COOPERA 2026: Is Italy’s development cooperation a system or a still fragmented set of actors?

It is clear that Italian development cooperation can rely on a broad and diverse range of actors. The main challenge today lies in strengthening dialogue and collaboration among these stakeholders by simplifying processes and leveraging the unique and complementary contribution of each actor.

29/05/2026

The third National Conference on Development Cooperation, COOPERA 2026, has come to a close, offering a wide range of reflections on the future of the Italian development cooperation system.

For LINK 2007, the conference raised a key question: can the Italian development cooperation truly operate as an integrated system, or it still reflects a fragmented landscape of actors working in a partially uncoordinated way?

It is clear that Italian development cooperation can rely on a broad and diverse range of actors. The main challenge today lies in strengthening dialogue and collaboration among these stakeholders by simplifying processes and leveraging the unique and complementary contribution of each actor.

LINK 2007 followed the conference sessions, met with partners, and gathered insights and experiences highlighting how skills, local relationships, and collaboration among actors are now essential to the effectiveness of development cooperation. COOPERA 2026 also highlighted the value of LINK 2007 member organisations working in the field, and the importance of long-standing relationships with local communities as a key element for the quality and sustainability of development interventions.

However, for events like COOPERA to have real impact, they must become not only moments of visibility, but also spaces capable of hosting debates and generating real political and operational turning points, with the potential to concretely shape the architecture of Italy’s development cooperation system.