Dear cooperators in Asia and Pacific and around the world,
With great sadness, we are mourning for the departure of ICA President, Mr. Ivano Barberini on May 6, 2009. Over 40 years, Mr. Barberini had dedicated his passion, energy and life to the development of Italian and global cooperative movement, promoting cooperative values and principles and encouraging collaboration among cooperatives. He was the pillar of the global cooperative movement, winning all our respects with his kindness, generosity, knowledge and devotion, and his passing is a huge loss to all cooperators around the world. We share our heartfelt grief and deepest sympathy with his family and Italian cooperatives.
– Li Chungsheng,
President, ICA Asia Pacific


Mr. Ivano Barberini, born in Modena, Italy in 1939 was elected as ICA President by the General Assembly in Seoul in 2001 and re-elected unopposed in Cartagena for second term until November 2009.
Mr. Barberini had begun his co-operative career in the consumer co-operative sector and had held the position of President of Legacoop from 1996 to 2002, a multi-sectoral organization which represents over 10,000 co-operatives with more than 5 million members. During this period, Italian consumer co-operatives went from a marginal to a leading position in the market, growing from 12,000 to 40,000 workers and from 800,000 to 4 million members.
Mr. Barberini was instrumental in promoting the restructuring of ICA and catalyzing a big advertising campaign supporting Cooperative Identity and Policies.
Mr. Ivano Barberini was a very warm, friendly and amiable person. His sudden demise has left a deep void in the cooperative leadership and has caused irreparable damage to the cooperative movement of the world.

8th Ministers’ Conference on Co-operative Legislation & Policies,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2007)

…..The values underlying the formation of co-operatives make them as idealistic form of enterprises sensitive enough to respond positively or negatively to government support depending upon the legislation to regulate the co-operatives and the policy environment of the government fostering the growth of the co-operatives.

On the Asia Pacific Region…He said…“Governments particularly in Asian region have treated co-operatives as group of underprivileged population and overwhelmingly protected and supported the co-operatives. This overprotection while on one side gave a comparative advantage to the co-operatives but on the other side arrested the entrepreneurship and business acumen of the co-operatives resulting in sluggish and slower growth of co-operatives than the privately owned corporate houses.”

…the co-operatives while on one side have many comparative advantages to compete and grow but also suffer from the problem of skewed business acumen and poor management of operations restricting them to earn the best mileage out of cost & quality advantage with the co-operatives…

1st GCC Coop Forum Meeting, Dubai (2007)
There is a need of a comprehensive dialogue between the cooperative movements and the Governments in GCC region to ameliorate the prospects of cooperatives in this potential region.
Cooperatives are the most legitimate value driven community based enterprises and thus require a fair and preferential treatment over other forms of business organizations.

Co-operative–Government Dialogue, Abu Dhabi,UAE (2008)
…Co-operatives do have the flexibility to fit into any political system while reinforcing national commitments for equity, democracy and good governance…
…Co-operatives serve as a link between policy makers in government and the ultimate beneficiaries at the grassroots hence promoting social dialogue… One can turn towards forming cooperatives in order to overcome this problem of non-inclusiveness and to take the advantages of this high economic growth to other sections of the economy and society…
….. Many services are very costly to monitor but better controlled through internalized professional and ethical standards than formal monitoring mechanisms…
….It is increasingly recognized that a broader set of reforms is needed to sustain high-quality growth in a liberalized global environment. This set of reforms, referred to collectively as “second generation reforms”, require broader and collective participation of primary work force in the process of development…

ICA-AP Regional Assembly, Hanoi, Vietnam (2008)
“Time has come when we need to reassess the application and importance of co-operative ideology in shaping the economy of country in right proportion by serving the interests of millions of off stream target communities in various parts of the world…

“Cooperatives, in the era of globalization, ought to broaden their scope by venturing in non-conventional sectors together with the conventional ones so that the confidence could be built to handle both poverty and prosperity”
...Co-operatives need to show that they care for the individual client, customer, patron and what ever they deal with professionally...
No co-op could survive if it was not economically viable but no co-op would be worthy of the name if it did not also fulfill the expectations of their clients / customers and needs of their members.

Visit of Mr. Ivano Barberini, President, ICA to India
Mr. Ivano Barberini, President ICA together with his wife Mrs. Nerina Girbetini visited India from 8th to 12 February 2009 in response to the invitations extended by Hon’ble Captain Kanwal Jeet Singh, Cooperative Minister of Punjab, Government of Punjab to inaugurate the National Conference on Revival of Rural Cooperative Credit in India in Chandigarh on 9th February and Mr. G.D. Amin, President of National Cooperative Union of India to deliver Vaikunth Bhai Mehta Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on 12th February.
Mr. Barberini focused his speech on the role of financial institutions ... termed this economic crisis as the moral crisis of capitalism.

Last thoughts of Mr. Ivano Barberini on Co-operatives at the Vaikuntha Mehta Memorial Lecture organized by NCUI, India

Compiled by ICA Asia Pacific

Co-operators have known how to merge the ideal with the material and shown how from nothing – or almost nothing – is it possible to release a huge quantity of energy with collective effort and action that is able to produce great results. A cooperative originates from the convergence of economic, social, and cultural needs of members and not from the convergence of capital to serve the profit motives of the investors.
In today’s context, cooperative principles and values are key factors in building a corporate model focused on trust. Cooperative fundamentals lay down an important base but what is more important is to consistently put them into practice, establishing a long-term vision through day-to-day actions, making full use of our strengths and ability to change.
The creation and growth of financial companies is necessary, but in some cases, they can create imbalances and push economies towards a breaking point. Present economic crisis is the moral crisis of capitalism.
In facing the economic challenge, cooperatives have understood that they must be competitive with the best companies. This can be achieved if and when:
Long term vision is combined with a business strategy containing day-to-day common sense and competitiveness with a strong identity;
The organizational structure improves its efficiency and effectiveness;
Available human, financial, and social resources are optimal, managed professionally, and in the right balance.
Cooperatives can come out of the crisis stronger… provided that…
Co-ops can revitalize that passion and motivation to act inseparable notwithstanding the profile being a member, worker, manager or a facilitator...

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