Women's Committee Office Bearers meet in India at ICA Asia-Pacific

On January 23, the officially elected Office Bearers of the ICA-AP Subcommittee on Women met in person for the first time in the ICA-AP Regional Office in New Delhi. Ms. Takako Tsuchiya of the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union's International Department accompanied Ms. Chitose Arai, chairperson, and Ms. Priti Patel, vice chairperson (JCCU).

The in-person meeting provided the Elected Members and Panel Secretary Ms. Simren Singh representing ICA-AP with a wonderful opportunity to talk about the activity plan for 2023.

The Committee will reach a significant milestone in 2023 as it accomplishes 25 years since its founding in 1998. On September 19 and 20, 2023, in Tokyo, the Committee will host a celebratory event to remember the historic occasion in association with JCCU.

The Committee on Women, one of the ICA-most AP's active committees, has gone a long way since its founding in 1998 with the goal of promoting women's inclusion and engagement in cooperatives. Since then, a range of initiatives and programmes have been launched to meet the changing requirements of cooperative women.

The meeting's Office Bearers discussed the Committee's main areas of focus over the years and clarified four main categories under which the Committee's work is categorized: 1) Economic emancipation 2) Social emancipation 3. Information, instruction, and training; 4. Solidarity Using these four areas, the Committee will publish its new plan and action plans for this year.

The Committee will begin its work in March with a web-based celebration of International Women's Day. On March 7, it will host a virtual lecture with the topic "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality." The Committee and the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Philippines, partnered for a four-year project last year called "Capacity Building Programme for Women Collaborators on Climate Change and Action in Asia and Pacific."

Support role in climate action in accordance with ICA-strategic AP's objective, "Strengthen cooperatives as business companies and development actors," and its pillar, "Sustainable Development." Up to 2025, the partnership will provide theme training for trainers on this topic with an emphasis on creating training materials on changing climate and action. In May 2023, the handbook will undergo a pilot test in one of the Committee's member nations.

The Office Bearers also took advantage of this chance to connect with Mr. Dileep Sanghani, President of the National Cooperative Union of India, and the ICA-AP staff (NCUI). According to a statement from ICA-AP, the Cabinet Members attended the Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd. (KRIBHCO) and met Dr. Chandrapal Singh Yadav, President, of ICA-AP, who praised the Committee's efforts in its work on gender inclusion and equality in cooperatives and offered congratulations on the Committee's silver jubilee year.