AWCF joined Fredskorpset, Norway (FK) and its project partners in the “10^th Fredskorpset Preparatory Course in Asia” held 1-20 October 2008 at the AIT Extension, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. Represented by its seven FK exchange participants (refer to related article), AWCF took part in numerous activities designed to prepare these young professionals as volunteers in their host countries. Organized by AIT Extension, Asian Institute of Technology in cooperation with FK, the course was aimed to introduce participants to FK and its vision, to prepare participants for living and volunteering in another Asian country outside of their home country, to provide participants with information regarding development issues affecting the Asian region, and to enable the participants to learn through collaboration and peer discussion.

To get to know FK better, the participants were introduced on FK’s work, its network and project partners, and the exchange program itself. They were also given time to analyze and discuss global and regional developmental concepts such as poverty alleviation, gender issues in development, sustainable development, community development, and media and development communication. On top of these, they were also trained to further enhance their interpersonal skills and cross-cultural communication practices, and ensure their personal safety and security through responding to emergencies and coping with personal challenges such as depression, loneliness, and trauma.

This preparatory course was attended by 25 participants representing five of FK’s project partners namely AWCF, LNTA (Lao National Tourism Agency), CAI-Asia (Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities), DRIK India and DRIK Bangladesh (Drik Picture Library Ltd.), and SLET (Sri Lanka Eco Tours).

After sealing the partnership agreement between AWCF and Fredskorpset (FK) in July 2008, AWCF and its network partners will participate in three major-FK activities to be between September and October of this year. Three activities were held in Oslo, Norway from 4 to 8 September 2008. The first two activities, "The IV International Advisory Council Meeting (IACM)" and the "FK North-South Forum" were conducted simultaneously with one another. The IACM held at Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel on 4-5 September served as an excellent opportunity to be acquainted with some of FK's 350 partners. In this event, they exchanged experiences with one another and provided advice/recommendations to the FK board and administration. The first day’s session was capped by the parade of the participants, participated by FK's project partners and at least 800 prominent representatives from the Norwegian society, and the “FK North-South Forum” held at Oslo’s City Hall.

Six Philippine co-operatives who are affiliates of the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) participated in the first study visit organized by AWCF on 12-17 August 2008. Twenty-five participants, 17 women and 8 men, took time out in their co-op work to: observe first hand how micro enterprises are supported by credit unions/co-operatives through micro-finance and loan services; share best practices on micro-enterprise programs as tools for women empowerment and family development; and appreciate the Thai culture and tradition.

The study visit participants also noted that the CUs they visited emphasized continuous education to members, focus on members’ needs and welfare, spirituality and socialization of culture and traditions, and concern for the environment. They were also amazed on how these CUs have remained true to the nature of co-ops of doing business while providing social services yet they were able to increase their assets ten-fold. They also appreciated the Jitarrom Principles of Attention, Care, Share, and Services (ACSS) that CUs apply in their co-op programs and services.

Insights or action points gathered during the study visit include the following:

• complementary co-op products and services

-          basic business skills on credit access

-          counseling

-          training or capacity building of leaders and members

-          product development

-          product certification

-          business registration

-          business negotiation

-          business planning

-          loan packaging

-          coaching and mentoring

-          marketing

-          accounting

-          mutual aid

-          retirement benefit

• Organize groups among the co-op members (such as women, youth, farmers, and other sectors) for livelihood activities that are appropriate to each co-op situation.
• Setting aside co-op funds intended to address social responsibility, environmental concerns, and the welfare of co-op members and their families.
• Focus on human resource development (HRD) for co-op leaders and staff by capacitating co-op staff involved in micro-finance and/or credit service that provide BDS to members.

AWCF and five of its member-organizations have identified six young professionals from the Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia to be the pioneer batch for the Project "Capacity-Building for Gender and Co-operatives in Asia" that is being implemented by AWCF in partnership with Fredskorpset Norway or FK-Norway under the latter's Asia South-South Exchange Program. These young professionals, four women and two men, were selected simultaneously in the three countries between July to mid-August 2008 through a recruitment and selection process organized by AWCF in cooperation with the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) in the Philippines; the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), Thailand; and the Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC), Cambodia. From the third week of August until September 2008, the selected participants are expected to attend orientation meetings organized by their respective organizations, process their passport and visa requirements, undertake medical examination and vaccination, conduct research or gather materials and documents in preparation for their actual posting, and properly turn-over their work responsibilities with their respective organizations.

This program also requires the participants to temporarily leave their regular work and families for at least 11 months to attend a three week Preparatory Course known as "10^th Fredskorpset Preparatory Course in Asia" to be held in Thailand on 1-20 October 2008 (refer to related article) followed by a 10-month staff exchange program posting that will commence on 21 October 2008. In this period, they are expected to learn and share their knowledge and expertise on various fields including gender equality with co-operatives and/or organizations in support of co-operatives. As they return to their home countries by August 2009, they will be sharing their exchange program learning and insights with their respective organizations and officers for reporting and replication purposes. 

