Dear Cooperators,

Greetings from the ICA-Asia and Pacific.

It is with great happiness and pride that I write to inform you about 50th anniversary of the office of ICA in New Delhi. This office was first set up as ICA Regional Office & Education Centre for South East Asia on 14th November 1960 that gradually evolved as full fledged office of ICA known as ICA-Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP). The office of ICA was inaugurated in November 1960 by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.

The year 2010 marks completion of 50 years of ICA in Asia-Pacific region and there is every reason to celebrate the history and glory of ICA-AP that has been serving the cooperative members in the biggest and most vibrant region of the world. There would not be a better way to unravel the contributions made by the ICA during last 50 years in this region than releasing a Book containing salient features of ICA’s evolution to present form.

It is my keen desire to capture this historic occasion as a launching pad for spreading awareness about the relevance and significance of cooperatives in general and UN Year of Cooperatives-2012 in particular.

It is proposed to start 50th anniversary celebrations at the 9th Regional Assembly of ICA-AP in Beijing in China. It is also being thought to have a special session to mark the beginning of the celebrations at the opening of the Regional Assembly. The culmination of anniversary celebrations will be at the 2nd ICA Expo in Bangalore (India) in December 2010. ICA will also hold special event in New Delhi in November 2010 in conjunction with the celebrations
of Indian cooperative week from 14th to 21st November 2010 to mark the occasion. The particulars about theme, venue and timings of various events in this context will be communicated to you fairly in advance so that you could plan your participation in all these
occasions marking 50th Anniversary of ICA-Asia and Pacific.

Looking forward to receiving your support and assuring you our continued cooperation,
I remain,

Yours cooperatively,
Chan Ho CHOI
Regional Director