Speakers

He is a cooperative leader that has undertaken a cooperative movement development process in his country and has built strong bonds with the rest of the cooperative movement in the American continent by becoming Cooperatives of the Americas’ Board member and through other regional integration sectors.

António Guterres is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socialist Party, Guterres served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

Dr. Udai Shanker Awasthi, born on July 12, 1945, is the Managing Director of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest fertilizer producer and marketer in India. Graduating in Chemical Engineering from Banaras Hindu University in 1967, Dr. Awasthi began his career at Shriram Chemical Industries and later held significant positions in Zuari Agro-Chemicals, PPCL, RCF, IFFCO, and KRIBHCO. In 1993, he became IFFCO's Managing Director, substantially increasing its production capacity and turnover.

Under his leadership, IFFCO's turnover surged from Rs. 1,405 crore in 1992-93 to Rs. 39,330 crore, and its profit after tax increased from Rs. 116 crore to Rs. 2,443 crore by 2023-24. Dr. Awasthi also chaired the Fertiliser Association of India and served as President of the International Fertiliser Industry Association. He has represented the industry at various high-level international forums, including the United Nations.

Dr. Awasthi has been instrumental in various initiatives, including the creation of the IFFCO Kisan Sewa Trust, the launch of bio-fertilizers, NANO Fertilisers and the establishment of several organizations aimed at rural development. He is also involved in numerous national and international companies and has received many prestigious awards for his contributions to the fertilizer industry and cooperative development. He featured in most influential 50 persons list by Fame India.

The Hon'ble Tshering Tobgay, born on September 19, 1965, is the current Prime Minister of Bhutan, re-elected in January 2024 after his initial term from 2013 to 2018. A pivotal figure in Bhutan's transition to parliamentary democracy, he co-founded the People's Democratic Party, Bhutan's first registered political party, and continues to serve as its president.

The Prime Minister's academic journey includes a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Before entering politics, he was a dedicated civil servant, focusing on policies to enhance technical education and vocational training in Bhutan.

A strong advocate of Gross National Happiness, The Prime Minister has spoken globally on leadership, conservation, climate change, poverty, and happiness. His commitment to social welfare is evident in his founding of Bhutan’s first Youth Center and the Education Staff Welfare Scheme. His contributions have been recognized with honors such as the Royal Orange Scarf (2008, 2013), the Royal Lungmar Scarf (2014), the German Sustainability Award (2016), and the Distinguished Leadership Award (2022).

Married to Tashi Doma with two children, the Prime Minister balances his public life with personal interests in volunteering, trekking, bicycling, archery, and music.

Ambassador Paula Narváez is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations in New York. Her Excellency Paula Narváez assumed her duties as Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations on 08 June 2022. Ambassador Narváez was the seventy-ninth President of the Economic and Social Council from July 2023 to July 2024. Before this latest appointment, Ms. Narváez was the Officer-in-Charge at the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in Guatemala, from February to May 2022. She also served as Socio-Political Adviser at the UN-Women Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, from October 2021 to February 2022, and Regional Adviser for Governance and Political Participation in the same office, from 2018 to 2020. Between 2016 and 2018, Ms. Narváez was Minister Secretary General of Government, and she served as a Presidential Adviser from 2014 to 2016. From 2012 until 2014, she was a Latin America and Caribbean Section Program Specialist at UN-Women, based in New York. Following the eruption of the Chaitén Volcano in Chile in May 2008, Ms. Narváez served as the delegate of then-President Michelle Bachelet to the Chaitén Volcano Emergency, from 2008 to 2009. She has also held a number of other Government positions. Ms. Narváez earned a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University in the United States; a master’s degree in economics and regional management from the Universidad Austral de Chile; and a degree in psychology from the Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello, also in Chile.

Ms. Aicha ERRIFAAI, is the General Director of the Office of Cooperation Development in Morocco, the organism in charge of the cooperative sector under the tutelage of the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts, and the Social and Solidarity Economy.

She was appointed by the Moroccan Government Council on July 24, 2023, and has been working on designing, since her appointment, a strategy to enhance the cooperative sector in line with the aspirations of the new development model, in its section relating to the social and solidarity economy.

She initially worked in the private sector for two years before joining the Ministry of Economy and Finance in the Budget Directorate, where she gained experience in various fields, including monitoring ministerial sectors and related public institutions in formulating and implementing their sectoral strategies. She also worked on the proper and effective implementation of the organic Law relative to financial legislation through multi-year budget programming.

Aicha ERRIFAAI is a graduate of the Mohammedia School of Engineers in 2013, and holds a specialized master's degree in "Advanced Public Action in Morocco" from Mohammed VI University of Multi-disciplinary Sciences and the National School of Ponts et Chaussée in Paris. Her studies within this master's program provided her with the necessary skills to prepare, design, and evaluate various public policies.

Today, as the head of the Office of Cooperation Development, Ms. ERRIFAAI’s aim is to develop and promote the cooperative sector as one of the important fields contributing to Morocco's social and economic development, and lead the sector towards a bright future, aligned with the nation's ambitious development goals.

Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani holds a degree in Medicine (MBBS) from King Georges’ Medical College, Lucknow.  He is an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of 1992 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre and is presently posted as Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India.

Before joining Government of India as Secretary (Cooperation), he was posted as Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, in-charge of Departments of Agriculture & Transformation & Development and Chairman of State Level Recruitment Commission for all Grade-III Posts. He has also served earlier as Secretary in the Finance and Urban Development Departments in the State Govt. of Assam as well as District Magistrate in Kokrajhar and Nalbari districts.