The first batch of AWCF-FK project participants are:

Ms Annalyn Salvaleon is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and currently the Area Manager of the MICOOP or the Microfinance Innovations for Cooperatives program of NATCCO. As Mutual Benefit Officer, and one of the Filipinos to be posted at CULT, Ann is tasked to study and understand CULT's Mutual Benefit/Protection Program as NATCCO is interested to set up a mutual benefit system in addition to its present services. As this service will cover loan and life protection of co-p members, more co-op women is expected to avail of NATCCO’s savings and credit services. 

The second Filipina in this program is Ms Francisca Pilayan, also known as Kikay. She is the Executive Assistant at Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative (SACDECO) and presently one of the Barangay Councilors of Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. She is assigned as Co-operative Trainer/Facilitator at the Center for Agricultural Extension Volunteers (CAEV), Vietnam. One of Kikay's roles is to help improve the facilitation and social mobilization skills of the CAEV staff by facilitating a course on participatory approach. She will also design a Basic English course intended to improve the use of English language by the CAEV staff. On top of these, Ms Kikay is also expected to share her gender training to CAEV members to encourage their participation, especially the female farmers, in CAEV-led agricultural extension work.

The third participant is Mr. Rusell Tabisula, part-time Writer/Documentor/Researcher for AWCF who will be assigned at CULT as Documentalist. Equipped with his masteral units in Communications in addition to his Bachelors of Arts (BA) degree in Journalism earned in the Philippines, Russell is expected to develop an English course module to be used in teaching English to the staff of CULT and also to its primary credit unions. He will also translate from Thai to English some of CULT's newsletters and website articles, training manuals, brochures, other documents. He is also expected to write English articles concerning credit union management and promotion of gender equality and women empowerment in Thailand.

Ms Natchamon Thali is currently one of CULT’s IT Specialists and Training Officers. As she will be posted in the Philippines, Tao can share with the NATCCO staff and members her training skills on gender and IT (information technology). At the same time, she can also study NATCCO's financial management services particularly the use of ATM or the automated teller machine, money transfer using the Western Union facility, and cash management to help CULT expand the financial services it offers to credit unions in Thailand. She will be posted in the Philippines as NATCCO’s Financial Officer.

The fifth participant for this batch is Mr. Dennis Locanas, one of NATCCO’s IT Specialists and Systems Officer for its Ekoopbanker Accounting System. His work in the Philippines enables him to evaluate the capability of the accounting and technical aspects of co-operatives to adapt in an automated environment. He will be posted at Credit Union Promotion Club (CUPC), Malaysia particularly with Koperasi Kredit Pekerja-Pekerja Bhd (KKP) or The Workers Cooperative Credit Society Limited, one of CUPC’s major grassroots-based credit unions in Malaysia. He is expected to assist KKP in setting up an IT system that will help them manage and monitor data on loan application and loan repayment, design a basic IT training course for its staff and leaders, and lastly, identify business development services intended for their women and youth member-entrepreneurs.

Mr. Say Rada is one of SEDOC's Field Staff tasked to assist in organizing communities and conducting trainings. Rada will be posted at NATCCO as Micro Finance Officer. His tasks include learning NATCCO's micro-finance program methodologies and approaches as well as their accounting system used in micro-finance to be disseminated to SEDOC's partner and member-organizations upon his return to Cambodia. He is also expected to take part in trainings that will equip him to be one of SEDOC’s Gender Trainers.

Last but not the least is Ms Lem Rachana, SEDOC's Field Officer who will be assigned at CULT as Credit Union Promotion Officer. As SEDOC's goal is to become a professional credit union in Cambodia, Rachana will study and adopt CULT's credit union programs, methodologies, and approaches applicable in the Cambodian setting. She is also expected to learn the accounting system used in credit unions and to identify appropriate accounting standards that they can use at SEDOC. During her stay at CULT, she will also be exposed to gender mainstreaming and transformative leadership activities and trainings.

AWCF, in partnership with the KF Project Center (KFPC) of Sweden and in coordination with the Philippines’ National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), officially started implementing the 2008-2010 Project “Development of Gender Equality in Co-operatives in the Philippines” last March 2008, although numerous activities were already conducted in 2007 as part of its preparatory activities.

Its first major activity for this year was the “Planning Workshop” conducted on March 30-April 5, 2008 in Bauang, La Union. In this event, the project stakeholders reviewed the plans they made in November 2007 and drafted a gender equality framework intended for co-operatives (refer to related article). This was followed by a Gender Sensitivity Training (GST) to orient and deepen the knowledge of co-op members, officers, and staff regarding gender. Facilitated by Ms Emelina Santos, Department Manager of NATCCO’s Membership Relations and Networking Group (MRNG) and Mr. Ramon Aragon, NATCCO’s Training Officer, the GST for Sto. Domingo Development Cooperative (SDDC) was held on April 30-May 1, 2008 and was attended by 30 participants while the GST for Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative (SACDECO) was held on May 2-3, 2008 with 40 participants. In addition to these, another set of 30 participants attended the GST for Tubao Credit Cooperative (TCC) held on July 11-12, 2008. 

