Commemoration of Cooperative Day 2024

Economic institutions in the form of cooperatives in Indonesia were only created after independence, precisely on July 12 1947. Since then, every July 12 has been celebrated as Indonesian Cooperative Day. History records that there was one important moment at the beginning of the establishment of this commemoration day.

According to the book Cooperative Knowledge (1977) written by Dahlan Djazh, the cooperative movement in Indonesia held its first national congress on July 12 1947, at Tasikmalaya, West Java. This is the basis for establishing Indonesian Cooperative Day.

The establishment of July 12 as Indonesian Cooperative Day in connection with the holding of the First Cooperative Congress was also revealed in the book Outlines of the Five Year Development Plan 1956-1960 (1954) published by the State Planning Bureau and printed by the State Printing Company. The success of the cooperative motivates other cooperatives to grow.

Apart from establishing July 12 as Indonesian Cooperative Day, this first congress also resulted in several other decisions, including the formation of SOKRI (Sentral Organization of Indonesian People's Cooperatives) and appointing its administrators.

The First Cooperative Congress was held at PKKT (Tasikmalaya Regency or City Cooperative Center). The reason Tasikmalaya was chosen was because at that time the city of Bandung was being occupied by the Dutch who came back to Indonesia not long after independence.

The establishment of the Cooperative Monument near the location where the first congress was held confirmed that the national cooperative movement was formed under the auspices of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), which at that time was still in a polemic with the Netherlands.

In 2024, the 77th National Cooperative Day will have the theme "Advanced Cooperatives, Golden Indonesia". This theme is a call to realize the ideals of a cooperative that is strong, independent and innovative in realizing a Golden Indonesia.