People’s Economic Forum (PEF) 2022, the annual conference organized by SANASA International   was  held on 26th August at Colombo Hilton, with the attendance of  people representing public, private and the cooperative sectors.
 

The very first event (PEF 2021 - People’s Economic Forum 2021 - SANASA International) was attended by 80 delegates, comprising of cooperative leaders,  policy makers, service providers, researchers, and national authorities. The conference deliberated on the best practices, innovative approaches, and policy issues to develop the cooperative sector in Sri Lanka.

The theme for PEF 2022 was “Building an Inclusive Economy,” and aimed to:
 

• Raise awareness on the scale, scope, role and influence of the cooperative sector in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Sri Lanka. 
• Engage policy makers proactively to identify concrete policy recommendations and make the required changes in the governance and regulatory frameworks to facilitate an enabling environment for cooperative enterprises.
• Reach consensus on actions enabling the trans-boundary cooperation needed to position the cooperative sector as a means to achieving a people centric development that can create sustainable solutions to small holder farmers and small income holder consumers.

As the convener of the conference, Ms. Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Managing Director of SANASA International highlighted the importance of engaging with and including the micro/small entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers when designing national economic policies of a country. She noted that cooperatives and social enterprises have been critical in playing this role and the objective of the conference is to highlight the contribution and the potential of this sector to the researchers, development drivers and policymakers.

Dr. Wagisha Gunasekera, the Chief Economist of the United Nations Development Fund, in his keynote address, stated that building an inclusive economy requires a change in the entire thinking process of the nation. She explained how nations can flourish with strategic long-term planning, and elaborated further with examples from countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Dr. P.A Kiriwandeniya, the leader of the SANASA movement presented to the audience the contribution of the cooperative sector to the development of the rural economy over the past 100 years. He stated that the cooperatives cannot and should not be ignored in the national planning and that the cooperatives should be facilitated to play a better role by the regulators and policymakers.

Mr. Sarath Weerasiri, the chairman of the National Cooperative Council of Sri Lanka stressed the need for cooperative law reforms as the existing law has not been changed in over five decades. The Cooperative Commissioner, Mr. Keerti Gamage in his message, recognized the cooperative sector as a sleeping giant. He stated that many new reforms and changes will happen soon to support the cooperative sector play a better and bigger role.

Mr. Balu Iyer, Regional Director, ICA-AP addressed the conference and noted that cooperative enterprises are of utmost importance in rebuilding nations after the financial crisis and that International Cooperative Alliance will continue to support the Sri Lankan cooperative sector in the efforts they have taken to rebuild the economy.

Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, the Chairman of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement shared the problems Sri Lankan community is facing in the health sector and the critical challenges that need to be tackled as a country amidst the economic crisis. He insisted on the importance of addressing the governance issue while coming up with solutions in the citizen’s space.

Mr. Sudha Karan from Northern Cooperative Development Bank, Mr. Upali Herath, former Regional Advisor on HRD and Consumer Cooperation at the ICA Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific, Mr. Navindra Liyanarachchi, MD of SLIN, Dr. Ahilan Kadiragamar from Jaffna University, Mr. Ubert Boirard from International Fund for Agriculture development and Ms. Lany Rebagay from Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Agriculture also addressed the conference and delivered their messages on building an inclusive economy.

The conference ended with a promise to collaborate for a better and a bigger mission that can support the nation come out from the impasse and move to a better destination.