The 3rd annual review meeting of the ICA-EU partnership on Cooperatives in Development (#Coops4Dev) was hosted by the ICA Africa office at the Cooperative University of Kenya (CUK) in Nairobi from 4-8 March, 2019. The four day intensive review of year 3 of the partnership and planning year 4, was attended by more than 30 project staff members from all four ICA regional offices and the coordination unit. The meeting was facilitated by Forum for International Development and Partnership. The meeting was graced by the presence of Vice Chancellor for Academics Prof. Kamau Ngamau and was officially opened by Dr. Sifa Chiyoge, Regional Director of ICA Africa.
The meeting identified cross-regional collaborations, trainings for staff and members and joint events as tasks for year 4. Four major activities viz. Global Cooperative Entrepreneurship training, Global You Forum, Global Cooperative Investment fund and the ICA General Assembly and Conference emerged as key opportunities for cross regional collaborations, trainings and engagement with members. The meeting also resulted in creation of network groups, comprised of staff members across regions, to propel the preparation and execution of aforementioned activities. The network groups presented the plan for year 4 through a poster making exercise. key developments from year 3 included the advancement & completion of regional and global research themes, advocacy trainings for members, regional development networks and policy events. The Annual Review Meeting proved to be an important team building exercise to help gear up the implementation of the #coops4dev project in year 4.