He had earlier also served in Government of India from 2013-2021. Before reverting to Assam in October 2021, he handled the charge of CEO, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Govt. of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. He was instrumental in drafting the PMFBY Scheme which is presently the 3rd largest crop insurance scheme in the world in terms of insurance premium and largest in terms of number of farmers insured. He was also instrumental in drafting the PM-KISAN scheme which is one of the largest income support schemes for farmers in the world.

Ameya Prabhu is the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) & the Founder and Managing Director of NAFA Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd and a Partner in UAP Advisors LLP. Ameya has been designated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is also a writer and the author of “The Rock Babas and other stories”, a book of short stories published by Amazon and sold in over 40 countries globally. He is also the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

NAFA Capital is an asset management firm headquartered in Mumbai, India and manages funds in public equities, private equity, venture capital, debt capital markets that invest in the Indianmarket.

Ameya is also a Partner at UAP Advisors LLP. UAP’s businesses include asset management, principal investing, investment banking, and sustainability in the agriculture space. UAP’s strategic investments include IFFCO Kisan Finance, a rural NBFC; Draslovka India, a chemical manufacturing joint venture with Draslovka from Czech Republic and investments in Ayurveda etc.

Ameya also serves as the Managing Director of New Age Financial Advisors, UAP’s joint venture with IFFCO, which is the world’s largest farmer’s co-operative organisation. IFFCO’s businesses range from owning Asia’s largest fertilizer company to insurance, lending, chemicals, and other businesses. New Age focusses on investment banking, sustainable investments in agriculture and sustainable agri-inputs.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) established in 1925 and headquartered in Kolkata, India, is the oldest chamber of commerce and industry in India.

Ameya is a BSc. in Economics, Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick, MSc. in Financial Management from IE Business School, Madrid and has been Awarded a certificate of completion for the Global Leadership and Public Policy ,21st Century Program in April 2022, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education.

Ameya is a trustee of Manav Sandhan Vikas Sanstha, an NGO focused on skill training and skill development in rural and semi urban India with an emphasis on job creation for women and the under privileged classes. He is also the Vice Chairman of Konkan Krida Prabodhini, promoting sports in the rural Konkan region of Maharashtra. Ameya is a member of the advisory board of Climate Group India and is also on the board of Miracle Feet India, an NGO focused on elimination of club foot in India. He was formerly the Chairperson of the Young Leaders Forum of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is also the Brand Ambassador for start-ups in the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

He is a columnist and his writings have been published by well-known global media outlets such as the Huffington Post, The Quint, Business Today etc

Ann is an Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was Chair of the Consumer Science department and a consumer cooperative specialist with a focus on cooperative governance. She has served on many cooperative boards of directors, including the University of Wisconsin Credit Union for 21 years, nine years as chair; the National Cooperative Business Association for 25 years, 2 years as chair; and the National Cooperative Bank for 6 years. She was inducted into the United States Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2015 and became an Emerita Director of the UW Credit Union in 2016. Currently she is Board Chair of the Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, and Board Facilitator for the Willy Street Grocery Cooperative in Madison. 

Anna Tibblin is Secretary General of We Effect, the international development organisation of the Swedish cooperative movement, currently supporting 160 partner organisations in 20 countries around the world.

She has more than 30 years’ experience in international development and has worked and lived in both Southern Africa (Zimbabwe and Zambia) and Latin America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala).

Anna works to strengthen the involvement of the Swedish cooperative business sector in international development, advocating for cooperative development, both as a means and a tool for poverty eradication. She is a vocal spokesperson for cooperative solutions and participates regularly in the development debate and in media.

Anna is convinced that people are stronger when they work together – she often says that she has the privilege of seeing this every day.

We Effect works to end poverty and hunger worldwide. The strategy is to strengthen the organisation of women and men living in vulnerability so that they can improve their lives and move out of hunger and poverty for good. We Effect was founded 65 years ago and is funded by Swedish cooperative companies, individuals, and through institutional grants. We Effect is the worlds largest cooperative development organisation.

Axel Marx is Deputy Director Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (KU Leuven), an interdisciplinary research centre of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the KU Leuven. He has managed over 80 funded research projects and acted as a consultant to several national and international organizations including  the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions, International Labour Organization, International Trade Centre, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards, UNCTAD, OECD, IDEA, Worldbank, the Belgian, Dutch and German Governments and several private actors. His academic publications (200+) have appeared in five dozen leading international peer reviewed journals and 10 languages. His research interests include voluntary sustainability standards, sustainable trade, human/labour rights, global governance, corporate social responsibility and EU trade policy. He is currently the co-chair of the Academic Advisory Council of the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards, a member of the Evidensia Research Council and a member of the steering committee of the ILO Labour Provisions in Trade Agreements Hub. As a guest lecturer he taught China University of Political Science and Law and several European Universities. He recently developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Sustainable Trade and sustainability certification on the EdX-platform: https://www.edx.org/course/sustainable-trade. The MOOC is freely available.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently THE BEZZLE (a followup to RED TEAM BLUES) and THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. Other recent books include RED TEAM BLUES, a science fiction crime thriller; CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the LITTLE BROTHER series for young adults; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Professor of Management and Business Organisation at the University of Almería, Spain. Master of Environmental studies (York U). Her research focuses on transitions to sustainability in food and agricultural value chains and systems. Expert on cooperatives, innovative business models and collaborative enterprise. President of the Global Board of International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), Committee on Cooperative Research, past president of the ICA CCR European board. Member of the Board of Govenors of the Institut international des coopératives Alphonse-et-Dorimène-Desjardins.

