The 16th ICA-AP Regional Assembly, held from 6-10 November 2023, in Manila, Philippines, was a gala affair. The Philippines hosted the Regional Assembly after two decades (last held in 2003) under the aegis of the Philippines Cooperative Affiliates (PCA). The Assembly comprised the Cooperative Forum, Regional Board Meeting, various events organized by the regional sectoral and thematic committees, and the statutory meeting of the Regional Assembly. The overarching theme this year was “Cooperatives: Our Common Agenda.”
More than 250 international delegates from 21 countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Paraguay, S. Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam) and around 285 delegates from the Philippines attended the Regional Assembly.
It started with two pre-events, the Regional Youth Workshop, held from November 3 to 5, and the 17th Asia Pacific Research Conference on November 4 and 5. The Youth Workshop provided a platform for the ICA-AP Youth Committee members to come together, strategize activities for the coming years, and create a synergy in the Asia-Pacific cooperative movement. The young cooperators concluded the workshop by signing the commitment to youth cooperativism. The research conference was an opportunity for academicians from the Asia Pacific region to hold mutual exchange and peer learning to promote accelerated actions for progress in Sustainable Development. The Dr. Mauritz Bonow Young Researchers Award was awared to Dr. Jiyun Jeon from Korea (1st prize) and Ms. Kristine Atendido from the Philippines (2nd prize).
On November 6, the ICA-AP Regional Board met to discuss administrative issues and the budget and activities of 2024. The Board ratified the nomination of two new representatives, Mr. Alireza Banaeifar from Iran, and Mrs. Cao Xuan Thu Van from Vietnam. The meeting was also attended by ICA President, Mr. Ariel Guarco.
November 7 was dedicated to activities and statutory meetings of the ICA-AP thematic and sectoral committees. The Credit and Banking Committee held their meeting where members presented their country reports on financial cooperatives. It also organized a Regional Conference on the Credit and Banking Cooperatives to look at the synergies between the Financial Cooperatives and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the regulatory challenges faced by financial cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific. The Consumer Committee organized a seminar with the Consumer Committee Worldwide (a global-level sectorial committee.) to accelerate the relations between the two committees and explore opportunities to collaborate. The committee also held its 57th statutory meeting to review the activities of 2023 and plan the budget and activities for 2024. The Trade and Business Committee held its annual meeting and collaborated with the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC) to organise a seminar aimed at promoting sustainable agricultral supply chains and fostering partnerships among cooperatives within the Asia-Pacific region.. The seminar provided an opportunity for the participants to share knowledge, exchange experiences, and collaboratively explore ways to align their efforts with the SDGs. In a pioneering effort, ICA-AP organised the Cooperative Trade Fair led by the Trade and Business Committee and the Federation of People’s Sustainable Development Cooperative (FPSDC; an ICA member in the Philippines).
The ICA-AP Women’s Committee, along with its statutory meeting, organised the 12th Asia Pacific Regional Women's Forum. The Committee celebrated its 25th anniversary this year with a thematic event on ‘Gender Equality for a Brighter Future’. The Forum with the theme, ‘Women Cooperators in the Future’ marked the beginning of a new series of discussions on what lies ahead for women cooperators in the region. The Education Committee or ICEI held its annual meeting to discuss and finalise its strategic plan for 2023-2026 and the activities for 2024. The Youth Committee held elections for the positions of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Committee.
On 8 November, the joint opening ceremony of the 16th ICA-AP Regional Assembly and 11th Asia Pacific Cooperative Forum was held. It began with a vibrant Parade of Colors representing the 22 countries attending the Assembly. Mr. Ariel Guarco, in his inspiring opening speech, said that cooperatives are the most adequate model to solve socio-economic challenges globally. Addressing the gathering, Dr. Chandrapal Singh Yadav, ICA-AP President, highlighted the importance of the forum’s theme ‘Cooperatives: Our Common Agenda’ and said that cooperatives ensure no one is left behind while achieving SDGs and their common agenda. Under Secretary, Mr. Joseph Encabo, Chairperson, Cooperative Development Authority of the Philippines stated that "Our Common Agenda is to build better lives for every individual in the world. Our role in this world is to cooperate and prove that cooperatives can be the pillars of change." Congressman Felimon M. Espares, who is also the Coop NATCCO Party List representative delivered a motivating keynote speech. He enlisted eight key areas of action for cooperatives to build their common agenda, which are – Policy formulation, Inclusion, Networking, Alliance building, Democratic governance, Strategic vision, Advocacy, and Knowledge sharing.
