COSV

COSV — Coordinamento delle Organizzazioni per il Servizio Volontario — is an Italian non-profit voluntary association founded in 1968. It describes itself as an organisation with legal personality that carries out development and humanitarian interventions in Europe, the Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Its stated mission is to address underdevelopment and to promote a "culture of cooperation" understood as solidarity between peoples and a struggle against the mechanisms, including informational ones, that create inequality. The organisation works for peace, respect for human rights and environmental protection through inclusive development paths built around partnership and networking. COSV operates in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. According to its Italian Wikipedia entry, it is present in Bolivia, Ecuador, Italy, Kosovo, Lebanon, Macedonia, Morocco, Mozambique, Peru, Serbia and Montenegro, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Its intervention sectors include health (basic health care, preventive medicine, maternal and child health), human rights (support to civil society, capacity building and support for South-South networks), agriculture and livestock (reforestation, farming, conservation and development of traditional crops), environment, vocational training, education with particular attention to primary schools, rehabilitation and habitat (public service structures, hospitals, schools, health centres), productive projects (support to micro-entrepreneurship, crafts and traditional forms of saving) and humanitarian aid in the immediate aftermath of environmental and social crises. COSV is part of the Italian agency for emergency response. The organisation has its headquarters in Milan and Rome. It is a member of LINK 2007 - Cooperazione in Rete and of CoLomba, the association of NGOs of Lombardy. COSV states that it has always defended its autonomy: it belongs to itself and is not the property of parties or particular interest groups. Hundreds of people participate in its activities in different forms — members, volunteers and field workers, consultants, counterparts in the countries of the South, workers, working groups and friends who support activities in Italy. COSV finances its projects through contributions from private citizens, companies and institutions. Thanks to recognition by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its donors include the Italian Government, the European Commission and major international agencies such as the World Food Programme, UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, UNHCR and UNDP. The organisation argues that public funds are necessary to finance and sustain international cooperation, particularly non-governmental cooperation, and that cooperation for sustainable development is first of all a duty of richer countries and a right to aid of weaker ones. Beyond project work, COSV maintains an online documentation centre and promotes the ALTRE ARTI project, aimed at making known the cultural production of the countries where the organisation is active, including photography and craft exhibitions and contemporary African art shows. It also runs or supports initiatives such as Social2Square, CoProfit (a benefit company founded by COSV together with social cooperation partners), OpenAid Italia and Visit Zambézia. The organisation publishes information about its activity and transparency, structure, networks and donors on its website.

COSV was founded in 1968 as a non-profit voluntary association. Its Italian Wikipedia entry states that it was founded in 1968 and that a bibliography item records "1968-1988: 20 ANNI DEL COSV" (COSV, Milan, 1988), marking its first two decades. The organisation describes itself as having legal personality and as having worked for decades in a cooperation sector in continuous evolution, experimentation and research. Its own website notes that it has been working in the world for 45 years in one place and 50 years in another, consistent with a founding in the late 1960s. Over the decades COSV expanded its geographical reach. Its Italian Wikipedia entry lists a presence in Bolivia, Ecuador, Italy, Kosovo, Lebanon, Macedonia, Morocco, Mozambique, Peru, Serbia and Montenegro, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, and describes operations in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Its own "Il COSV" page frames the current scope as Europe, the Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The organisation has its headquarters in Milan and Rome. COSV has built a network of institutional and civil-society partners. It is a member of LINK 2007 - Cooperazione in Rete and of CoLomba, the association of NGOs of Lombardy. It states that it has always defended its autonomy, belonging to itself rather than to parties or particular interest groups. It finances its projects through contributions from private citizens, companies and institutions, and — thanks to recognition by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — from the Italian Government, the European Commission and international agencies including the World Food Programme, UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, UNHCR and UNDP. In more recent years COSV has launched or supported a number of initiatives beyond direct project delivery. These include Social2Square, described as a COSV initiative led by its Social Economy unit; CoProfit, a benefit company founded by COSV together with social cooperation partners; OpenAid Italia, a portal providing data and information on Italian public aid; and Visit Zambézia, focused on financial sustainability and biodiversity. It also runs the LEAD2Growth open call for project proposals for civil society organisations in Montenegro and the YouSEED project on youth social economy and rural development. COSV maintains an online documentation centre and promotes the ALTRE ARTI cultural project, which has produced photography and craft exhibitions and contemporary African art shows.

• 1988

  Publication of "1968-1988: 20 ANNI DEL COSV" (COSV, Milan), marking the organisation's first twenty years.

• 1968

  COSV is founded as a non-profit voluntary association.

• COSV joins LINK 2007 - Cooperazione in Rete and CoLomba, the association of NGOs of Lombardy.

• Launch of the LEAD2Growth open call for project proposals for civil society organisations in Montenegro.

• Publication of the feasibility study within the YouSEED project on youth social economy and rural development.

A non-profit, autonomous Italian voluntary association working for peace, human rights and environmental protection through inclusive development, partnership and networking.

• LEAD2Growth – Community-Led Rural Development and Growth Initiative

  An open call for project proposals for civil society organisations and local initiatives contributing to sustainable local development in Montenegro.

• YouSEED – Youth Social Economy Exploring Rural Development

  A 36-month initiative aimed at strengthening the role of young people in rural development through research and analysis, with a focus on models of social and solidarity economy.

• Social2Square

  A COSV initiative led by its Social Economy unit.

• CoProfit

  A benefit company founded by COSV together with social cooperation partners.

• OpenAid Italia

  A portal that makes available to everyone data and information on Italian public aid.

• Visit Zambézia

  An initiative focused on strengthening financial sustainability and biodiversity.

• ALTRE ARTI

  A cultural project aimed at making known the cultural production of the countries where COSV is active, including photography and craft exhibitions and contemporary African art shows.

1. 1COSV | Coordinamento delle Organizzazioni per il Servizio Volontariocosv.org
2. 2Chi Siamo | COSVcosv.org
3. 3Il COSV | COSVcosv.org
4. 4I donor | COSVcosv.org
5. 5Coordinamento delle organizzazioni per il servizio volontarioit.wikipedia.org
6. 6Wikidata Q3648865wikidata.org