Cooperatives have been contributing to sustainable development and have accumulated tremendous experience in this regard. They have strengthened the push for economic diversification and inclusive development. Cooperatives empower people while protecting the planet, and are an effective vehicle in delivering inclusive and sustainable development. They have demonstrated their power to provide livelihoods for people at the grassroots or local levels while showing concern for the community and its resources. There are 2.6 million cooperatives worldwide which employ 12.6 million people. They produce great wealth.

Cooperatives compliment this approach since they operate in each of those sectors with a people-centred perspective. They could be found in the financial, agricultural, housing, health, disaster preparation and response, education, energy, fisheries, transportation, housing, tourism, and other sectors.

The Expert Group Meeting (EGM) and Capacity-building Workshop on The Role of Cooperatives in Sustainable Development: Contributions, Challenges and Strategies took place from 8–10 December, 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The EGM was an opportunity for the exchange of ideas on how cooperatives are helping to build sustainable societies, and also a good occasion for capacity-building of cooperative leaders/trainers in Africa.

The results of the meeting served to raise awareness as to how best to leverage the cooperative model as a viable means of sustainable living. An initiative of the Division for Social Policy and Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the event was a major contribution to the promotion of the formation and growth of cooperatives in the context of sustainable development.

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