The Global Innovation Coop Summit was established in 2020 by a group of co-operators who wanted to fill a gap created by the conclusion of the International Summit of Cooperatives in 2016, known as the “Quebec Summit.” They wanted to create a space for cooperative and mutual leaders and partners to share, exchange, learn and build a more inclusive plural economy.

The 2023 Summit brought together cooperative and mutual representatives to inspire innovation and to promote, and foster development of cooperative and mutuals enterprises around the globe. There were 12 workshops on cooperative leadership, circular economy, and digitalization during the two days of the Summit.

Each workshop had a 30-minute panel discussion with experts who shared their leadership views on specific topics. This was followed by 60 minutes of discussion between the participants, panelists and the facilitator, grouped into small tables, around three major questions to be explored:

• The problems identified on the subject addressed in the workshop.
• The levers or forces that make it possible to overcome the challenges or improve the situations identified.
• Opportunities for inter and intra cooperative practices.

ILO’s Cooperatives Unit Manager, Simel Esim was interviewed by Karina Lehoux on the second day of the summit in a 20-minute session. She answered questions about the ILO and its mandate, its work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE). She also addressed audience questions vis a vis the ILC and UN resolutions on the SSE and the follow up actions envisioned in the context of the UN Task Force on the SSE