She has led numerous European and international projects on Climate Smart Farming, innovative business models, sustainable agri-supply chains, and new technologies and digitalization processes. An experienced Barrister, Solicitor and Attorney qualified in Canada (Ontario), England and Wales and New York State, she has worked in both London and Madrid for the global law firm Clifford Chance LLP in structured finance and banking before switching her attention to social enterprise and cooperative business models. 

Doug O'Brien works with the cooperative community, both domestically and internationally, to deepen their impact and influence. NCBA is the primary voice for cooperatives in the United States for using the cooperative business model to empower people in their businesses and communities. Doug has been with NCBA since 2016 and became president and CEO in January 2018. Before coming to NCBA CLUSA, Doug led the work of the White House Rural Council and served in top positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Doug has also worked in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House and for two Governors. O'Brien's experience in academia includes teaching and writing at the University of Arkansas and Drake University Law School. O’Brien was raised on a diversified farm in Dubuque County, Iowa, and holds degrees from Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa), the University of Iowa Law School, and the University of Arkansas Masters in Agricultural and Food Law Program. O’Brien lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife, Alisa and three children. He enjoys biking, travel, his memberships in a number of consumer co-ops and credit unions.

Erwin Novianto is a visionary leader in promoting sustainable trade and production, known for his significant contributions to advancing Fairtrade principles and cooperative growth across Asia and the Pacific. As the CEO of Fairtrade Network of Asia & Pacific Producer, Erwin has led transformative initiatives that have empowered thousands of smallholder producers, enhancing their livelihoods through ethical market access and sustainable agricultural practices. With over a decade of experience in regional leadership roles at Fairtrade, he has not only forged strategic alliances that advocate for living incomes, gender equality, and climate resilience but also worked closely with grassroots communities and cooperatives. His deep expertise in cooperative and sustainable supply chain development has made him a driving force in fostering equitable trade and social impact

Francesca Ottolenghi, expert in international cooperation, she has acquired extensive professional experience within the cooperative movement both nationally and internationally. As biologist, after advanced studies in France and Australia, she founded a women research cooperative in 1995. Since 2005 he has contributed to the foundation of the Haliéus Association - of which she has been Director and today President - as a structure for the implementation of international development cooperation interventions within Legacoop, managing projects in many countries around the world.   From January 2022 she is chief of the International Relations Office and chief of the Sustainability and Cooperation office and Chief of the Equal Opportunity Office of Legacoop and is a professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza in courses dedicated to the use of cooperative business model in international development cooperation projects on "Cooperative business model for sustainable development". Chair of the International Cooperative Development Platform (ICDP) Committee of the ICA.

Born in 1952 in Germany. High school in Germany and in the United States. Studies in law and French language in Saarbrücken and Geneva; qualification as a German judge in 1981. Post graduate studies in development issues and development law in Geneva and Paris. Licentiate, doctorate and professorship qualification in comparative law at the University of Helsinki.

Retired from the University of Helsinki since late 2020; Visiting scholar at that university. Prior to working at the University of Helsinki (2011-2020) Henrÿ worked as Chief of the Cooperative Branch of the ILO, as legal advisor to the German Federal Minister of Economy (1983-1991) and at the universities of Geneva and Saarbrücken (1977-1983). Since 1994 Henrÿ has consulted on cooperative policy and legislation in/for some 65 countries for national, regional and international governmental and non-governmental organizations, among which the ILO, the FAO, the World Bank, the EU, the OECD, the International Trade Center, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV). Since 2013 he has coordinated the ICA Cooperative Law Committee.

Henrÿ has published widely on development questions, land law, comparative law and cooperative law and has been a frequent contributor to seminars and conferences in many countries over many years. He is member of several scientific associations and of editorial boards of scientific journals. Since 2004 he has taught cooperative law and policy and comparative law at several universities and other institutions.

Howard Brodsky is a world leader of co-operatives and a prolific American entrepreneur. CCA is one of the largest Cooperatives in the United States with sales of over $12 billion. CCA Global Partners services 30,000 childcare centers, 2,000 nonprofits, and over 1,000,000 independent family businesses. 

Brodsky was the first American to be awarded the Rochdale Award, the “Nobel Prize of Cooperative Business” given every two years to an individual who has made the greatest impact in cooperatives worldwide. Additionally, he received the Business Leader of the Decade Award, Global Leadership Award by the World Affairs Council, inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame, and Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame. He is the Founder and Chairman of Cooperatives for a Better World, a worldwide non-profit, which aims to scale the global cooperative movement. 

Brodsky is the Global Chairman of the International Cooperative Alliance G20 Working Group. Brodsky is also a published author, and his theory on business can be seen on the highly rated TEDx Talks. Recently, he was invited to speak at the United Nations on the power of the contemporary cooperative. 

Ilcheong YI is a Senior Research Coordinator at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva, Switzerland. Originally from the Republic of Korea, he holds a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Seoul National University and a D.Phil in Social Policy from Oxford University. His research focuses on alternative economies, social policy, and international development cooperation, with a particular emphasis on the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), sustainable development performance measurement, and transformative social policy. Prior to joining UNRISD in 2008, he served as an Associate Professor at Kyushu University, Japan, and held academic positions at Malaya University, Malaysia, and Bergen University, Norway.

