Held alongside the 17th ICA-AP Regional Assembly in Colombo, the 12th Asia Pacific Cooperative Forum brought together cooperative leaders, policymakers, researchers, and communication practitioners to reflect on how cooperatives can build a fairer and more sustainable future under the theme, “Cooperatives Build a Better World: Strengthening Resilience, Sustaining Investment, and Smart Communication.”

Opening Plenary, Cooperatives as Catalysts for a Better Future

The Opening Plenary set the tone for both the Regional Assembly and the Cooperative Forum and created a bridge towards IYC 2025. Chaired by Mr. Jeroen Douglas, Director General, International Cooperative Alliance, the discussion moved across countries and sectors, yet kept returning to a shared concern, how to address informality, inequality and climate risks without losing sight of people and communities.

Ms. Joni Simpson, Director, ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, drew on the reality of highly informal economies to show why strong cooperatives are essential for workers and communities who are otherwise left without security or voice. Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Noor Azlan bin Ghazali, Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institut Pembangunan & Kermajuan Inklusif Malaysia (MINDA UKM), invited participants to move away from one size fits all policies and to see cooperatives as a way to match local problems with local solutions so that growth becomes genuinely inclusive.

From Sri Lanka, Ms. Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Managing Director, SANASA International, reflected on five decades of community owned finance that have brought members into the heart of markets rather than leaving them at the margins. From India, Mr. K. J. Patel, Managing Director, Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO), shared how investments in nano fertilisers, including nano urea, are helping to tackle climate change, protect health, support farmers and keep soils alive. Taken together, the plenary conversations confirmed that cooperatives are not a side story, they are central to economic democracy, social inclusion and sustainable development in the region.

Parallel Session 1: Tackling the Cooperative Capital Conundrum with Resilient Financing

In the first parallel session, chaired by Mr. Balasubramanian (Balu) Iyer, Regional Director, International Cooperative Alliance, Asia and Pacific, participants turned to the question of capital, how to finance cooperative ambition without compromising cooperative values. The discussion moved easily between climate risks, regulatory frameworks and ownership transitions, and showed that finance is as much about power and purpose as it is about numbers.

Speaking from the experience of Sri Lanka and the wider region, Ms. Anitha Munasinghe, Country Manager of Solidaridad Network in Sri Lanka, described how smallholder farmers are on the frontline of climate change yet often receive the least support. She highlighted concrete points in agricultural value chains where blended and climate-aligned finance can help cooperatives strengthen productivity and market access. Building on this, Mr. Satish Marathe, Director, Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India and Board Member, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), India, outlined how modernization funds, refinancing mechanisms and green finance initiatives are beginning to open new space for cooperative finance in India, provided cooperatives are ready to adapt and invest in their own systems.

Prof. Sidsel Grimstad, Leading Academic in Cooperative Studies, Mutual Enterprises and Sustainable Housing, Australia, brought in stories of worker buyouts, community energy projects and other democratic enterprises that have preserved jobs and kept ownership rooted in communities at moments when conventional businesses might have closed or been sold. By the end of the session, the so-called capital conundrum appeared less as a barrier and more as an invitation, to design blended finance, community shareholding and cooperative mutual funds that keep capital serving people and communities rather than the other way round.

Parallel Session 2: Framing Cooperative Prosperity Through Progressive Policy

The second parallel session, chaired by Prof. Ann Apps, Lecturer, University of Newcastle, Australia, shifted the focus to law and public policy, and how they shape the space in which cooperatives operate. Rather than treating policy as a distant backdrop, the conversation treated it as something lived, negotiated and constantly evolving.

Mr. Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Managing Director, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), India, spoke about India’s renewed commitment to cooperatives and the growing recognition that cooperative friendly investment, digitalisation and capacity building are essential if the sector is to thrive. He pointed to the potential of coordinated public support when it is grounded in cooperative realities. Adding perspectives from West Asia and Sri Lanka, Mr. Abdelfattah M. Q. Al Shalabi, Director General, Jordan Cooperative Corporation (JCC), and Mr. Upali Herath, Cooperative Leader, Sri Lanka, reflected on legal recognition, regulatory reform, and the delicate task of safeguarding cooperative identity while still allowing experimentation and innovation.

Across the discussion, a common thread emerged: progressive policy is not only about passing laws, but it is also about ensuring fairer access to capital and markets, investing in skills for youth and women, and holding on to human values and social responsibility as guiding principles. Policy, in this sense, is not just a framework around cooperatives; it is a decisive driver of cooperative prosperity and inclusive governance.

Parallel Session 3: We are COOPs, Storytelling, Branding and Communication for Cooperatives

The third parallel session turned to communication, and to the stories that make cooperative work visible. Facilitated by Ms. Shivali Sarna, Lead, Communication and Membership Development, ICA-AP, and Mr. Jay-vee Marasigan Pangan, Multimedia Journalist and Educator, Philippines, the conversation moved between lived experience, campaign strategy, and brand practice.

Through the journey of Ms. Sabiya Shahul Hameed, Member, Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam Cooperative, India, participants met a women’s auto rickshaw collective in Chennai that is claiming space and dignity in a male-dominated transport sector. Her story showed how a cooperative can change both livelihoods and public perception. Ms. Gurpreet K. Bhatia, Regional Communications Director for Asia, Heifer International, then took participants behind the scenes of the Seeding Strength campaign, illustrating how structured, visual storytelling, backed by strong partnerships, can give farmer cooperatives visibility and voice across the region.

In the fireside conversation that followed, Ms. Gelizabeth Cabuhat, Vice Chairperson, ICA Asia and Pacific Youth Committee and Sales and Marketing Head for Visayas at 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines Life and General Insurance (1CISP), Mr. S. Swaminathan, Communications Professional and Livelihoods and Collective Enterprise Consultant, India, and Mr. Tony Lim, Chairperson, Love Empowered Cooperative Limited, Singapore, reflected on brand as daily practice. For them, a brand is not a logo but a clear narrative, a consistent tone and behavior that reflects cooperative values on every platform, from community meetings to digital channels. The session closed with a call to invest in communication frameworks, content calendars, youth centred channels, the skills and budgets needed to sustain them, and with a reminder that if cooperatives want to build a better world, they must keep telling their stories honestly and consistently.

Looking Ahead

Across the Opening Plenary and the three parallel sessions on finance, policy and communication, a shared picture took shape, cooperatives are already demonstrating practical pathways to resilience, inclusion and climate action. As the movement looks toward the culmination of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 and beyond, the Cooperative Forum in Colombo has helped sharpen both the questions and the tools needed to ensure that cooperatives remain catalysts for a better future in Asia and the Pacific.