Furthermore, a “Gender Equality Study Visit” ensued on June 1-8, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden and was attended by three AWCF staff and six selected NATCCO co-op managers and officer (refer to related article). This activity enabled the participants to observe first hand the gender equality best practices Sweden is known for.

Other activities scheduled for the second half of the year includes a "Design Conference for the Training of Trainers" this September; and the "Training of Trainers on Gender Equality" to be conducted this December.

This Project was conceived to:

• Transform co-operatives to be vehicles to achieve gender equality in society and women empowerment;
• Promote transformative leadership in primary co-ops in the Philippines with special attention to the development of women leaders; and
• Mainstream gender equality and equity in the co-op policy, programs and services, structures and systems.

In support of its member-organization, AWCF joined the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) as it celebrated its “Women’s Congress” held at Hotel Supreme Convention Plaza, Baguio City, Philippines on May 22, 2008. The AWCF Secretariat came in full force and was part of at least 90 delegates who attended this activity with the theme “Equal Opportunity for All - (im) possible dream for your co-operative?” In this activity, the presentations and discussions tackled the need to promote gender-fairness in all aspects and activities of the co-operatives. As one of the resource persons, Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director, advocated on equal treatment and provision of same opportunities to both women and men especially within the co-op structure, programs, and activities through her topic “Gender Equality in Co-operatives… an impossible dream? She was followed by Ms Barbro Bragman, a Consultant of KF Project Center (KFPC), Sweden who shared on the status of the AWCF-KFPC-NATCCO Project "Development of Gender Equality in Co-operatives in the Philippines." As one of the Project's stakeholders, Ms Amelia Salay, one of the Directors of Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative (SACDECO), Ilocos Sur, Philippines shared their co-op's experiences and activities as they promote gender equality amidst their goal of being recognized as the first co-op GE (gender equality) Champion.   

The Secretariat also joined NATCCO in its “9^th National Co-op Leaders Congress” which was also held at the same venue on May 23, 2008. With the theme “Empowering Co-operatives through Information Technology, NATCCO presented its current and planned services that are based on IT (information technology). As one of the speakers, Ms Ganibe presented the results of the it@coops Project, a joint project of AWCF and InWEnt (Capacity Building International, Germany) and supported by BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development). The it@coops Project was implemented from 2004-2007 by three AWCF member-organizations: NATCCO, the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia), and the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT).

More than 600 women and men credit union (CU) members of the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT) witnessed CULT’s bestowing of an award to AWCF in recognition of the latter’s influence in the digitalization of Thailand’s CU movement, particularly in the use of different information techonology (IT) applications in enhancing CU services in the country. The awarding was held at CULT’s 36^th General Assembly on April 26, 2008 at the Town Hotel, Bangkok. Dr. Theerapat Serirangsan, former Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister, Thailand, turned over the award to AWCF Chairperson Ms Kruewan Chonlanai.

Through the project “Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives” or “it@coops Project,” a collaboration between AWCF and InWEnt of Germany, CULT was able to train 1,241 CU staff, leaders, and members (64 percent women); produced at least 34 IT Specialists (85 percent women) who serve as IT trainers and consultants for CULT;  established seven business development centers (BDCs) that give access to CUs and various micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to IT-related services; and created several websites used by CULT member-CUs  in promoting their organizations, among many tangible results. The it@coops was held in 2004-2007 in three AWCF members, including CULT.

The Board of Trustees (BOT) of AWCF has appointed Ms Kruewan Boonrin Chonlanai of the Credit Union League of Thailand, Ltd. (CULT), Thailand as its new Chairperson. Ms Kruewan has been working for CULT for almost 18 years now starting as Training Staff of the Education Department (1990-1994), then became Education Manager (1995-2004), then Executive Secretary to the General Manager (2005-2006), and currently as Head of the General Manager’s Office (2006-present). She also held the position of Program Manager of the it@coops project for Thailand for three years (2004-2007). The it@coops is a joint project of AWCF with InWEnt (Capacity Building International of Germany).

Her active involvement in AWCF started in 1998 after attending the Training of Trainers (TOT) on Gender Sensitivity held in Thailand. This was followed by other trainings and exposures to national and international co-op activities that further enhanced not only her leadership, teaching, and entrepreneurial skills but also boosted her self-confidence. Seeing that she is ready for a much bigger responsibility, CULT assigned Ms Kruewan as their representative to AWCF’s BOT in January 2007. In AWCF’s General Assembly (GA) in July 2007, she was elected Vice President for Internal Affairs. 

