With just four months to go until the 2024 ICA Global Cooperative Conference, we are excited to share with you this month news of our first speakers, more about the conference theme - and a special interview with Dr US Awasthi. We also share details of a very special film screening that will take place during the conference, and information about registration discounts and bursary opportunities for youth delegates.

Interview: Dr US Awasthi

Dr Udai Shankar Awasthi is the Managing Director of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest fertiliser producer and marketer in India, and the biggest cooperative in the world by turnover on GDP per capita. IFFCO is hosting the ICA Global Conference, along with the ICA’s 18 members in India. Ahead of the event, we hear his thoughts on cooperatives, IFFCO's work and his hopes for #ICANewDelhi2024.

First speakers announced

We are excited to share the first wave of speakers for the conference! 

Francesca Ottolenghi: An expert in international cooperation, she is a Professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza; Chief of the International Relations, Sustainability and Cooperation and Equal Opportunity Offices of Legacoop; and Chair of the International Cooperative Development Platform (ICDP) Committee of the ICA.

Cory Efram Doctorow: Science fiction author, activist and journalist who was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2020.

Revant Himatsingka (popularly known as Food Pharmer): A food crusader who is on a mission to make 140 crore (1.4 billion) Indians become health literate. 

Dr Udai Shankar Awasthi: Managing Director of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest fertiliser producer and marketer in India. 

Visit the event website to read more about these and other speakers, including Vandana Shiva (environmental thinker, activist, philosopher, writer and policy advocate), António Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General), Doug O’Brien (CEO, NCBA-CLUSA), Roeland Monasch (CEO, Aflatoun), Rose Marley (CEO, Co-operatives UK) and more…
 

Conference film

India is a land of breathtaking natural beauty and cultural history - and to showcase this, the official conference video gives a glimpse of the geography, architecture and people that conference attendees will meet and experience.

Registration discount and bursaries for youth delegates

Did you know that younger delegates to #2024ICANewDelhi can benefit from a reduced registration fee? The Global Conference will also have a youth-oriented coop-a-thon and a Youth Leadership Exchange Program (YLEP)!

The reduced fee is just EUR 200 for those aged 35 or under as of 25 November 2024, and is an excellent way to enable your cooperatives to share this gathering with younger members and colleagues. Youth delegates are also eligible to apply for a bursary, which includes full or partial funding for a round-trip economy flight to/from New Delhi and shared lodging in a hostel. You can find out more about the reduced fee and bursary here.

During the Global Conference, the coop-a-thon and youth gathering will provide a space for participants to collectively hack cooperative solutions for challenges faced by small businesses and communities to help create the next generation of coops! And for those interested in learning more about cooperatives, the ICA Youth Committee is hosting a tailor-made study tour hosted by the National Cooperative Union of India as part of its YLEP. This will take place from 1-8 December, just after the Global Conference.

Remembering the original Rochdale Pioneers, and celebrating new ones

180 years ago, on 24 December 1844, a group of 28 working class men in Rochdale, Greater Manchester (UK), opened the doors of a shop that would launch the cooperative movement we know today. In 2012, their story was immortalised in The Rochdale Pioneers, a film, commissioned by The Co-operative Group and produced by the Co-operative British Youth Film Academy, released as part of the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, in 2012. As we look forward to the second UN IYC in 2025, attendees at the Global Conference will have the opportunity to watch a special screening as part of the celebrations in New Delhi.

The Rochdale Pioneers also lend their name to the prestigious ICA awards which recognise a person, or under special circumstances, a cooperative organisation having contributed to innovative and financially sustainable cooperative activities that have significantly benefited their membership. The inaugural recipient in 2021 was Dr Verghese Kurien, the Indian engineer who transformed the country’s milk industry by helping to establish rural dairy cooperatives. Nominations for the 2024 award are now open. Click here to find out more about nominations, the selection process, and past winners!

ICA Director General Jeroen Douglas Expands on Global Cooperative Conference Theme 2024

Do you have any questions? Meet our conference support team!