Pragati Soni joined ICA-AP in August 2020 for a two-month internship. She shares her experience with the Regional Office in a candid post below:
Recently, I was selected for a 2-month research internship at ICA-AP region for August and September 2020. During this period, I got exposure to an altogether new concept of cooperatives which I just came across as a term during school days.
Under the leadership and mentoring of Ms Simren Singh, I explored and researched on youth cooperatives in Asia-Pacific and fisheries cooperatives in India. While researching and exploring the area of Cooperatives, I realised that awareness about cooperatives and its significance is still missing among the millennials. Lack of understanding and discussion about the same at the primary level of schooling is one of the major reasons why youth is not able to broaden their mindset and think of developing their careers in cooperatives.
The power and significance that cooperatives hold is visible through the success of Amul, a Dairy Cooperative. But as per my understanding and discussion with peers, the youth still considers cooperatives to be limited to agriculture and farming. It's high time that we undertake steps by introducing cooperative learning at the school level and motivate students to take these as their professional subjects during higher education degrees and PhD.
By raising awareness, encouraging participation, appreciating and recognising their efforts, we can help achieve the empowerment of cooperatives in our society and visualise the growing number of cooperatives at the national and international level.