Her educational credentials include a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Ramkhamhaeng University and a Master of Arts (MA) in Co-operative Economics from the Kasetsart University, both located in Thailand, and a certificate as a Development Educator (DE) as she finished the Credit Union Community Development Programme in Australia. She is also a product of SEARSOLIN (South East Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute), Philippines, an organization that sowed in her the social commitment to work towards poverty reduction.

Ms Kruewan will replace Ms Naning Mardiniah of the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia), who resigned from her position. Ms Kruewan is the new Chairperson of AWCF effective April 24, 2008 while Ms Norma Pereyras of the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Philippines will be AWCF’s Vice President for Internal Affairs.

From March 30 to April 5, 2008, AWCF, KF Project Center (KFPC)-Sweden, National Confederation of Co-operatives (NATCCO), and selected NATCCO co-op-affiliates met at Long Beach Resort in Bauang, La Union to continue identifying and conducting activities as part of promoting gender equality in co-operatives, particularly in three of NATCCO’s affiliate co-ops in Northern Luzon namely Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative (SACDECO), Sto. Domingo Development Cooperative (SDDC), and Tubao Credit Cooperative (TCC). The primary co-operatives were represented by their general managers, chairpersons, and focal point persons while NATCCO was represented by their office staff based at NATCCO headquarter and at their Northern and Central Luzon branch.

In this meeting, they were able to revisit and strengthen the co-operative gender equality action plans they made last November 2007 based on the experiences and recommendations from the participants themselves and the technical inputs provided by Ms Anni Grosse, KFPC Project Manager; Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director, and Ms Angelita Valdez, AWCF Program Coordinator.  

As part of mainstreaming the concept of gender, the project stakeholders also developed a gender equality framework that co-operatives can use to be regarded as a gender-equal co-op. In addition to this, they also visited Tubao Credit Cooperative, which is located in La Union, to know and meet the co-op staff and officers, and also to have a glimpse on the operations of this co-op.

March 28, 2008 was a hectic day for AWCF as two of its international partners visited AWCF for a meeting cum organizational updating. For its morning activity, AWCF met with Mr. Sacha Jotisalikorn, Regional Representative for Asia of Fredskorpset (FK), a Norwegian government agency that is promoting international understanding and mutual learning through institutional cooperation and exchange of people.

As FK will be facilitating a staff exchange project within Asia for 2008, under its South-South Asia program, AWCF has expressed interest to be part of this project that will enable representatives from AWCF member-organizations to share and acquire expertise from AWCF ASEAN-partner organizations by immersing (staying and living) with the selected organizations in a year’s time. 

This meeting was followed by another meeting, this time it’s between AWCF and the representatives from the Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU). In this meeting, Mr. Jirou Itou, Manager of JCCU’s International Department, took the chance to officially introduce to the AWCF staff Ms Hitomi Tanaka, Board Member of JCCU, and Mr. Yoshimitsu Nakamura, JCCU International Department staff who is now assigned as Special Advisor of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)-Asia and Pacific, replacing Mr. Tsubasa Nakamura.

Moreover, as AWCF and JCCU had an update on the different programs they are currently working on, they invited Ms Salome Ganibe, Executive Director of AWCF, to be the key resource person to the JCCU/AWCF Gender Equality Seminar to be held in Tokyo, Japan on the 14^th of November 2008 to be attended by co-op female and male members, board members, and officers belonging to the network of the Consumers Co-op Union in Tokyo metropolitan area. Hence, this meeting also explored the possibility of inviting representatives of both organizations to attend or collaborate on future trainings or activities.

AWCF was able to advocate the use of different information technology (IT) applications in entrepreneurship development in the recently concluded three-day “Regional Workshop on Community-Based ICT Integration” organized by the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources  in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA) in partnership with Intel Technology. Held last March 13-14, 2008 in Pasig City, Philippines, the AWCF contingent talked on the it@coops project as the network’s contribution in bridging the digital divide within Southeast Asia, particularly the use of IT in promoting entrepreneurship development. The group is composed of Ms Kruewan Chonlanai, Vice-President for Internal Affairs and Project Manager of the it@coops Project of the Credit Union League of Thailand, Ltd. (CULT); Ms Salome Ganibe, Executive Director of AWCF; Mr. Cresente Paez, President and CEO of the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO); Mr. Angelo Perez, Head of NATCCO’s Management Information System (MIS); and Mr. Yohannes Baptista Agusnugroho, IT Coordinator of the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia). 

This was followed by AWCF’s attendance to the “Workshop on the Projects of ASEAN Foundation” attended solely by Ms Salome Ganibe last April 1, 2008 at Pasay City, Philippines. In this workshop, as Ms Ganibe talked on AWCF’s experience in implementing projects with ASEAN Foundation, she focused on sharing the results of the three AWCF-AF projects on entrepreneurship development, particularly AWCF’s efforts in coming up with IT-enhanced programs and services and the establishment of a regional network of women entrepreneurs. 

