International Development Minister and call on the Government to recognise the power of co-operatives in building a more peaceful world.

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Promoted by Joe Fortune on behalf of the Co-operative Party, both at Unit 13, 83 Crampton Street, London, SE17 3BQ, United Kingdom. Co-operative Party Limited is a registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Registered no. 30027R

To write to your MP about this issue, add your name and email to this form and press send. We have provided a template response which you can edit if you wish.

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To: your.mp@parliament.uk

Dear MP Name MP,
Your message*
Across the world, communities are suffering in ways most of us can barely imagine. A quarter of humanity, 2 billion people, currently live in countries affected by conflict. The percentage of children living in conflict zones has doubled in recent decades. Work to rebuild these areas has never been more urgent. Co-operatives have always been advocates for and builders of peace. They offer a model which brings people together across divides and shares power and wealth evenly. In the face of conflict, hate and division, co-operation is a hugely powerful force. Co-operatives in Rwanda and Guatemala and more have helped rebuild communities torn apart by hate, reviving local economies and giving local people a meaningful stake in their business. And so, as we look around the world at countries ripped apart by conflict, there must be a role for co-operation once again to help rebuild communities. There are more than 3 million co-ops around the world, and the revenues of the biggest 300 alone are bigger than most nations' GDP. And what sets co-operatives apart is their central social mission - a model founded on fundamental principles of fairness, equality and empowerment. Co-operative businesses here in the UK are walking the walk, supporting co-ops across the world through a new Fund for International Co-operative Development. This money will be transformative for rebuilding local economies that have been devastated by conflict. They are also creating trading relationships with their fellow co-operators. But we can go further. That's why, as part of the International Year of Co-operatives, I'm asking you to support the co-operative movement’s campaign to promote co-operation and its role in peacebuilding and rebuilding communities on the global stage. Of course, the world is changing rapidly and while we understand the difficult decisions Government have had to make in relation to international aid, we hope that the UK can return as quickly as is practicable and possible to its commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP on international aid. In the meantime, how that current budget is spent is now even more important and we believe that co-operation and co-operatives must be an integral part of how we in the UK rebuild communities post-conflict. We intend to show that co-operatives build peace and campaign that they should be a central part of how the UK supports countries post-conflict. As global leaders, the UK government has an opportunity to make the case for co-operation in its international development work. We're calling on the government to make co-operation and the development of co-operatives a top priority and commit to raising its importance with world leaders. The government could and should use its influence to encourage the development of co-operative organisations and businesses in the areas that need them most. Working with the co-operative movement both here in the UK and globally, we have an opportunity to use this model to genuinely create change. I would be grateful both in your views but also that of the Government so I would be grateful if you could write to the new International Development Minister on my behalf, asking her what role co-operatives and co-operation will play in our renewed approach to international development.
Yours sincerely,

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