The ‘ASEAN Co-operative Development Meeting’(CDM) was organized by the ICA-EU Partnership on Co-operatives in Development: People Centered Businesses in Action (#Coops4Dev), along with the co-operative movement in the Philippines represented through the Philippines Co-operative Center(PCC) from September 6-7, 2017 at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila, The Philippines. The meeting was organized to build strategic partnerships on development in the sub region represented by ASEAN member states.
This CDM was a platform for co-operative development actors to coordinate, enhance and broaden their work towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The focus areas for the meeting were Agriculture, Financial Inclusion and Partnerships. In particular, the emphasis was on three of the seventeen global goals – (1) No poverty; (2) Zero Hunger and (3) Partnerships.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Alliance members in the ASEAN, governments, and local & international development agencies with the objectives to: trigger potential synergies in development cooperation & build partnerships, strengthen regional cooperation and develop a co-operative development platform, and tackle priorities, policies and specificities affecting co-operatives. The meeting approach was four pronged: Inform – Engage – Build – Commit.
The almost two-day meeting saw presentations from ICA-AP members in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. There were presentations made by experts from Asiadharra, the Office of ASEAN Affairs, University of Asia and Pacific, the Co-operative Development Authority, WeEffect, ILO and the National Economic Development authority of Philippines. By way of presentations and group discussions, the aim was also to enhance capacities on monitoring, measuring and reporting on the contribution of co-operatives to the SDGs (via platforms such as www.coopsfor2030.coop and the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It helped the participants get a better understanding of the current challenges and opportunities in regional groupings of nations and co-operative movements, in terms of the formation of an effective regional co-operative development network and contribute toward the targets of the SDGs, particularly goal number 17 – Partnership for the Goals.
The meeting was concluded with a visit to the San Dionisio Credit Co-operative in Manila.
