COOP Dialogue
In November, ICA-AP relaunched COOP Dialogue as a biannual publication to start conversations around issues that are relevant to cooperatives in the region. The experience of cooperatives across the Asia and Pacific is rich and diverse and ICA-AP hopes to bring these together in COOP Dialogue to share, inform, and learn. Each issue, focusing on a topical theme, will present different perspectives and create a dialogue.
The first issue of COOP Dialogue on 'Cooperative Identity in the Asia Pacific' was released on 23 November in line with the theme of the 33rd World Cooperative Congress, ‘Deepening the Cooperative Identity'. The ICA-AP office reached out to experts in the region to get their perspectives on how they see the SCI applied in practice, areas where it has worked and places where it needs improvement. It carried the perspectives of
(a) Prof. Akira Kurimoto, Former Chairperson of the ICA-AP Research Committee on Deepening cooperative identity in Asia and Pacific, that linked the global issues we face with the SCI
(b) Mr. Gary Cronan, Strategist and Researcher from Australia on Cooperative Size and Identity, arguing that size of cooperatives is a big determinant in how Cooperative Identity is practiced and how the cooperative movements are shaped
(c) Mr. Bhima Subrahmanyam, Chairperson of the International Cooperative Banking Association, analysed Cooperative Identity and the banking sector in light of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020 and the Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the 97th Constitution Amendment Act 2011
(d) Ms. Parinaz Asareh, a young cooperator from Iran focused on Cooperative Principles and Values: Impact on Youth and how we can create awareness and encourage youth to participate in the cooperative movement
(e) Ms. Mirai Chatterjee, Chairperson of SEWA Cooperative Federation, India spoke on how SEWA promotes the SCI among the informal women workers (IWW) and helps them internalise it, and
(f) Ms. Juhee Lee from the SAPENet Development Center, iCOOP, Korea about the Intersection of Legal Frameworks for SSE and Cooperatives in light of the ongoing efforts to pass the Framework Act on SSE ; the differences between the proposed Act and the 2012 Framework Act on Cooperatives, and iCOOP’s position.
This first issue is now available in three languages – English, Hindi, and Arabic.
Interview with Ms. Juhee Lee from the SAPENet Development Center, iCOOP, Korea for COOP Dialogue