In recognition of the efforts and abilities of individual co-op leaders and co-op organizations to make a difference in the co-op movement for the present and for the future, AWCF presented to the public its 2007 “Transformative Individuals and Organizations Asian Co-operative Award,” or TrIO Award last February 12, 2008 during the Public Awareness Conference on “Empowering ASEAN Women through Micro-Enterprise Development in Co-ops” held in Astoria Plaza Hotel, Pasig City, Philippines. The 2007 TrIO “Individual Category” Award was presented to Ms Clarita P. Napoles, Chairperson of the Biliran Island Cooperative Federation, Biliran Province, Philippines; while the 2007 TrIO “Organizational Category” Award was bestowed to Huaykhanang-Tungna Credit Union of Uthaithani Province, Thailand and was received by its Chairperson, Mr. Chode Rodpong.

Ms Napoles or “Claire” represented the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Philippines in this search. Ms Napoles rendered services both in the public and co-operative sectors in which she demonstrated her leadership: as Vice Mayor of Cabucgayan Municipality, Biliran, July 2004-June 2007; Region 8 Executive Director of VICTO, based in Tacloban City, 1989-June 2004; Project Officer/Director of the Northern Samar Integrated Co-operative Development Project of VICTO, 1985-1988; network consultant for the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Philippines, and for the Visayas Cooperative Development Center (VICTO), Region 8, Philippines; and Vice President for the Visayas region of the Coop NATCCO Party List Executive Committee. Coop NATCCO has been represented in the Philippine Congress since the 11^th Congress to the current 14^th Congress.

On the other hand, Huaykhanang-Tungna CU, a member of the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), was able to set itself apart from the other co-ops as they develop people that can help themselves and one another in achieving three goals: good and moral behavior (spiritual); better living (economics), and peaceful living (social). It is considered one of the successful CUs in Thailand because of its successful business, large membership, faster service delivery, better use of technology, improved attitude of members, improved leadership and staff, and promotion of transformative leadership.

Only on its second year, this Award seeks to recognize, honor, and celebrate outstanding women and men co-op leaders and co-operatives that help promote transformative leadership or TL in their co-ops and in communities. This is an annual search conceived by AWCF to confirm that the practice of TL by both individual co-op leaders and co-op organizations brings about positive change in the co-op membership, and in the communities and societies to which the leaders and co-ops belong. This recognition is part of AWCF’s advocacy in promoting strong and effective leadership in co-ops as it calls for the transformation of individuals—women and men—and their organizations to be more democratic and more caring of the members and of the communities where they serve.

Looking back, the first-ever winners of the TrIO Award were Ms Tichakorn Kit-Boon-Chu for the Individual Category, and Tagum Co-operative of the Philippines for the Organizational Category. Ms Tichakorn is the Manager of the St. Peter Credit Union Co-operative in Nakorn Pro Tom Province, Thailand, whose vision and leadership have greatly helped transform her Co-op into a more caring and more progressive organization. Tagum Co-operative, in contrast, is considered one of the prime movers of the co-op movement in the Mindanao region and in the whole of the Philippines, and its many previous awards attest to its effectiveness as a co-op organization serving its members while taking care of its community.

On February 12-13, 2008, in Pasig City, Philippines, AWCF convened the Public Awareness Conference on “Empowering ASEAN Women through Micro-Enterprise Development in Co-ops.” The event was supported by the ASEAN Foundation (AF) in coordination with the Japan ASEAN Solidarity Fund (JASF), and hosted by the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), AWCF’s member in the Philippines. The Conference was actually the last of the three components of the AF-supported AWCF project implemented in 2007, that is, the “Building Capacities of Women Entrepreneurs and Exploring Opportunities for Micro-Enterprise Development for Co-operatives in Southeast Asia” project. The project’s other components were the regional exchange program “Women Entrepreneurs and Exploring Opportunities for Micro-Enterprise Development in Co-operatives in Southeast Asia” held March 19-April 1, 2007 in Indonesia; and the regional forum “ICT Applications in Enterprise Development: Building Networks and Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in Co-operatives,” held July 31-August 3, 2007 in Thailand.

The February Conference aimed at showcasing the development projects between AWCF and AF, particularly the results and recommendations regarding the empowerment of women and the reduction of poverty through entrepreneurship development and the application of information and communication technology (ICT) within the ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Conference intended to further strengthen the network for women entrepreneurs in the region. With these goals, the Conference specifically aimed at making the public aware of the results of the entrepreneurship development program and of the development of women entrepreneurs in co-ops and self-help groups on matters pertaining to women empowerment and poverty reduction; and serving as venue in assessing the sustainability, application, and implementation of the enterprise development action plan prepared by the participants of the AWCF-AF projects during entrepreneurship training vis-à-vis the committed support and guidance of their respective organizations.

