The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions will kick off a year long campaign to remember and celebrate the roles of cooperatives in helping to build New York City with an event scheduled for tomorrow at the headquarters of the Ford Foundation.

The campaign, dubbed New York: Building a Cooperative City, is part of the International Year of Cooperatives initiative established by the United Nations for 2012.

The campaign will “highlight the long history of cooperatives in New York City, the myriad contributions of cooperatives to the local economy; and promote cooperatives to consumers across the five boroughs,” the National Federation said. The launch itself will convene cooperatives from across different sectors of the city, including credit unions, food, housing, and worker co-ops; and others; and will feature panel discussions and plenary presentations by representatives of these organizations.