The National Cooperative Federation of Nepal (NCF/N), organized a National Workshop on the theme "Co-operatives for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" on the occasion of its 60th National Cooperative Day on April 1, 2017. About 350 cooperators, government officials, board and staff of various national federations participated in the workshop where two papers were presented regarding the SDGs and the role and space of cooperatives. The workshop was attended by the Minister of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Mr. Hridaya Ram Thani and the Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Rajendra Kishor Kshetri. Minister Mr. Thani, emphasizing the role of co-operatives said that cooperatives are the only agency that has reached to the grassroots levels of Nepal; he believed that co-operatives are the major actor to achieve the SDGs and to alleviate poverty.
The Regional Coordinator, Local Governance and Community Development Program (LGCDP) of UNDP, Mr. Puspa Basnet presented a paper on "Sustainable Development Goals and Role of Cooperatives to achieve it." He mentioned the seventeen goals in the SDGs and working areas for co-operatives to achieve the SDGs. The second paper titled, "Cooperatives for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Prospects, Challenges and Aspects to be Improved" was presented by Dr. Hari Krishna Upadhyay, Advisor of NCF/N and Chairman of CEAPRED. He pointed out that co-operatives can directly contribute to achieving almost all the goals of SDGs, except goals 3, 4, 13 and 15. He stated some of the challenges in front of cooperatives like - policy, law and bureaucratic, structural and technological and of adaptability in a changing scenario. Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, former Governor and VC of National Planning Commission in his speech said that no one should be left behind is the main aim of SDGs. Cooperation, a form of social capital is the base of prosperity, and is found only in cooperatives. He emphasized on mutual collaboration between the banking and the cooperative sector and the need to build a bridge between them to utilize the resources deposited in cooperatives. Six million individual members of co-operatives can't be compared with non-government organizations, he concluded.
The District Cooperative Unions of all over the country also observed the 60th National Cooperative Day with various activities such as Bagmati river cleaning program, workshops, debate on theme, exhibition, distribution of cloths and food items for senior citizens, plantation, rally etc. The excellent cooperative award for successful cooperative union and excellent cooperative business awards for cooperative societies for the year 2016 were also announced on the program.