The 10 ASEAN states’ female and male representatives at the two-day Conference came from co-operatives, national machineries for women and poverty alleviation, and government agencies. On Day Two, these representatives gave country reports that included, among other information, their country’s poverty situation, condition of women, and the status of the Co-operative Entrepreneurship Development Action Plan (CEDAP) that were submitted by their country participants who joined the AWCF-AF project duration. Earlier on Day One, the representatives from the ASEAN states were joined by selected guests from regional co-op networks and primary co-ops; government, non-government, and United Nations (UN) agencies that assist co-ops and other self-help groups in the ASEAN states; ASEAN embassies based in the Philippines; and media representatives. Together with the guests, the ASEAN representatives were able to listen to distinguished Day One resource speakers who tackled subjects that reinforced the Conference theme. The first day had more than 70 participants and guests in attendance.

AF Executive Director Dr. Filemon A. Uriarte Jr. keynoted the Conference. He spoke of the women sector, particularly women entrepreneurs, as an important stakeholder in building the ASEAN community, and of the potential of women advancing through entrepreneurship. He said that women have demonstrated the passion and persistence to succeed, whether they are starting a home-based business to support a family, planning a large-scale enterprise with an industry presence, or launching a not-for-profit organization to make a social difference.

Dr. Uriarte also remarked that the Public Awareness Conference is a means to help the participants develop awareness on how to effectively utilize the “power people” in their lives, meaning those who can help women develop as entrepreneurs and gain empowerment. He also described AWCF as a kind of a power network giving assistance in entrepreneurship to women.

The AF Executive Director also said that his organization is willing to continue its partnership with women entrepreneurs and to support activities like the one currently being held as all this promote people-to-people interaction and cooperation among various ASEAN stakeholders.

Dr. Uriarte likewise explained in his keynote that in AF’s 10 years of existence, it has provided over US$15M worth of financial support to more than 110 projects in the areas of social development, science and technology, environment and culture, and information. AF is also currently providing over US$4.7M to more than 30 ongoing projects.

Welcome messages at the Conference’s opening ceremonies in the morning came from Mr. Wilfredo Dimamay, Chairperson of NATCCO; and Ms Kruewan Chonlanai, Vice President for Internal Affairs of AWCF. Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director, gave a Conference overview as well as recognition of the participants and guests, who also included the AWCF Board of Trustees and Election Committee members. The AWCF officers’ presence in the Conference was also in preparation for their organizational meeting on February 14-15 in the same venue.

To cap the morning session of Day One of the Conference, AWCF showed to the audience an audio-video summary of the implementation and results of the AWCF-AF partnership, which started in 2001 with the regional forum “Women, Gender and Co-operatives in Asia: Meeting Challenges, Exploring Opportunities” held in Bangkok; then the 2003-2004 regional exchange program “Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women as Important Dimension to Building Gender Equality in Southeast Asia" done in the Philippines and Thailand; and, finally, the recent project in 2007.

Discussions on a theme

In Day One’s afternoon session, four eminent speakers tackled the theme “Enterprise Development and Poverty Reduction Toward Building the ASEAN Community.” Their presentations took off from the various ways by which ASEAN women are being assisted to improve their situation and condition, such as by becoming entrepreneurs. The speakers were followed by three distinguished resource persons who offered their insights and recommendations.

The four speakers and their topics were: Mr. Rommel Agustin, Executive Director, Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc. (APFTI), “Fair Trade: An Alternative Trading System for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”; Mr. Mariel Vincent Rapisura, President and Chief Executive Officer, Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI), Philippines, “Providing Business Development Services through the Business Development Center (BDC)”; Ms Ganibe, “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Applications in Enterprise Development Programs”; and Ms Chonlanai, “Information Technology (IT)-supported BDCs in Thailand, Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT).”

The resource persons and their topics were Ms Ma. Lourdes Kathleen Santos-Cacho, Program Assistant on Employment-International Labour Organization (ILO) Sub-Regional Office for South-East Asia and the Pacific, “Job Creation in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises”; Dr. Amelou Benitez-Reyes, President, ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organizations (ACWO), “Insights and Recommendations on AWCF’s Initiatives to Empower ASEAN Women through Micro-Enterprises in Co-ops”; and Dr. Alvin Marcelo, Manager, International Open Source Network (IOSN), ASEAN+3 Sub-Regional Node, “Free and/or Open Source Software (FOSS) in Support of Women and MSMEs.” Ms Cacho explained ILO’s programs and services, and how organizations can coordinate with ILO in pursuing their goals. She invited the participants to contact the ILO office nearest them. Dr. Reyes lauded AWCF’s efforts to help in the economic and social empowerment of women in the region. She proposed closer coordination between ACWO and AWCF and other participants of the Conference, such as by relaying to ACWO and national councils of women in the ASEAN region more information about co-ops; and participation in the “ASEAN Regional Conference on Women” and “13^th ACWO General Assembly” in Manila, November 2008. Dr. Reyes also shared about “womenomics” as ACWO's framework with three components: women entrepreneurship and microfinance; women's integration in the digital economy; and e-leadership/e-governance. The framework sets itself apart from other poverty strategies that see women as victims. She also mentioned that her presidency of ACWO will last till 2008, but she offered that AWCF and other interested organizations can still coordinate with her through her other engagements, such as being the president of the Philippine Women’s University, where, for example, short programs can be designed and offered to address women’s needs. Dr. Marcelo, meanwhile, underscored the advantages and how-tos of FOSS that women entrepreneurs and MSMEs in general can use for their businesses, which will also enable them to make savings in the process, which can be use for other areas of their business operations. He emphasized the need for FOSS users to be united in being vigilant in using FOSS so as to maximize its benefits, and to be able to immediately address problems that may crop up, if ever, such as viruses.

