The ICA Global Conference on ‘Putting People Center of Development’ organized two sessions pertaining to co-operative law titled ‘Enabling Environment for Co-operatives: Where are we now? (Enabling Environment) focussed on co-operative law, chaired by Dr. Dante Cracogna from the Argentinian Co-operative Law Committee; and on Co-operatives and Future of Work (FoW), on November 16, 2017, chaired by Dr. Sethu Madhavan representing the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Societies, India.
Prof. Hagen Henrÿ, Chair of the ICA Co-operative Law Committee gave the key note address on Enabling environment where he cited that Sustainable Development has been a matter of public international law since the Rio conference in the 1990s. Ms. Ilana Gotz, Researcher from the European Research Institute on Co-operatives and Social Economy Enterprises (EURICSE) gave an overview of the methodology designed for the Legal Framework Analysis to be undertaken globally by ICA offices under the ICA-EU partnership on co-operatives in development. A panel discussion on co-operative laws of select nations followed the presentation of Ms. Gotz with brief status reports from, Ms. Caroline Naëtt from Coop FR and ICA Law committee member from India Dr. Bhagwati Prasad gave an update on the 97th Constitutional Law amendment that makes establishing co-operatives a basic civil right in India. The session was closed with an introduction of www.cooplex.coop, a social law-led networking website that was developed by ICA in collaboration with the FAO.
Mr. Vic Van Vuuren, Director of the Enterprise Department of the ILO delivered the key note address during the FoW session. The session centred on the role of co-operatives as people-focussed businesses and the impact they’re having on the nature of employment. The concept of work in co-operatives is distinct and the session aspired to know more on the subject matter in terms of formalizing economic sectors and guaranteeing rights to workers. Perspectives on the FoW were delivered by Mr. Bruno Roelants, Secretary General CICOPA, Ms. Donna DIzon, Executive Director, CLIMBS Institute, Philippines and Mr. Osamu Nakano of the Japanese Workers Co-operative Union.
