Our articles provide insight into our Ministry's functions and purpose.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives under the theme,  "Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World" .  As such cooperatives engaged in brining to the fore the contributions  the various entities  in promoting socio-economic development  with specific emphasis, on the programmes aimed at poverty reduction, employment generation, sustainable development and social integration.

As such programmes sought to promote three main objectives:

1. Increase awareness: increase public awareness about cooperatives and their contributions to socio-economic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
2. Promote growth: Promote the formation and growth of co-operatives among individuals and institutions to address common economic needs and for socio-economic empowerment
3. Establish appropriate policies: Encourage Governments and regulatory bodies to establish policies, laws and regulation conducive to co-operative formation and growth.

The objectives were expressly designed to expand public awareness of the role of cooperatives, particularly in relation to the fulfilment of internationally agreed development goals, such as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals; encourage the growth of cooperatives worldwide; and establish a policy and legal environment conducive to the strength and stability of the cooperative movement.

In this regard the  Department of Cooperatives in Saint Lucia embarked on a number of initiatives to create awareness of the work of cooperatives on the island.  The video below highlights  some of the works  undertaken by the department.