Asia is often seen as a growth center of world economy in the 21st century while the current geo-political tensions cast a shadow to its future sustainability. It has accepted the modern cooperation through the colonialization by the Western powers and the exchange of ideas on Rochdale and Raiffeisen models from the West while the top-down approach of the British-Indian Pattern of Cooperation was largely inherited by new independent states that have promoted cooperatives as an engine for the socio-economic development since 1946.
Asian cooperatives are characterized by their vast diversity reflecting on the different political and socio-economic background, the level of development, diverse historical path, dominant religion and ideology. They have developed the unique associational/business models, both top-down and bottom-up, demonstrating a variety of innovations despite the deeply rooted institutional obstacles in these decades. The Japanese and South Korean cooperatives have also developed unique models; multi-purpose agricultural cooperatives, consumer cooperatives driven by women and home delivery, health/welfare cooperatives seeking community-based integrated care, cooperative insurance and banks for ordinary people. The Indian cooperative generated the excellent models including the top-down IFFCO fertilized co-ops and the bottom-up Amul dairy co-ops and SEWA workers co-ops while credit unions are thriving bottom-up and trying to spin out other cooperatives in many countries in Asia. It is important to understand the Asian cooperative models by the analysis based on the different disciplines and make the meaningful international comparison between the Eastern and the Western cooperative models so that both can learn from each other.
We organize the international symposium aiming to contribute to the second International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025) and the worldwide consultation on the Cooperative Identity. We intend to follow up the historical Venice Conference as an all-star game centered on the West dedicated to the IYC2012 by expanding the scope of international exchange between the East and the West. It is also an occasion of launching the new publication of Exploring Asian Pacific Cooperatives in Theory and Practice.
Osaka is hosting the Osaka Expo till mid-October. It is widely known for delicious popular food often cited as a town of Kuidaore (overspending on gourmet cuisine) while it is accessible to Kyoto, a popular place known as a UNESCO’s world heritage by 30 minutes’ train ride. For those who wish to visit consumer, agricultural and health co-operatives in Osaka, the excursion is organized on October 18th. The conference is aimed at academics, researchers, cooperative practitioners and policy-makers from Asia and around the world.
Theme: Exploring the Eastern and the Western Cooperative models for Sustainable Future
Sub themes:
Registration and excursion fees are announced on the website.
Important dates
Host
Kansai University, JSCS and KSCS with support of ICA CCR and ICA-AP CCR
Organizing Committee (OC)
Takashi Sugimoto (Japanese Society for Cooperative Studies), Chair
Kim Hyung Mi (Korean Society for Cooperative Studies)
Cynthia Giagnocavo* (ICA CCR)
Yashavantha Dongre* (ICA AP CCR)
*ICA CCR (ICA Committee for Cooperative Research including regional committees)
Scientific Committee (SC)
Akira Kurimoto* (Japan Cooperative Alliance), Chair
Victor Pestoff (Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Sweden), Advisor
Morris Altman* (Dundee University, United Kingdom)
Piero Ammirato (Deakin University, Australia)
Ann Apps (Newcastle University, Australia)
Jos Bijman* (Wageningen University, Netherlands)
Yashavantha Dongre* (Chanakya University, India)
Maryline Filippi*(Bordeaux Sciences Agro, France)
Cynthia Giagnocavo* (Almeria University, Spain)
Sidsel Grimstad* (Griffith University, Australia)
Hagen Henry (Helsinki University, Finland)
Seungkwon Jang (Sungkonghoe University, South Korea)
Sonja Novkovic* (Saint Mary’s University, Canada)
Anu Puusa (East Finland University)
Yukari Shigeto (Norinchukin Research Institute, Japan)
Robby Tulus (Credit Union Central Organization, Indonesia)
Anthony Webster (Northumbria University, United Kingdom)
Track 1: Revisiting the Cooperative Identity
Three decades are passing since the ICA Statement of Cooperative Identity was adopted in 1995 and the worldwide consultation to deepen is taking place since the ICA Seoul Congress in 2021. During these years we experienced historical changes such as the anti-terror wars following 9/11 attack, the global financial crisis after the Rehman shock, and the limitation of planetary boundaries as expressed in the climate change and COVID pandemics. We need to revisit the Cooperative Identity to reflect such changes and deepen it in the day-to-day practices of cooperatives.
Track 2: Institutional framework and governance
The institutional framework largely differs from country to country reflecting the history of modern cooperation; the common law tradition, the civil law tradition, and the British-Indian pattern. The latter two traditions are characterized by the top-down approach even after the independence of Asian nations. Witnessing governance failures in large cooperatives, we need to improve governance in cooperatives. The governance models ranging from principal-agency model to management’ rubber stamp model are often applied simultaneously but that would bring confusions because of tensions among them. We need to analyze both success and failure in cooperative governance.
Track 3: Global history
The global history emerged as a new field of historiography during the past few decades seeks to overcome the biases of methodological nationalism and Eurocentrism. The early cooperatives were set up or promoted as a result of colonization and migration, under the influence of trade and exchange in many parts of the world. It can be said they were global from the outset. We know the seminal works of Rita Rhodes’ Empire and Cooperation (2012) and the collection of papers A Global history of Consumer Co-operation since 1850 (2017). The research on the history of the Asian/Pacific cooperatives is expected to make contribution to the global history of cooperatives.
Track 4: Innovation
Cooperatives have made innovations to protect the interests of small producers, consumers and workers by combining their resources. They tend to follow the life cycle of start-up, growth and consolidation but may lose momentum or make strategic renewal to regain strength. To cope with challenges of our time including demographic shift, growing inequality and uncertainty, global warming and pandemics, it’s imperative to make business innovations to meet people’s common needs and aspirations. We look for the best practices of innovations in products and services, business processes, and combination of different forces. The exploratory papers are welcome.
Track 5: Community engagement
The communities are facing diverse challenges; people are deprived of access to food, healthcare and other services in depopulating communities (e.g. East Asia) while people are suffering from shortage of resources and opportunities in overpopulating ones (e.g. South Asia). What solutions can cooperatives offer to mitigate these problems and achieve the sustainable development? They can organize community co-ops to provide food and daily necessities or health/child/elderly care. They can organize marketing for small producers or set up worker co-ops to create decent jobs. Further, they might involve nonprofit organizations and local governments to practice so-called social and solidarity economy (SSE). The cases of cooperative engagement to the communities or territories are to be identified and analyzed.
Track 6: Japanese and Korean Cooperative Models
The Japanese and Korean cooperative exhibits specific cooperative models. Agricultural cooperatives have grown to the world-class businesses operating multiple functions ranging from supply/marketing to finance under the strong government support while consumer cooperatives have evolved to be independent organizations backed by strong member participation from the bottom under the unfavorable conditions. Health cooperatives pioneered the health promotion in both urban and rural settings while workers cooperatives started growing to secure decent work. These models need to be analyzed and compared with peers in other countries/regions.
Researchers and practitioners interested to present their papers in the Symposium, need to submit an abstract of not more than 500 words. The case studies, international comparison, comparative discourse and theoretical analysis are welcome while cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific need be focused or referred. The abstracts should cover the following items and your file be named with corresponding author's name in capital letters_IYCOSAKA_track number. (e.g. KURIMOTO_IYCOSAKA_6). The track in which your presentation is placed may be subject to change upon review by the Scientific Committee.
Your research question(s) and/or objectives
Selected papers of the conference will be published in books/journals including;