The Coop Forum, comprising of a plenary session and three breakout sessions was an opportunity for cooperators across the Asia-Pacific region to delve deeper into the issues and opportunities to build concrete and actionable common agenda for achieving sustainable development. The opening plenary on Accelerating the Cooperative Identity looked at ensuring cooperatives as a socio-economic model to remain relevant in addressing global challenges and accelerating the cooperative identity. The highlight of the Forum was the exciting announcement made by Mr. Andrew Allimadi, Coordinator of Cooperative Issues at The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), about 2025 being declared as the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations. We now have another opportunity to showcase to the world, the contribution of cooperatives to sustainable development. The three breakout sessions focused on cooperatives as drivers of taking the climate agenda forward, empowering cooperatives by promoting diversity and inclusion, and ensuring the relevance of cooperatives by embracing disruptive technologies for sustainable growth.
The welcome dinner hosted by the PCA brought delegates together to network and forge potential collaborations. The highlight of the evening was the first Asia Pacific Cooperative Excellence Awards. ICA-AP instituted the awards to honour outstanding individuals, cooperative organizations, and government ministries/ departments that have made remarkable contributions to the growth of cooperatives and have significantly benefited the cooperative movement. This year, the awards were presented in two categories, enterprising cooperative and inspirational leader. Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society Limited (ULCCS), a 100-year-old workers’ cooperative from India won the award for Enterprising Cooperative. It is one of the best diversified primary cooperatives in the world and has proven its mettle by establishing a niche of its own in infrastructure development in India. ULCCS works towards fostering Economic Empowerment, Social Development and Environmental Sustainability. Acknowledging the new generational shift in the working class, ULCCS has diversified into IT and related sectors and set up various subsidiaries like the UL Cyberpark, UL Technology Solutions, Sargaalaya Arts & Crafts Village, UL Education, UL Agriculture and UL Housing to name a few among many others. Datuk Seri Dr. Abdul Fattah Abdullah from Malaysia won the award for Inspirational Cooperative Leader. He is the Vice President of the ICA-AP Regional Board and the President of the ASEAN Cooperative Organization (ACO). Previously, he has served as a State Assemblyman. With over 25 years of experience, he has been an advocate for the development of cooperatives as well as the progressing youth movement in Malaysia. He has initiated a lot of community care activities through ANGKASA CoopCare programmes and is committed to the spirit of the 6th Cooperative Principle: Cooperation among Cooperatives. More information about the winners can be found here.
The Statutory meeting of the ICA-AP Regional Assembly took place on 9 November. Dr. Yadav and Mr. Guarco shared opening remarks. The assembly observed a moment of silence in the memory of Mr. B. S. Vishwanathan who was elected as the Chairperson in the first Regional Assembly held in New Delhi in 1995. He represented India in ICA for a record period of 27 years.
Mr. Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director of ICA-AP presented the 2023 activities report and the membership and financial situation since the last regional assembly in 2021. He shared updates on the activities of ICA-AP’s Malaysia Business Office (MBO). The Regional Assembly ratified the merger of the ICA-AP Agriculture and Forestry Committees and named the new committee the Agriculture and Environment Committee. The CICOPA-Asia and Pacific Network, established as a regional organization of CICOPA in November 2021, had its first meeting at the Regional Assembly to discuss the potential of worker cooperatives in the Asia-Pacific region by exploring their relationship with gender equality, youth cooperation, digital technology and sustainability/climate change. Mr. Osamu Nakano, CICOPA-AP representative presented key updates of the network to the Assembly. The ICA-AP thematic and sectoral committees presented the key updates from their seminars and statutory meetings. The Cooperative Forum’s Drafting Committee presented the Manila Resolution on "Cooperatives: Our Common Agenda" for adoption by the Regional Assembly.
Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Shalabi, Director General of the Jordan Co-operative Corporation announced the 11th Asia-Pacific Cooperative Ministers’ Conference (APCMC) to be held in Jordan from 28 to 30 April 2024. The theme 11th APCMC will be ‘Partnerships between Government and Cooperatives for Cooperative Resilience, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Growth in Asia Pacific’. He invited all the member countries along with their relevant Ministers and encouraged them for their active participation in the conference.
Another significant moment of the Assembly was the signing of an MoU between the National Cooperative Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) and ICA-AP to host the 2025 Regional Assembly in Sri Lanka.
The day ended with the ICA-AP solidarity night and farewell dinner. The delegates enjoyed dancing to the tunes of the Filipino band.
On November 10, delegates had the opportunity to visit local cooperatives from different sectors like credit and saving, agriculture, consumer, multipurpose, and platform cooperatives.
It was heartening to have most of the members from the region meet in person after a long gap of 5 years. The last in-person Regional Assembly was held in Tehran, Iran in 2018, post which the Assembly in 2021 was held in hybrid mode due to COVID-19 imposed restrictions and saw very little in-person participation. The 16th Regional Assembly was an exhilarating journey of collaboration, learning, and inspiration.
Rewatch the highlights of the assembly here. The photos from various events can be found here.