Isaac K. Nyamongo is a Professor of Anthropology. He currently serves as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics, Cooperative Development, Research and Innovation) at the Cooperative University of Kenya. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Florida, USA and has over 30 years in teaching, research and consultancy. He has supervised and mentored students at Masters and Doctoral levels. Prof. Nyamongo has held research and training grants from many organizations including the European Union, World Health Organization, International Development Research Center, Wenner Gren Foundation and Toyota Foundation among others. His research and training experience spans several countries within the Africa region. Prof. Nyamongo has more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals. In addition, he has published books and book chapters. Further, he has held visiting Professor positions in the US as a Fulbright Scholar (2009-2010) and in South Africa where he was a Carnegie Mellon Fellow (2012). He is the President of the International Union for Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences and Chairs the Committee on Cooperative Research for Africa and a member of the ICA-Global Committee for Cooperative Research. He has received several awards including a Presidential Honor of the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS), an International Cooperative Champion from the US Overseas Cooperative Development Council and Pelto International Award by the Society for Applied Anthropology. He maintains a monthly advocacy column for cooperatives in the Daily Nation, Kenya’s leading daily newspaper. Most recently he has led the development of the cooperative transformation strategy for Kenya.

Jacqui Thomasen is CEO of the Co-operative College, an education provider established in Britain in 1919 with the same mission that we pursue today: to promote co-operative values, ideas and principles for public benefit, and to ensure co-operators are equipped and confident to enact the co-operative difference in their roles.

Today we support co-operatives in the UK and around the world, welcoming international visitors to the heart of the UK co-op movement for immersive learning visits, collaborating with fellow infrastructure bodies: Co-operative Heritage Trust, Co-ops UK and Coop News, and facilitating learning exchanges between co-ops of all shapes, sizes and sectors. Our curriculum spans the breadth of online self-paced learning, to a newly launched Postgraduate Certificate in Co-operative Studies, executive education workshops and open-enrolment CPD.

The College is proud to be the UK’s leading International Co-operative Development provider, a specialist service working in partnership with a range of funding organisations and in-country partners to develop co-operative ecosystems which bring sustainable benefit to co-operators, their communities and the economy.

With a background in Business Schools, it perhaps comes as no surprise that one of Jacqui’s key priorities is to mainstream co-operative education. Our Co-ops on the Curriculum Campaign aims to target education at all stages, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn about co-operative enterprise: a proven model which we believe to be the only viable one for a sustainable and equitable future.

Jelmer van de Mortel works for Rabobank to develop innovative, meaningful and pragmatic solutions in the Food & Agri domain and is Head of Acorn. As former strategy consultant at Roland Berger he has ample experience in bringing strategy into practice. During his period at World Food Programme he experienced farmer needs in developing countries at first hand.

Acorn – Agroforestry Carbon removal units for the Organic Restoration of Nature – is a program being developed by Rabobank to support smallholder farmers in the developing world. Acorn’s mission is to combat climate change, land degradation and food insecurity with an inclusive agroforestry solution. This solution balances competing land use demands in a way that benefits both human well-being and the environment. To do this, Acorn has built a global, transparent and technology-enabled marketplace for carbon sequestration.

With over 30 years of experience in sustainable supply chains across the tropics, Jeroen has influenced key commodity markets such as coffee, tea, cocoa, oil palm, soy, bananas, cotton, beef, and gold. His work has mobilised over 700 million consumers globally to choose sustainability and fair trade labels. 

A staunch advocate for systemic change, Jeroen believes that true sustainability requires a fundamental shift in business structures. They argue that sustainability labels and supply chain efforts alone are not enough. He champions the cooperative model as a powerful counterbalance to unilateral, capital-driven market forces.

Kendra Faith Prestin is a 9-year-old Grade 3 pupil from Sagrada Elementary School in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental, Philippines. She is a member of the Aflatoun program of DCCCO Multi-Purpose Cooperative, an active Aflatoun partner of NATCCO in the Visayas. She is the daughter of parents who work as grocery store merchandisers. Her family is part of the government's 4Ps Program, designed to help poor people in the community improve their circumstances. Despite her family's financial challenges, Kendra has been able to save through her school’s Aflatoun Savings Program.

She was recognized as the Top Aflatoun Depositor for the school year 2023-2024 due to her consistent savings, even in small amounts. Even at a young age, Kendra appreciates and values savings as a way to achieve her goals. She actively participates in the laboratory cooperative activities of DCCCO MPC and is also involved in extracurricular activities at her school, joining the Inter-School Folk Dance Competition and the Search for Little Miss Manjuyod, where she won the Congeniality Award. Kendra is an active Girl Scout member and dreams of becoming a nurse someday.

Lawyer, Specialist in Administrative Law and Socioeconomic Evaluation of Social Projects, leader of the Colombian Cooperative Sector, with extensive experience of more than 20 years, in Cooperative leadership at the Latin American level, holding positions in union organizations such as: Cooperativa de Las Américas, member of the Board of Directors of Confecoop, Gestando, Corporación Verde and CIDE, President of the Board of Directors of the Coomeva Cooperative Business Group.

In addition, she is Vice President of the Equity Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance and Member of the ICA World Board.

She is currently the Executive President of the Colombian Association of Cooperatives.

I consider myself to have a high social commitment, developing strategies through the social and cooperative economy that improve the living conditions of less favored populations and the well-being and empowerment of women.

Faithful to the cooperative principles and values ​​that allow me to exercise leadership in the national and international sector, always showing the leadership and power of women in favor of cooperative citizen and business well-being.

Melina was the driving force behind the formation of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) in 2013 after heading Australia’s Secretariat for the International Year of Cooperatives. Melina has led the movement to historic achievements. Her campaign for access to capital resulted in new laws and more than A$450 million released into Australian cooperatives and mutuals since 2019.

