In the UN Year of Co-operation, we think the UK Government should commit to raising the importance of co-operatives with world leaders and show leadership by doubling the proportion of funding allocated to co-operative development as part of the UK's International Development budget.

A quarter of humanity, 2 billion people, currently live in countries affected by conflict and the work to rebuild these areas has never been more urgent. We think co-operatives have always been advocates for and builders of peace. From Rwanda to Guatemala, we think they offer a powerful and proven model to rebuild communities torn apart by hate, reviving local economies and giving local people a meaningful stake in their business. Where hate divides communities, co-operatives build them.