Country reports

Day Two of the Conference focused on the insights and applications of learning gained from the ASEAN countries’ participation in the AWCF-AF projects, including the 2007 project. Participants were thus trimmed down to the representatives of the 10 ASEAN countries—a mix of co-op groups, government agencies, and national machineries for women and poverty alleviation—some of whom were actual participants in the projects, or who had met with and collated the experiences from the participants in their countries. Also present on the second day were the AWCF Officers and Secretariat, and AF representatives. The presentors were the following:

Brunei Darussalam: Dyg. Hj. Hajidah Awg. Haji Abdul Wahab, Assistant Treasurer, Women Counci of Brunei Darussalam; and Azlina Aji, (Dk Azlina Pg Hj Aji), Co-op Development Officer, Brunei Industrial Development Authority. Cambodia: Ms Chuth Leang Vanny, Deputy Director General for Gender Equality and Economic Development, Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA); and Mr. Sil Vineth, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC). Indonesia: Ms Anik Dwi Martuti, Executive Secretary, Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia). Lao PDR: Ms Itmany Chantekhoune, Vice President, Provincial Lao Women’s Union (LWU); Mr. Saner Hoonghuai, Project Consultant, Foundation for Integrated Agricultural and Environmental Management (FIAM). Malaysia: Mr. M. Annamalai, Finance and Accounts Manager, Koperasi Kredit Pekerja-Pekerja Berhad (KKP), Credit Union Promotion Club, Malaysia. Myanmar: Mr. U Kyaw Thein, Central Co-operative Society (CCS). Philippines: Ms Norma Pereyras, member, Board of Directors, NATCCO. Singapore: Ms Adelaide Chang Shook Leng, Director and Education Chair, DEW Credit Co-operative. Thailand: Ms Kruewan Chonlanai, Head, Office of the General Manager, Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT). Vietnam: Ms Nghiem Duc Hien, Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU).

After the presentations, session moderator Ms Angelita Valdez, AWCF Program Coordinator, remarked that the reports aptly showed the different conditions and results in each country, of which the totality is that all aim at realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), poverty alleviation, and gender equality. The ASEAN countries have to face challenges, said Ms Valdez, such as having innovative programs and services to meet the need of organizations’ members as well as that of the communities. Ms Valdez cited some specific measures to address this challenge, based on the reports, such as promoting gender awareness in all ASEAN countries; strengthening existing women’s groups in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar; and promoting and establishing co-ops following the co-op principles and values, in Cambodia, for instance.

Another challenge is the effective mobilization of resources for gender equity and equality. One way of addressing this, again based on the reports, is by continuous education and training to develop human resources. Decision-makers should the first ones to be convinced about gender equality. Then also, of course, the staff and the entrepreneurs themselves, Ms Valdez said.

Ms Valdez also named as a challenge the continuous promotion and ventilation of the issues in the mass media. Then, the compliance of organizations like enterprises with government policies in each country, and also awareness about policies that can threaten small to medium enterprises. There is also the challenge of being able to use tools for basic and advanced training in each country, and the need to know the different resources available in the various organizations and countries. Ms Valdez cited as a final challenge the need to reach out to the women in the field, especially the women entrepreneurs, to help them to be strong and to overcome the fear of failure.

The closing messages for Day Two were given by Mr. Annamalai, AWCF Vice President for External Affairs, and Mr. Ajie Akhmad Wahidin, AF Programme Officer. Mr. Annamalai refreshed everyone of the inputs from the various speakers of Day One and enjoined all to take home and apply their learning. Mr. Ajie thanked everyone for their participation in the Conference, and mentioned that the involvement of AF in the event attests to the support of AF to the efforts of AWCF.

In the afternoon of Day Two, the participants visited the offices and factory in Manila of the Social Action Foundation for Rural and Urban Development Inc. (SAFRUDI). SAFRUDI is a Fair Trade Organization that aims at forming a web of self-propelling communities imbued with and living out moral and spiritual principles. It works to empower small entrepreneurs and artisans through its social economic program, and initiates capacity-building projects in communities enrolled under its “Integrated Social Development Program.”

