On 21 September, the ICA-AP Committee on Cooperatives in Educational Institutions (ICEI), ICA-AP Committee on Consumer Cooperation and ANGKASA, Malaysia organized a virtual roundtable conference on “Cooperative Identity in Practice and Road Ahead for Cooperation”. It was attended by 85 participants from 18 countries in Asia and Africa.
The conference aimed to enhance collaboration between the regional committees of ICA-AP, deepen understanding of Cooperative Identity, and find ways to encourage "Cooperation among Cooperatives" (Principle 6) especially between cooperatives in educational institutions and consumer cooperatives.
In the opening session, Datuk Seri Dr. Abdul Fattah Hj. Abdullah, Vice-President of ICA-AP, and President, ANGKASA, Malaysia delivered a special message in which he said, “We are witnessing growing inequality across the globe in the aftermath of the pandemic and the effects of climate change is resulting in shortage of food supply. The need for cooperatives has never been greater. Cooperative movement possesses an amazing record of working together to transform people’s lives. Learning from our past, practicing our cooperative identity and applying our principles and values will be the best solution for the sustainable future ahead of us.” He concluded by complimenting the ICA-AP Office for bringing the Committees to work together to build capacities of members.
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In the first part of the conference, there was a virtual tour of the Rochdale Pioneers Museum, UK. It showed the birthplace of cooperative movement and how it spread across the whole world. In 1844, during Industrial Revolution, there was inadequate housing, high prices of food , and poor working conditions for workers in the town of Rochdale. To tackle these problems, 28 artisans working in cotton mills established the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, the first modern cooperative. They started selling essential items and established the basic rules, which eventually became cooperative principles as we know today.
After the video, Mr. Balasubramanian (Balu) Iyer, Regional Director of ICA-AP commented on the video. He thanked the organizers of the conference and said that it was the first time for he watched the video and suggested that every cooperator must watch it once. He noted that the issues, as in 1844, are still seen today - inequality, unstable economy, inadequate housing, and high price of commodities. Cooperatives are still needed and relevant today. He added that the video showed the importance of federating cooperatives, because by coming together, they can bring scale and make the lives of members better. In addition, if cooperatives exemplify cooperative values, they can attract many young people and gain respect of government and public.
In the open forum, Mr. Aung John Bo, General Manager of Central Cooperative Society Limited (CCS) in Myanmar explained about the history of Myanmar’s cooperative movement. It was started in 1904-1905 when the first agricultural credit cooperative was established. Even though, consumer or trading cooperatives in Myanmar are small in number (33 stores), they sell basic commodities such as rice and oil to local people and provide credit facilities to support poor people with purchases.
Mr. Sunil Silva, Senior Consultant of Matara District Cooperative Hospital Society Ltd in Sri Lanka said that in 1936 the Cooperative Services Hospital Society was initiated at Moolai, Sri Lanka which then spread to different regions. The aim was to provide services to rural poor people. When the huge tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004, cooperatives from around the world including Japan gave support to Sri Lankan cooperatives and these have grown big today.
Mr. Elbart Vingwe, Chairperson of Zimbabwe National Co-operative Federation explained that cooperative movement in Zimbabwe started in 1982 when 22 retired veterans of Zimbabwe’s war of liberation, bought a collective cooperative farm. These members, using this experience, then went on to form their own cooperatives. The movement grew from district level to province and finally reached the national level. Members and small cooperatives come together to give their voice to government and help support each other.
In the second part, there was a video presentation on, ‘Cooperative Identity in practice: Case study of cooperatives in educational institutions in Malaysia.’ The video provided an overview of cooperatives in school and university cooperatives in Malaysia, their structure, role played by faculty and teachers in training youth on cooperative businesses, different types of entrepreneurial initiatives taken by youth on campuses (salon services, mobile and computer repair services, guesthouses, cloth retail stores, etc.) and eco-friendly activities taken by youth.
This was followed by a discussion by Mr. Ichiro Nakamori, ICEI Vice-Chairperson and MD and CEO of National Federation of University Cooperative Associations (NFUCA), Japan. Mr. Nakamori talked about Cooperative Principle 6: Cooperation among Cooperatives in practice in the context of Japan. He highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on university cooperatives in Japan and how local consumer cooperatives provided them support. During the pandemic, university cooperatives were not functional because universities were shut and classes had shifted online. At this time, local consumer cooperatives provided employment opportunities to the staff of university cooperatives to ensure they did not lose their jobs and income. Some local consumer cooperatives provided groceries to university cooperative cafeterias that helped them prepared food at special prices for students.
Dr. Sifa Chiyoge, Regional Director of ICA Africa noted that she found the sessions very useful and thanked the organizers for inviting cooperatives from Africa. She added that school cooperatives are most active in Eswatini and presentations from Malaysia and Japan could help them take new initiatives. Prof. Razali Bin Hassan from UTHM Cooperative ltd., Malaysia noted that school and university cooperatives help build leadership in youth, promote integrity and trust among them, and give them practical training on cooperation. Participants also reflected on potential internship/ apprenticeship programs between consumer cooperatives and cooperatives in educational institutions within a country, seconding of staff in international consumer retails stores, and importance of working together and not in silos.
Dr. Mohd. Azlan Yahya, ICEI Chairperson and Board Member of ANGKASA thanked the distinguished guests, participants and Secretaries of both Committees for their active participation and support. He noted that cooperation between consumer cooperatives and cooperatives in educational institutions is important. He appreciated the examples presented from Japan and suggestions from the audience.
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