Addressing recently the United Nation’s 66th edition of the Commission Status of Women (UNCSW 66) virtual parallel event in Chennai, Nandini Azad President WWF, and ICNW announced that an International Network for Women in Cooperatives with 1,000 members has come into existence.
Nandini Azad said the new organization would seek to make people more aware of women’s role in the cooperative sector around the world. “The U.N. has come to us, and it is time now for this movement to go international to make people more aware of women’s role” she stated.
Ms. Nandini underlined the fact that her cooperative organizations could hone their skills to strengthen the immunity of women during the pandemic. They learnt new lessons about building financial and social resilience” she stated.
The UN Commission on Status of Women 66 started with the song of the courage of women co-operators with words of Tamil veteran poet, freedom fighter Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi while struggling and fighting against the yoke of colonialism.
Speaking on the occasion Nandini said, “located in four Southern States of India i.e., Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, this movement unleased by ICNW and WWF are offering global leadership today –be it New York, Germany, Brussels, Japan or Rome.”
Important global personalities participating in the event included Madam Wenyan Yang, UN focal point person on cooperatives, (UNDESA), Andreas Kappes of IRU i.e., the International Raiffeisen Union, Yamakoshi, Head and New Manager, Japanese Consumer Cooperative Union (JCCU) and World Farmers Organisation (WFO), the largest farmer organisation in the world, Head of the Policy Mme. Luisa Volpe from Italy on the role of women in Agricultural Cooperatives, (of which Dr.Azad the Global coordinator for the cooperative policy).
Mr. Hirofumi Kobayashi, Executive Director, IDACA, initiated by one of Japanese largest agricultural cooperatives (Ja-Zenchu) spoke on gender training in agriculture.
The historic parallel event of the United Nation’s 66th edition of the Commission Status of Women (UNCSW 66) was held for the second time in the historic city of Chennai.
Women participants from cooperative movements from Japan, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Myanmar, Srilanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the U.S.A, and the Netherlands, were present on the occasion.
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