The ICA-AP Committee on Cooperatives in Educational Institutions (ICEI) convened its 17th Annual Statutory Meeting on 25 November 2025 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The meeting opened with remarks from Prof. Shogo Takegawa, Chairperson, ICEI and President of the National Federation of University Cooperatives Association (NFUCA, Japan), who welcomed all participants and emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperative education and youth engagement.

The agenda for the meeting was approved, followed by confirmation of the minutes from the 16th ICEI Annual Statutory Meeting held in November 2024 in New Delhi, India. New members and observers were introduced, each providing a brief self-introduction. Prof. Yashavantha Dongre, Co-Secretary, ICEI, presented the annual report, which highlighted the Committee’s activities in 2025 and provided updates on membership developments.

Members reviewed several key initiatives undertaken during the year. These included the ICA-AP Youth Committee’s visit to university cooperatives in Japan, which enhanced cooperation between youth committees and Japanese cooperative institutions; the visit of students from Gandhigram Rural Institute to ICA-AP, aimed at strengthening exposure to cooperative governance; and a special session organized by the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) on the role of global cooperatives in sustainable rural development. ICEI also hosted a webinar titled “From Campus to Community,” which brought together youth leaders from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and India. Another highlight was the NFUCA–KFUC Student Exchange Seminar held in Seoul, which continued to build strong ties between university cooperatives in Japan and Korea.

Following the activity updates, members presented country reports from Japan, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, sharing developments, challenges, and best practices from their respective contexts. The meeting further deliberated on the draft Activity Plan for 2026. Proposed activities include a webinar on digital innovations in cooperative education, a regional exchange seminar, a seminar on school cooperatives, a joint programme on cooperative tourism, a roundtable on embedding cooperative values in higher education curricula, a reels competition, contributions to the ICA-AP magazine COOP Dialogue for an upcoming thematic issue on education, and a snapshot focused on cooperatives in educational institutions.

The Philippines expressed willingness to host the next ICEI Annual Statutory Meeting and the Committee elections. Members also discussed the proposal for establishing a Cooperative Education Fund to support future initiatives.

Dr. Mallika Kumar from India was unanimously appointed as the Second Vice-Chairperson of the Committee. In their closing remarks, Prof. Yashavantha Dongre and Dato’ Kamarudin Ismail thanked members for their active participation and encouraged continued collaboration toward strengthening cooperative education in the Asia-Pacific region.