The ICA General Assembly will take place on 20 June 2022 in Seville, Spain, an election to the full ICA Board will be conducted. Below is the list of candidates contesting for the elections from the Asia-Pacific region for various positions.
Ms. Melina Morrison, Australia –Contesting for ICA Presidency
Ms. Melina Morrison has worked for the cooperative movement for more than two decades. She is Chief Executive of the Australian apex for cooperatives – the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals and was a driving force behind the formation of the Council in 2013 after heading Australia’s Secretariat for the International Year of Cooperatives.
She has led the movement to many historic achievements including the first national research on the size and contribution of Australian cooperatives and Mutual Value Measurement, the first framework developed by cooperatives and mutuals to measure their value creation. Ms. Melina’s advocacy for cooperative education has resulted in AUD$24.5 million in government funding for the development of cooperatives in agricultural and social care.
Her campaign for access to capital funding for cooperatives resulted in new laws in Australia to permit cooperatives and mutuals to raise capital without demutualisation. Since the legislation was passed in 2019 more than AUD$350 million has been raised using ‘Mutual Capital Instruments’. Ms. Melina is leading a project to develop the first cooperative sector reporting framework for ‘ESG’. She is Director of the Australian Mutuals Foundation which helps develop sustainable financial cooperatives in South-East Asia.
Mr. David Fraser, Australia –Contesting for ICA Board Member
Mr. David Fraser is the Group CEO of Capricorn and has 16 years’ experience in the Cooperative and Mutual sectors. He currently has a variety of relevant directorships, including the Business Council of Co-operatives & Mutuals (the Apex body for cooperatives in Australia), WA Co-op Federation, WA Motor Industry Foundation, and previously the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association.
Prior to joining Capricorn in 2006, Mr. David held several senior sales, marketing and general management roles for organisations with responsibilities both in Australia and globally.
Mr. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh, Contesting for ICA Board Member
Mr. Mohiuddin Ahmed is the Chairman of the Bangladesh Jatiya Samabaya Union (BJSU). He was born in 1967 in a noble Muslim family in the village Magarampur under the Bancharampur upazilla of Branhmanbaria district. His father Mr. Aftabuddin Ahmed is a former Deputy Secretary of the Bangladesh Government and his mother Begum Fatema Khatun is a former teacher of Siddeswari Girls High School. Mr. Mohiuddin passed S.S.C and H.S.C from Faujdarhat Cadet College and obtained a degree and L.L.B from the University of Dhaka and Private University respectively. He is married and the father of two sons. His wife Nurjahan Begum is a housewife.
He is a successful co-operator, sports organizer and active politician. He is a former Chairman of Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Limited from 2009 to February 2022 and Vice Chairman from 1996 to 2002. He is a member of Mayarampur Agricultural Co-operative Societies, founder Chairman Of Bancharampur Co-operative Land Development Bank Ltd. He is a general secretary of the Brothers Union Club and a permanent member of Sheikh Russel Crirachakra Ltd. He is a former successful President of Dhaka Metropolitan City (South) Awami Jubo League. He is a former Joint Secretary of Dhaka South Awami League. At present, he is a Vice-President of the Bangladesh Football Federation, Executive member of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, and a good sports organizer.
Mr. Cai Zhenhong, China – Contesting for ICA Board Member
Mr. Cai Zhenhong has committed to human resource development and social security system advancement in his early career. Over the years when holding various positions, he has accumulated rich experiences in the governance of agricultural-based regions and explored effective ways to agribusiness upgrading through innovation. Mr. CAI is currently the Vice-President of All China Federation of Supply & Marketing Coops (ACFSMC), extending his efforts to the construction of a healthier and more sustainable cooperative system in China. Since elected as the ICA-AP Vice President in 2021, he is determined to devote himself to mutually beneficial cooperation among co-operatives in the ICA network.
Mr. Aditya Yadav, India – Contesting for ICA Board Member
Mr. Aditya Yadav is a millennial leader who was born in a family of welfarists and cooperators, and who wants to promote cooperatives and represent cooperators across generations and geographies. Mr. Aditya aspires to be a locally rooted global thinker and had become the youngest person to win a seat on the ICA Board in 2017.
He was born during the agricultural revolution in India and at the age of 27 became the youngest member of the board of IFFCO and the youngest chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Federation.
If elected, among other things, he is committed to working closely with the ICA Youth Representative and representative of the Gender Committee on the Board. He is confident that the work of the ICA can help the global community and cooperatives worldwide achieve the common goals we have set together for 2030.
He reaffirms his commitment to democratic, fair and transparent working to solve problems in these unprecedented times of multiple crises of the pandemic and other challenges. Improving Solidarity and Communication amongst members will be his top priority.
Mr. Aditya and his team of fellow cooperators are prepared for a just and human-centred recovery to build a better world through cooperatives.
Ms. Eva K Sundari, Indonesia –Contesting for ICA Board Member
Ms. Eva K Sundari is 57 years old and has graduated from ISS in Holand and the University of Nottingham. After 11 years as a professor, she became a member of the Indonesian National Parliament (2004 – 2019). A patron/ Advisor of INKUR Federation, she represents the Cooperative of Women Farmers and Indigenous Seed Cultivators in East Java. Since 2017 she advises the ICA-AP to have parliamentarians partake in Cooperative Ministers’ Conferences. She is on the Executive Board of ASEAN MPs On Human Rights (APHR) and the National Institute for Governance Reform in Indonesia. A Gender Equality activist, she advocates the integration of cooperative values /principles in macro policy on Economic Democracy.
Mr. Bahman Abdollahi, Iran –Contesting for ICA Board Member
Mr. Bahman Abdollahi, holding a DBA in Business Management, is currently the President of the Iran Chamber of Cooperatives (ICC), the country’s apex body for the cooperative movement. Having 30+ years of experience, he’s been the President and member of the board of ICC since 2011 and also CEO of the National Union of Consumers’ Cooperatives since 2009.
During his tenure, he’s been working hard to develop and strengthen cooperatives in Iran, exceeding 95,000 cooperatives. He’s been in direct contact with the government, parliament, and all the high councils of the country to include cooperatives in their decisions regarding social and economic issues.
He believes that expanding cooperatives throughout the country and the world will lead to fair wealth distribution, reduce the gap between social classes, increase employment levels, and improve society and quality of life.
Mr. Toru Nakaya, Japan –Contesting for ICA Board Member
Mr. Toru Nakaya is the President of JA-Zenchu (Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives), the apex organization of agricultural co-operatives in Japan and the incumbent ICA global board member.
Mr. Nakaya also chairs JCA (Japan Co-operative Alliance), representing co-operatives from a wide range of sectors in consumer societies, agriculture, fishery, forestry, banking, mutual, health & welfare and workers with over 100 million people.
While growing citrus fruits on a family farm, he quickly conducted leadership as a cooperative leader. Also, as President of IDACA (Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia), Mr. Nakaya strongly supports capacity-building in developing countries and cooperation among co-operatives.
Dato’ Kamarudin Ismail, Malaysia –Contesting for ICA Board Member
Dato’ Kamarudin Ismail has contributed to the development of school co-operatives in Malaysia for nearly two decades. He started his career as an educator after obtaining a degree from Edinburgh University, Scotland. His commitment to the education field, particularly in school co-op has earned him two awards from the Ministry of Education Malaysia; Co-curriculum National Figure Award in 2015 and the Excellent Service Award in 2001 and 2011. He currently serves on the Board of ANGKASA since 2012 and contributes at the international level.
Courtesy: ICA AP News Letter
