Recommendations on Inclusion of Youth in Cooperatives presents SEWA Cooperative Federation’s vision for strengthening youth participation—particularly that of young women—in the cooperative movement. Submitted as part of the Y20 engagement process to ICA-AP, the note argues that cooperatives can serve as powerful vehicles for employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and economic participation among youth.
Drawing on SEWA’s experience of organizing informal women workers, it highlights the need for greater awareness of cooperative models, investments in youth-led and women-led enterprises, easier compliance systems, and stronger support structures such as federations.
The publication also calls for expanding cooperatives into emerging sectors including the digital and care economies, while emphasizing the importance of social protection, research, education, and public infrastructure in creating an enabling ecosystem for the next generation of cooperative leaders.
