Cooperative marketing for sustainable peace

The Federal Cooperative Agency will host the 8th National Cooperatives’ Exhibition, Bazaar, and Symposium-2021 from March 18th till 22 of 2021 under the banner of “Cooperative Marketing for Sustainable Peace!”
This event is an annual opportunity to highlight how cooperatives can and have contributed to social and economic development, building resilience and sustainable peace in the country. “The culture of sustaining peace in cooperative needs to be entrenched at every level of community,” the agency sensitized.
Peace has been on the agenda of the cooperative movement since its inception and it has been expressed in a variety of ways throughout that time. It is a significant strand in the weave of cooperative thought and practice.
‘As a people-centered business model, Cooperatives play an important part in social, economic, and political stabilization in conflict and post-conflict settings,” said Usman Surur, the director-general of the Federal Cooperative Agency. “Peace is not something you take for granted. It needs to be nurtured. Once you have it, it needs to be cultivated. Cooperatives are the very good fertile grounds for sustainable peace,” declared Usman.
The exhibition and Bazaar will be held at Oromo Cultural Center in Addis Ababa from March 19 to 22, 2021. In the event, more than 80 cooperatives, drawn from all over the country will exhibit and sell their traceable and quality agricultural products like Teff, wheat, maize, coffee, butter, honey and others in reasonable prices with accurate measurement. On March 18th, 2021, a symposium will be conducted at Sheraton Addis Hotel and a number of papers will be presented on various cooperative-related topics emanated domestically and internationally. “Sustainable development and as well as sustainable peace are interdependent. Cooperation goes hand in hand with promoting peace and peace goes hand in hand with equality,” emphasized Usman.
Cooperatives are one of the most effective ways to transcend differences at the local, regional, and even the international level and build the kinds of collaborative networks and practices that will contribute to building a more peaceful world.