The 11th Regional Assembly of the ICA Asia and Pacific and 8th Co-operative Forum
Over 300 co-operators from the Asia Pacific region convened at the International Convention Centre in Bali for the 11th Regional Assembly and 8th Co-operative Forum. The biennial event, which took place on 16-20 September 2014, was jointly organised by the International Co-operative Alliance for the Asia-Pacific region and Dewan Koperasi Indonesia (Dekopin). The theme this year was Co-operatives Build a Sustainable Society.
Nine Sectoral and Thematic Committees of the Alliance’s Asia-Pacific regional organsiation held their annual meetings; in addition seminars and forums on co-operative research and gender equality in co-operatives were organised at the Assembly.
The 8th Co-operative Forum, attended by academics, international agencies, members of ICA and other co-operators passed the Bali Resolution on the role of co-operatives in Sustainable Development. The Resolution aims to help co-operatives play to an important role in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. The 8th Forum highlighted the significance of the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade, as a tool to achieve targets while reaffirming the Alliance’s Statement on Co-operative Identity. Participants agreed on the importance on collection of data and statistics from the co-operative movement and to position co-operatives as socially significant economic enterprises, in various national and international advocacy efforts. The Forum also stressed the relative inadequacy of enabling legal, policy and regulatory environment in the region for effective co-operative development. It was also resolved to initiate local and national level co-operative activities focused on achieving democratic sustainable development and representation of women, youth and other marginalised in society.
Dame Pauline Green, President of the Alliance, and Charles Gould, Director General along with Mr. Li Chunsheng, President of the Alliance’s Asia-Pacific regional organsiation, Mr. Balu Iyer, Regional Director of the Alliance’s Asia-Pacific regional organisation and the Alliance’s Asia-Pacific board and staff represented Alliance’s leadership and executive at the Assembly.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Syarifuddin Hasan, Minister of Co-operatives and SMEs of Indonesia, Mr. H.M. Nurdin Halid, President of DEKOPIN and Mr. Setyo Heryanto, Deputy Minister of Co-operatives and SMEs of Indonesia. All committees reported their activities and future plans to the Assembly, which concluded on 19 September, 2014. The Assembly The region's new website (www.ica-ap.coop) was also presented to the Assembly. The website is aimed at increasing communication of the regional office with its members and co-operatives. The launch took place during the Board meeting. Participants attending the Assembly made a study visit to a turtle conservation centre and released some in the sea. Participants also had the chance to find out about the locally devised irrigation system prevalent in agricultural co-operatives in Bali. The next Regional Assembly will be held in India in 2016.
Building a co-operative system in Laos
The International Co-operative Alliance for Asia and Pacific is organising a national conference in Vientiane, Laos, focused on building a co-operative system. The conference, hosted in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of Laos, will take place on 11-13 November.
Over the past decade, the Alliance has been engaging with MAF to enhance income of farmers by building the system of co-operative business. Throughout 2004-2009, the International Co-operative Alliance for Asia-Pacific has promoted a sustainable model of agricultural co-operatives, including training and workshops for women farmers. MAF officials and farmers have taken part in trainings on quality and safety management of farm products, women empowerment and leadership development.
In February 2012, Dr. Phouangparisak Pravongviengkham, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Government of Laos spoke at the International Co-operative Alliance for Asia and Pacific’s 9th Co-operative Ministers’ Conference in Thailand. He said that the government of Laos was committed to decentralisation of most development activities and has given high priority to growth of co-operatives in all sub sectors of the rural economy. The National Conference has been conceptualised to take forward this commitment to help Laos attain sustainable development by mobilising the rural economy through co-operatives. According to Balu Iyer, Regional Director of the International Co-operative Alliance for Asia-Pacific, “in addition to examining the state of legislation, the conference will look at linkages that can be developed to link producers and consumers". For example, hesays, "the Farmer Shop model developed in Thailand will show co-operators and government representatives in a co-operative nascent country the importance of a holistic approach rather than be segmented as producers and consumers.” Given the close linkage between Thailand and Laos, the audience will be able to better relate to experience sharing and presentations from Thailand.
The conference will bring together a wide range of experts from the Cooperative League of Thailand; International Labor Organization, Bangkok; the Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia, Japan; the Deutscher Genossenschafts-und Raiffeisenverband e. V (DGRV) and the Kasetsart University, Thailand.