In partnership with Monash University, Melina has led the industry development of the Mutual Value Measurement Framework© to measure the value of cooperatives and mutuals. She has raised A$24.5 million in government funding for cooperatives in agriculture and care. Melina is leading a project to develop the first reporting framework for cooperatives for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). She is a director of Australian Mutuals Foundation which assists financial cooperatives in South-East Asia.

Melina has worked for more than two decades in the cooperative and mutual movement including editing the ICA Digest for five years and writing the message platform for the ‘Blueprint for a Cooperative Decade’. She was engaged to write a strategic communications plan and assist ICA’s media outreach in the 2012 International Year of Cooperatives.

Mirai Chatterjee is the Director of SEWA’s Social Security team including health care, child care and insurance. She is also the Chairperson of the SEWA Cooperative Federation of 110 informal women workers’ cooperatives. She was the General Secretary of SEWA after its Founder, Ela Bhatt. Mirai is a leader of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), a national union that has organised 2.5 million informal women workers in India obtain work and income security, financial services, organize child care, primary health care, housing with water and sanitation and insurance, among many other activities and support services. She joined SEWA in 1984.

Mirai serves as Chairperson of the global informal workers and policy-makers network, WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment Globalising and Organising), and is also on the Board of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, among others. She was advisor to the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector. In addition, she was also a Commissioner in the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and a member of the High-Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage set up by the Planning Commission of India in 2010. She is a former member of the National Advisory Council (NAC), appointed by the Prime Minister of India in 2010. Currently she serves on two Lancet Commissions on Oral Health and on Re-Imagining Health Care in India.

She was conferred the Global Achievement award by the School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

Mirai holds a bachelor in History and Science from Harvard University and a Master's in Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.

Nelson, a transformational and passionate co-operative leader is the Group Chairman of CIC Insurance Group which he joined in 1998 and became CEO in 2001 and retired as Group MD/CEO in February 2015. He is credited with leading the transformation of CIC from a very small co-operative insurer to one of the top 3 insurance groups in Kenya with 3 subsidiaries and regional footprint in South Sudan, Uganda and Malawi by the time of his retirement.

Currently, he is also serving as Chairman of Smep Microfinance Bank, Africa International University (private Christian University) and the Institute of Directors of Kenya.

In the international level of the co-operative movement, he served as board member and Chairman of the Development Committee of ICMIF, Member and facilitator in 3 UN Expert Group Meetings on Co-operatives, Member of ICA Planning Work Group for the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade, Member of ICA Working Group on the International accounting Standards. In Kenya, he served as the Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Co-operative University of Kenya and Chairman of the National Co-operative Task Force which developed the latest new Co-operative law in Kenya.

In insurance, he served as Chairman of the Association of Kenya Insurers, board member of Kenya Reinsurance Corporation and College of Insurance of Kenya. He also served as the pioneer Chair of the Working Group on Microinsurance Development of the African Insurance Organization.

Among others, he has also served as Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Kenya Employers and Association of Microfinance Finance Institutions of Kenya and Member of the Presidential Task Force on Parastatal Reforms.

Nelson has been honoured with two awards by the president of Kenya for his contribution in co-operative development (Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW in 2005) and Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS in 2011). In the insurance industry he was honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award in 2012 for his role in insurance development in Kenya. In 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in leadership by the Swiss Management Academy. In 2019, in recognition of his outstanding role in promoting good governance he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Kenya.

Pete Westall is the Chief Values Officer & part of the Executive team for The Midcounties Co-operative, (www.midcounties.coop), where he has worked for over 30 years.

Midcounties Co-operative is seen as one of the leading Co-operatives in the UK, in Europe and across the world. They operate a broad portfolio of businesses, including Food, Travel and Childcare on behalf of their 700,000 members, and have a purpose stating that “Through the power of co-operation, we’re building a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future”.

Pete holds accountability to the Board for sustainability and the Society’s Social Responsibility agenda, as well as ensuring Co-operative Values & Principles are at the heart of the Society. He has taken Executive lead on several of the Society’s trading & support functions during his 3 decades with Midcounties, and believes all businesses have a responsibility to the communities in which they trade.

He holds a number of Board positions associated with his Executive role – including as a Board Director of the Younity Joint Venture, as a member of the Leadership Board of Business in the Community and as Chair of Bright Future Co-operative - an organisation dedicated to the employment of survivors of modern slavery.  He was named Co-operator of the Year by Co-op UK members in 2021 in recognition of his work across the UK movement and has spoken at a number of national and international events over recent times, including at the Global Innovation Co-operative Summit in Montreal in September 2023, and at the Cooperatives Europe General Assembly and Symposium in Brussels earlier this year.

Pete also represents Midcounties on ICETT – the International Co-operative Entrepreneurial Think Tank - formed in 2018 by the ICA to boost cooperatives' entrepreneurial performance. Its members seek to address the global challenges that cooperative enterprises are facing today, through innovative ideas, research, education, and cooperation.

Preeti Sagar is a well known playback singer a household name in India. Her rich musical repertoire is an epitome of versatility. It includes Film playback singing, Light songs, Pop songs, classical songs, Nursery Rhymes,  Bhajans, Ghazals, etc. She has rendered these in almost all languages of India.

She has rendered a number of very popular hits that are remembered over the years…..all time classics. She has won a number of laurels including two Filmfare awards that for her song “My heart is beating in film Julie” and then her iconic, all time classic song “Mero Gaam Katha Paare in film “Manthan.  

She was chosen to represent India at the international music festival, Tokyo, 1992, where she rendered her very popular number on world peace “Its time to change the world, its time the youth unfurled……..”.

She was a member of the National Film Awards jury 2005.

