ICA-AP in collaboration with Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society Ltd (ULCCS) organized the Global Cooperative Entrepreneurs’ Training for Ambassadors (GCE ToA) from 25 to 28 November, 2019 at UL Cyber Park, Kozhikode, Kerala, India. 20 Participants from India and Indonesia attended the four-day training program which was co-funded by the ICA-EU Partnership on Co-operatives in Development-People Centred Business in Action.

Mr. Ivjyot Singh conducts a session with the GCE ambassadors.

The participants were welcomed by Mr. Rameshan Palery, Chairman ULCCS; Dr. Sethumadhavan, Director UL Education; Mr. Raveendran Kasthuri, Group CEO, ULCCS; Mr. Shaju S, Managing Director, ULCCS; and Ms. Anupa Sasi, Director ULCCS.

• Knowledge of Cooperatives- the ambassador is expected to have knowledge about cooperatives and its principles to conceptualize an enterprise model. With this knowledge they are in a better position to understand whether the cooperative model is right for their idea; if yes, they can then use this knowledge to get others on board. The session was conducted by Ms. Heira Hardiyanti, Member of Board of Directors, LSP21. 
• Mobilizing Youth- the amabassadors are expected to mobilize the youth aroud an idea/ issue while informing others about the distinctive features of cooperatives. The amabassadors are expected to conduct 'needs analysis' of the mobilized youth, find common need(s) around which an enterprise  can be set up. The session was conducted by Mr. Moosa Mehar, founder ThinkerHub, who used storytelling method to ecxplain the mobilization aspect. He encouraged the participants to tell their stories while interacting with youth as a collective.
• Business Model Canvas for Cooperatives- Once a common need has been identified, it is essential to set up an enterprise around it. The aim is to make the satisfaction of the common need a sustainable process. The session was conducted by Mr. Saji Gopinath who explained what it means to be an entrepreneur in the cooperative sector. The ambassadors were taken through the step-by-step process of the business model canvas tool.
• Support Structure of Cooperatives: the session covered the support structure needed to take forward the collective business idea. Mr. Sasikumar MV, Director of Instittue of Cooperative Management, Kannur talked about the need to contain the entropy of a cooperative while highlighting the institutional and enterprise side of a cooperative.
• Setting up a Cooperative: The final session of the training was to provide the ambassadors a glimpse of the 'legal requirements' to set up a cooperative. The focus was on Articles of Association (AoA) and the outputs generated from activties related to cooperative principles during the training were utilized to draft a very basic version of AoA. This session also included a brief discussion on the 'Knowledge Base' tool, to highlight the platform available for the mentors and ambassadors to pool knowledge and resources. This session was led by Mr. Ivjyot SIngh, Program officer, ICA-AP.
   

The closing ceremony was presided by Mr. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister of Cooperation, Tourism and Devaswom in the Govt. of Kerala. He praised the efforts to involve young people into the world of cooperatives.

 A detailed report of the GCE ToA will be covered in the next newsletter.