ICA-AP Regional Assembly
The planning for the Regional Assembly related events are well underway. We encourage members to register at http://newdelhi2016.coop as soon as possible for the Assembly and also book their accommodation at the conference hotels. November is a busy tourist season and hotels will be hard to come by. We have rooms blocked at Hotel Ashok and Hotel for a limited period of time; please avail of this opportunity at the earliest.
Highlights from some ICA-AP committee events
Women Forum
The theme of the forum is: ‘Women in Co-operatives: The Power to Act for a Sustainable Future.’ By 2030, India will have the largest working age population in the world and possibly the youngest population too. However, India needs to do more to engage its working-age population in productive labor, especially women, who constitute nearly half of the work force, but represent only 21 percent of the participating labor force. Working women in India tend to be grouped in certain industries and occupations, such as basic agriculture, informal services, sales, and handloom and handicraft manufacturing. These sectors are where cooperatives exist in large numbers. Even here, participation of women is low due to socio-economic and cultural constraints. Women farmers, producers and workers end up in lower-paid and less-responsible positions than their abilities would otherwise allow them are often deprived of services and other benefits provided by a co-operative. The Data Study commissioned by ICA-AP in 2015 shows that while there is an overall improvement in women’s participation in cooperative; there is still significant distance to cover in terms of quantitative and qualitative participation. The study also showed that there is negligible number of women leaders and managers although at the support staff level their number is 30% or more. ICA-AP has introduced various platforms and instruments to address the issues surrounding women empowerment, gender mainstreaming and gender equality in cooperatives. The biennial Regional Women Forum is one such platform to bring women and men cooperators together to review the situation, address issues and identify challenges and opportunity in achieving the goal of gender equality.
9th Cooperative Forum
The Cooperative Forum is a biennial event organized by ICA-AP in conjunction with the Regional Assembly. The Forum brings together all stakeholders to assess progress, discuss challenges and arrive at decisions to strengthen cooperative enterprises as models of sustainable development. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes cooperatives as an important vehicle in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The theme for this year’s International Co-operative Day was, ‘Co-operatives: The power to act for a sustainable future.’ Co-operatives are important partners to achieve the SDGs, because they foster democracy, practice social inclusion and operate with concern for the environment, all while having a significant economic impact on the world economy. This year’s Cooperative Forum is dedicated to highlight the role cooperatives in the Asia Pacific region play in implementing SDGs and their role as builders of sustainability.
Workshop on University/Campus Co-operatives in SAARC ++ during the Assembly
A one day workshop on Positioning University/Campus Co-operatives in the context of the SDGs will be organized by the ICA-AP Committee on University/Campus Co-operatives (ICUC) in collaboration with the National Co-operative Union of India, on 16 November 2016 at Hotel Ashok, the venue of the 12th ICA-AP Regional Assembly in New Delhi. Although the workshop will focus on promoting university/campus co-operatives in the SAARC region, it shall also see technical exchange of relevant information and knowledge from countries such as Japan, Republic of Korea and Malaysia among others. This workshop is a follow-up from the first SAARC sub regional workshop held during 2011 at Mangalore University, India. The Objectives of the workshop are to understand the establishment and functions of university/campus co-operatives; identify the contribution and share experiences of university/campus co-operatives; explore legal and procedural issues related to the operation of university/campus co-operatives and to prepare action plans to promote university/campus co-operatives in the SAARC region. To participate in the workshop, please write to Dr. Yashvantha Dongre, Co-Secretary, ICUC at ydongre@gmail.com or Mr. P. Santosh Kumar, Secretary, ICUC at santosh.kumar@icaap.coop
Knowledge Sharing Seminar on Workers Co-operatives
The ICA-AP and the EU Project on Co-operatives in Development – People centered businesses in action- along with key stakeholders from the India labour co-operative collaborated to organize a meeting on collective entrepreneurship in Kozhikode, Kerala in August 2016. Following this up and to take concrete steps to promote industrial and service co-operatives at the regional level, ICA-AP and CICOPA will organize a Half-day workshop on 16 November (1400hrs onwards) aimed to introduce the reality of industrial and service cooperatives in and around the Asia-Pacific region, and to address the issue of why it is strategically important today to promote them in the context of advancing sustainable jobs, entrepreneurship and the economy, as well as local and regional development. The workshop aims to examine the main instruments to develop industrial and service cooperatives, especially in their SME dimension, including targeted training, advisory services and financial instruments, cooperative groups, and targeted legislation and public policies. It is foreseen that participants will discuss about the strategies for developing industrial and service cooperatives in the region, including the creation of CICOPA regional network as a possible step. To participate in the workshop, please write to Mr. P. Santosh Kumar at santosh.kumar@icaap.coop or to Mr. Hyungsik Eum at eum@cicopa.coop
Joint seminar of ICA-AP and ICA-AP Consumer Committee Sustainable Supply Chain and Fairtrade
ICA-AP and ICA-AP Consumer Committee will organize a joint seminar on, “Sustainable Supply Chain and Fairtrade,” on November 16, 2016. In our globalized society, “Supply Chains” have become longer and complex, and involve large number of people in dispersed locations. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 453 million people were engaged in global supply chain-related activities in 2013 (ILO,2016). While global supply chains have created access for employment and opportunities to move upthe value chain; they have also resulted in violation of labor standards, harm to the environment, and in some instances human rights abuse (Human Rights Watch,2016). As cooperatives we need to ensure there is transparency in the supply chain, respect forhuman rights, equity among stakeholders and concern for the environment. These issuesresonate with the “Guidance Notes on Co-operative Principles” and are in line with cooperatives ideas of “Fairtrade” and “Coop-2-Coop Trade.” The adherence will benefit both the producer cooperatives, supplier cooperatives and purchaser cooperatives.
This seminar is relevant to all forms of co-op business as there is alignment to supply chainsand all delegatesare invited to join the seminar as it will provide an opportunity to learn,discuss and see how to commit to sustainablesupply chain. Please contact Ms. Yuki Nishimoto ( yuki.nishimoto@icaap.coop) for further details.