Her contributions span from entertainment, education to social work and public service message Films and a great part of her career has created entertaining and informative products and programmes for Children as she believes that childhood is the most impressionable period in one’s life.

She came to music to enthral millions of hearts with her voice!

Revant Himatsingka, popularly known as Food Pharmer, is a food crusader who is on a mission to make 140 crore Indians become health literate. 

He has fought and won against several MNCs in the world. He has been instrumental behind many leading companies reducing their sugar content. He has 3.5 million followers across social media and is one of India's most trusted voices on health. 

Rinky Kumari is a social entrepreneur from Hutup village in Ranchi, India, where she faced the challenges of growing up in a patriarchal and caste-divided society. Inspired by her mother’s resilience in the face of domestic violence and economic hardship, Rinky began her journey through football. At age 10, she joined Yuwa, a local NGO, and later captained her team in international tournaments in Spain and the USA. These experiences expanded her vision for empowering women in her community.

After returning home, Rinky re-started her education, coached football, and led life-skills workshops, encouraging girls to challenge societal norms. This fueled her passion for social change, leading her to study Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation at Mondragon University. She has co-founded several ventures in Spain, Germany, and South Korea, all focused on sustainable, community-driven change.

Rinky’s journey has been featured in several media outlets like Le Monde and the South China Morning Post, and she has spoken at TEDx, the World HRD Congress, and at numerous other platforms.

Her latest initiative, Ek Saath, addresses women’s health, early education, and financial literacy in rural India. Rinky’s mission is to create long-term, democratic, and sustainable impact through grassroots collaboration

Roeland Monasch is the CEO of Aflatoun a Social Franchise delivering Social and Financial Education through a network of nearly 400 partner organizations in 100+ countries. Its mission is to inspire youth to socially and economically empower themselves to become agents of change for a more equitable future. Previously, Roeland worked for 20+ years with the UN (UNICEF & WHO), including as UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone, Georgia, and Zimbabwe. He coordinated the UNICEF response during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone (2014-2015).

In Georgia, he worked with the government on the de-institutionalization of all children living in large orphanages established during the Soviet Union era and managed the humanitarian operation in Abkhazia. In Zimbabwe, he coordinated the UNICEF development programme and protracted humanitarian crisis [2004–2009: Displacement; Cholera; Political violence; Hyperinflation; Collapse basic social services].

Roeland is married and has a seventeen-year-old daughter.

As the voice of the UK’s co-operative movement, Co-operatives UK empowers and supports co- operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise, to grow the co-operative economy and create a fairer society. From football clubs and farms, to convenience stores and pubs, there are more than 7,000 co-operatives in the UK.

Rose joined Co-operatives UK as CEO in 2021 with a focus on engaging younger generations and building a tech & digital infrastructure capable of co-op innovation in the 21st century. Rose immediately spearheaded the creation of an ambitious new strategy to grow the co-operative economy.

Rose is also Chair of the International Co-operative Working Group (ICWG) alongside consumer and worker coops and including infrastructure bodies such as the Co-op Heritage Fund, Co- operative College and Co-op News and has championed development work in India & Malawi. In the last few years, driven by the ICWG, the sector has donated £100,000 to female led co- operatives in India to provide emergency Covid aid and provide sustainable livelihoods for 40 young women. With Rose at its head, the ICWG is also developing an international fund which will be launched in 2024 in celebration of 180th anniversary of the Rochdale Pioneers.

As Chair of ICWG, Rose has also launched co-op Beyond the Music at SXSW in Texas, USA andwas a keynote speaker at both WCM Brazil 2022 and the Global Innovation Forum in Paris, 2021.

Rose lives in Manchester with her husband and two children.

Sandra is the Global Chief Executive Officer at Fairtrade International, a leading global organization that works to empower producers and consumers to trade fairly and sustainably. She is a Fellow at Eisenhower Fellowships, a prestigious program that connects and inspires leaders from around the world to create positive change in their communities and fields of expertise. She brings more than 20 years of experience at a Senior and Executive management level in private sector development, Business and trade policy negotiations and advocacy, and strategic planning and execution. She has worked in Eastern and Southern Africa and International Markets in Europe, Latin America, North Asia and Pacific.

As the former Chief Executive Officer at COMESA Business Council, a regional business member services organization and a recognized private sector institution of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), she led the development and implementation of programs and projects that enhanced the competitiveness, profitability, and sustainability of small and medium enterprises, women, and youth in sub-Saharan Africa. She also strengthened the governance, operations, and stakeholder relationships of the organization, and advocated for policy reforms and regional integration at the political and private sector levels.

Sandra’s expertise is in senior/executive leadership, program management, multi-stakeholder relations, strategic negotiations, resource mobilization, and building strong teams. She is passionate about industry inclusion and sustainability, and has established and worked closely in regional and international markets with strong engagements and partnerships with governments, corporate industries, producers and other private sector actors in Africa and International Markets.

Born on February 1, 1950, Shri Satish Marathe holds Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and Law (Gen) from the University of Bombay. He also holds Diploma in Journalism (Gold Medalist from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan). Shri Satish Marathe started his Banking career in Bank of India and rose to be the Chairman and CEO of The United Western Bank Ltd (from 2002 to 2006). Earlier, in September 1991, became CEO of Janakalyan Sahakari Bank Ltd. which recorded high consistent growth during his 10 years tenure.

Shri Satish Marathe is the Founder Member of Sahakar Bharati which has spread its activities all over India and presently, over 40,000 CoOperatives are associated with it. It is the largest NGO in the CoOperative Sector in the country. In 2015, IFFCO conferred Sahakarita Ratna Award on Shri Satish Marathe. He is the only recipient of the Award from Maharashtra.

