The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has confirmed the first speakers for its upcoming Global Conference and General Assembly.
Set for 25-30 November in New Delhi, India, the conference is expected to attract over 1,000 co-operative leaders and practitioners. In addition to exploring the theme of how co-operatives build prosperity for all, the conference will kick-off of the 2025 United Nations International Year of Cooperatives.
The event will feature keynote presentations from a range of speakers, including Indian scholar, author and activist Vandana Shiva and UN secretary-general António Guterres.
Participants will also hear from science fiction writer, activist and blogger Cory Efram Doctorow, who was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2020.
Joining the list of speakers are Francesca Ottolenghi, professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza and chief of the International Relations, Sustainability and Cooperation and Equal Opportunity Offices of Legacoop in Italy, and Revant Himatsingka, better known as Food Pharmer, a content creator on a mission to make 1.4 billion Indians health literate.
Related: Registration opens for ICA Global Conference and General Assembly
Other speakers include Doug O’Brien, CEO of US co-op apex NCBA-Clusa; Roeland Monasch, CEO of NGO Aflatoun; and Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK.
In addition to attending sessions and workshops, participants can visit local co-operatives and find out more about the Indian co-operative movement. Co-operative ways of organising in India such as village communities or informal mutual credit associations existed even before formal structures had emerged.
Related: UN holds event to discuss 2025 International Year of Cooperatives
Today India is home to 800,000 co-operatives, with a combined membership of 290 million, and 19 multi-state apex-level societies. The conference is hosted by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco), the largest fertiliser producer and marketer in India, and the 18 ICA member organisations in the country. Iffco’s managing director Dr Udai Shankar Awasthi will also address the conference, sharing lessons from the world’s largest co-operatives in terms of turnover/GDP per capita.
More information about the conference, including registration details, is available on the conference website.