Shatadru Chattopadhyay is a distinguished leader in the field of sustainability and is known for his innovative work in sustainable supply chains. As the founder of Solidaridad Asia in 2007, he has transformed the organisation into a leading force in sustainable development, with 700 specialists across 34 offices in 9 Asian countries, supporting over 2 million smallholder farmers and their associations. He also serves on the Executive Board of Directors for Solidaridad Global, playing a key role in steering the organisation's global strategy. 

With 24 years of professional experience, Shatadru has dedicated his career to empowering small farmers and workers within supply chains. His innovative solutions address critical issues such as reclaiming degraded land, fair farmers’ data, carbon farming, wastewater reuse for irrigation, and water management for smallholder agriculture systems. His commitment to holistic and long-term sustainability is evident in his efforts to make sustainability assurance more inclusive in southern-producing countries. He has developed 10 national standards tailored to local needs and contexts, empowering local producers and ensuring that sustainability practices are culturally and economically viable. 

Shatadru's entrepreneurial spirit has led to several ground-breaking initiatives in sustainable development. He was the driving force behind the establishment of India's first farmer-owned cotton producer company, a significant milestone in the country's agricultural landscape. He also made history by launching the world’s first national sustainability frameworks for tea in China, India, and Indonesia, setting a new industry standard. Additionally, he has established two massive farmers’ supermarkets in Bangladesh and supports the development of food product brands produced by small farmers. His commitment to regional cooperation is evident in his role as the conceptualizer and leader of two of Asia’s largest regional sustainable commodity platforms: the Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) and the Asian Tea Alliance (ATA). These platforms have aligned sustainability and trade strategies, fostering stakeholder collaboration and driving systemic change. 

An accomplished author, he has written three books and numerous articles and has coordinated multiple research projects on sustainable development. He holds a bachelor's degree in Politics and Economics from Ramjas College, a master’s in International Relations, a master’s in Philosophy, and a Doctorate in South Asian Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University of India. Passionate about sustainability, he mentors young professionals and serves on the advisory boards of select sustainability-related organisations. 

Shatadru’s extensive work throughout Asia has deepened his appreciation for the region's rich culture and people. Born and raised in Delhi, he now divides his time between Delhi and Hong Kong, continually seeking new opportunities to advance sustainability and create lasting positive impact. 

Simel Esim, a Turkish-American economist, has led the ILO’s portfolio on cooperatives  and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE)  since 2012, when she became the first woman to be appointed as the head the ILO’s Cooperatives Unit (COOP) since 1920. In 2022, she served as lead technical expert for the ILO’s Office report  on decent work and the SSE. The general discussion at the 110th ILC led to the adoption of a resolution on decent work and the SSE , and the subsequent seven year strategy and action plan (2023-2029)  endorsed by the ILO’s Governing Body.

Previously, Simel led ILO Regional Office for Arab States’ portfolio on gender equality and women workers rights. Prior to joining the ILO in 2004, Ms Esim worked for the World Bank, Development Alternatives, Inc. and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). She has been a member of Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) since its founding in 1997 and currently serves on its Board.

She holds a PhD in Economics from the American University in Washington, DC, an MA in International Economics and Middle East Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and Washington, DC, and a BA in Political Science from the Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. She is fluent in English and Turkish and has working knowledge of Arabic, French and Italian.

Sonja Novkovic, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor of Economics and the Academic Director of the International Centre for Co-operative Management at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. She is former Chair (2013-2021) and member of the ICA Committee on Co-operative Research. She sits on the NCBA-CLUSA Cooperative Economics Council and serves in advisory role for the Overseas Cooperative Development Council Research Group in the US; the UNRISD Sustainable Development Performance Indicators project; the ICA World Cooperative Monitor, and the Cooperative Identity Advisory group of the ICA.

Sonja’s research interests include theory of worker and multi-stakeholder cooperatives, humanistic governance and cooperative management, and measures of socio-economic sustainability performance in democratic organizations. She co-edited numerous books on the social economy, cooperative governance and cooperative economics, and is currently involved in research on cooperatives and the circular economy; systems thinking and cooperative networks.

Stefania Marcone's distinguished career spans over four decades, marked by her commitment to international relations, cooperative development, and gender equality. Beginning her career at the External Relations Office of Cassa per il Credito alle Imprese Artigiane from 1983 to 1987, she also served as President of a women's cooperative in Rome. In 1987, she joined Legacoop's Foreign Department, where she would later be appointed Head of the International Relations Office in 1997. 

From 1997 to 2005, Stefania served on the global Board of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), actively promoting gender equality and development cooperation. She played a key role in strengthening the ICA's organizational and financial structures and fostering international cooperation among cooperative organizations. Elected Chair of the ICA Gender Equality Committee in 2005, she was instrumental in establishing regional committees dedicated to gender equality. 

In 2008, Stefania was appointed also Head of European Policies and Internationalization at Legacoop, and in 2011, she joined the Advisory Group for the UN International Year of Cooperatives. 

R. Trebor Scholz is a professor at The New School in New York City and also serves as a Faculty Associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center and a Visiting Researcher at the Berlin Social Science Center.

With a Ph.D. from the University of Plymouth, his research focuses on cooperative entrepreneurship within the digital economy. Scholz is widely recognized for pioneering "platform cooperatives," innovative models for worker-owned and democratically controlled online platforms that advance economic, social, labor, and environmental justice. A global keynote speaker, he has delivered hundreds of talks, sharing his research with diverse audiences.

His work has garnered acknowledgement and support from the European Commission, the Rockefeller Foundation, Google.org, the Berggruen Institute/USC, the Open Society Foundations, Mondragon University, and the Ford Foundation. Dr. Scholz's books, such as Own This!: How Platform Cooperatives Help Workers Build a Democratic Internet—the winner of the First Prize in the Joyce Rothschild Book Awards—and Uberworked and Underpaid, have been translated into multiple languages and have established a new academic subfield.

In 2017, Scholz founded the Platform Cooperativism Consortium (PCC) at The New School, followed by the establishment of the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy (ICDE) two years later. Both institutions are at the forefront of research, education, and community building, promoting cooperative principles to tackle the grand challenges of the digital economy and beyond. ICDE also hosts a fellowship program that has supported 44 fellows to date, focusing on emerging scholars in the digital solidarity economy. As the Director of PCC and ICDE, Scholz has spearheaded the experimentation with platform cooperatives across 60 countries, driving innovative approaches and successfully advocating for transformative initiatives that have positively impacted millions of workers worldwide. He has also played an important role in launching discussions on the digital transition within the cooperative movement through 10 major global PCC conferences in Hong Kong, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mombasa.

Learn more at https://platform.coop/

Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocat, is the founder of Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (India) and President of Navdanya International. Trained as a Physicist at the University of Punjab, she completed her Ph.D. on the ‘Hidden Variables and Non-locality in Quantum Theory’ from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She later shifted to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India.

In 1982 she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), an independent research institute that addresses the most significant problems of ecology of our times, and two years later, Navdanya (‘nine seeds’) the movement in defense of biodiversity and small farmers. In 2011 she founded Navdanya International in Italy and is Chairman of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, co-founded with the then President of the Region of Tuscany.  Recipient of many awards, including in 1993 the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, and named among the top five “Most Important People in Asia” by AsiaWeek in 2001. Shes is a prolific writer and author of numerous books and serves on the board of the International Forum on Globalization, and member of the executive committee of the World Future Council

Chair of the ICA Gender Equality Committee. Member of the ICA Global Board and Member of the Board of Directors of Cooperatives of the Americas, Representative for the Dominican Republic.
Vice-president of the Board of Directors of Cooperativa de Servicios Múltiples de Profesionales de Enfermería COOPROENF. Founder of the Women's Development Committee of COOPROENF.
Vice-President of the Committee of Women Cooperativists of CONACOOP of the Dominican Republic.
CONACOOP of the Dominican Republic.
Trainer of Trainers for the Women's Entrepreneurship Project of the Andalusian School of Social Economy Foundation. Coordinator and Lecturer of seminars and workshops on Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Gender, Customer Service, Positive Attitude, Governance, among others.
Positive Attitude, Governance, among others, nationally and internationally.
Advisor to various cooperatives on Cooperative Education in 
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Bolivia, among others.
Trainer of Trainers for Women's Development Projects.
Trainer of micro-entrepreneurs. Trainer of Women
Micro-entrepreneur Columnist for the newspaper El Cooperador, Blog
Bendiciones de Lo Alto, among others.
Awards Received: Cooperative Woman of the Year, ENECOOP 2014.
Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, COOPHERRERA 2015
Golden Lamp for Excellence in Teaching, Dominican Nurses Association, ADEG 2015.
Dominican Nurses Association, ADEG 2015
Selected by the international organisation She-Coop, as one of the 100 global of the 100 world leaders in cooperativism.

Willy Tadjudje is an academic researcher specializing in cooperative law and regulation. He holds a Ph.D. in cooperative and mutual society law from the University of Luxembourg and he is currently a Professor at the University of Yaoundé II in Cameroon.

In addition to his University activities, he supports national and international organizations in research projects and development initiatives. As such, he is the Chairperson and a senior researcher at YAMDUSI Expertise, a cooperative society of experts, aiming at boosting the cooperative business model in Africa.

Globally, he has extensive expertise with legal issues regarding Social and Solidarity Economy organizations. For example, for the past one year, he has been working with ILO (International Labor Organization) to draft a Guide for legislation in the Social and Solidarity Economy (in collaboration with Gilles Caire).

Apart from ILO, he has also worked for other international organizations such as NCBA CLUSA, FAO, GIZ, Shelter for Life, OCDC, Health Partners, DGRV, European Union, among others, for projects in various African countries, to improve cooperative legal and regulatory environments.

Willy is a great enthusiast and aficionado of the Cooperative Law and Regulation Initiative (CLARITY) methodology and tool kit. Since he became aware of this unique approach to cooperative legal and regulatory reform, he has not stopped promoting it. For example, he attended the ICA Global Youth Forum in Malaysia in January 2020 with the support of OCDC to introduce the tool to youth from all over the world. In synergy with Ed Potter, he worked for more than a year (2021-2022) on updating and strengthening the CLARITY methodology and tool kit.

Willy is the author of various publications on cooperative law in Africa and Europe. In June 2022, he published with Springer (co-edited with Ifigeneia Douvitsa) an honorary volume entitled Perspectives on Cooperative Law, in honour of Hagen Henry, a leading pioneer and expert in cooperative law and regulation (from whom he draws inspiration).

Willy is a member of various networks and scientific committees of scientific journals and organizations (IUS COOPERATIVUM, International Journal of Cooperative Law, Euro-African Institute for Economic Law, UNIDROIT Working Group on Collaborative Legal Structures for Agricultural Enterprises, Social and Solidarity Economy Research Network (Quebec), Interuniversity Network for Social and Solidarity Economy, etc.).