With the project “Building Capacities of Women Entrepreneurs and Exploring Opportunities for Micro Enterprise development for Co-operatives in Southeast Asia,” a partnership project between AWCF and ASEAN Foundation (AF) implemented for 2007-2008, AWCF was able to further intensify its reach within the ASEAN states through partnership with co-operatives, government agencies, and non-government organizations (NGOs) that have existing projects on empowering women.

From January 13 to 27, 2008, AWCF visited four Southeast Asian countries namely Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia with the intention of: meeting the participants of the previous AWCF-AF activities, have an update on the status of the Co-operative Entrepreneurship Development Action Plan (CEDAP) they made, and gather from them learning, insights, and changes brought by participating in these AWCF-AF activities. Organizations met by AWCF include: Lao Women’s Union in Lao PDR; Credit Union League of Thailand and its selected credit Union members in Thailand; Center for Agricultural Extension Volunteers (CAEV), Vietnam Co-operative Alliance (VCA), and Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) in Vietnam; and selected co-operatives and NGO affiliates of the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia). 

Moreover in Lao PDR, AWCF also got a chance to meet and coordinate with organizations having programs/projects on women to explore opportunities on how they can develop or further enhance entrepreneurship projects benefiting marginalized women. The organizations who helped AWCF come-up with a Laos women’s situationer, based on the courtesy visits cum meetings with them, were the Foundation for Integrated Agricultural and Environmental Management (FIAM), an NGO promoting the use of savings groups, and the two UN offices-the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)-who have programs intended for Laos women.

The “Gender Equality Workshop for Co-operatives” was conducted November 27-29, 2007 in Antipolo City, Philippines, participated in by staff of the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) (AWCF’s Philippines member); Board members, managers, and gender focal persons from NATCCO affiliate-co-ops Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative, Sto. Domingo Development Cooperative, and Tubao Credit Cooperative (all in Northern Philippines); and AWCF staff. A total of 30 participants were present, 77 percent female. The workshop was part of the “Development of Gender Equality in Co-operatives in the Philippines” Project which started in May 2007, and is a partnership between AWCF and the KF Project Center (KFPC)-Sweden. Workshop facilitators were Ms Anni Grosse, KFPC Project Manager, and Mr. Olle Ingemarsson, Human Resource Development (HRD) Consultant of System Bolaget.

In the workshop, the participants were able to enhance their basic knowledge of gender and gender equality using Sweden as an example, in relation to the Philippine situation; and to prepare a gender equality plan of action both at the personal and institutional level.

The AWCF and KFPC-Sweden Project aims at:

• Transforming co-operatives to be vehicles to achieve gender equality in society and women empowerment
• Promoting transformative leadership in primary co‑ops in the Philippines with special attention to the development of women leaders
• Mainstreaming gender equality and equity in the co‑op policy, programs and services, structure and systems.  

Staff of co-operatives from Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines who were trained as Information Technology (IT) Specialists by the "Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives (it@coops) Project" gathered together for the "Regional Forum on it@coops: Empowering Co-operatives through Information Technology" held November 19-21, 2007, Antipolo City, Philippines. The Project is implemented from 2004-2007 in co-ops affiliated to national co-op federations in the three countries that are members of AWCF. The Project is a partnership of AWCF and InWEnt (Capacity Building International, Germany), with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Guests at the opening ceremonies of the conference included Ms Lecira Juarez, Chairperson of the Philippines's Cooperative Development Authority (CDA); Mr. Niel Santillan, CDA Executive Director; Dr. Ute Huebner, Representative of  InWEnt, Manila; Mr. Pit Heltmann, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy, Manila; and Mr. Mahudin, First Secretary, Economic Affairs, Indonesian Embassy, Manila. The Antipolo forum also sought to inspire more co-ops to use IT to improve competitiveness, to enhance operations and engagement in entrepreneurial work, and to set up IT-based business development centers (BDCs). The BDCs give services to co-op members who may be entrepreneurs, including co-op women members who may have difficulty accessing business services. The it@coops Project is geared extensively, though not exclusively, to women.  

Click here for the documentation report of the Regional Forum on it@coops: Empowering Co-operatives through Information Technology.

Click here for the public awareness materials of the it@coops Regional Forum: Co-ops in the People's Lives; Overview of Some Examples of IT and BDC

Find here the directory of the participants.

The "it@coops Project" has three pillars or components: the training of co-op staff as IT specialists/trainers; the putting up of IT-supported BDCs in co-ops; and the setting up of national and transregional (Southeast Asia) virtual networks among co-ops. In the Philippines, the Project has enabled these co-ops to operate Internet cafes patronized by members and even other community residents: Paco-Soriano-Pandacan Development Co-op in Manila; Nueva Vizcaya Alay Kapwa Multipurpose Co-op (MPC) in Nueva Vizcaya; and Gubat St. Anthony Co-op in Bicol. These Internet cafes have allowed the co-op members to have access to the Internet and its different facilities, which they did not have before and could not use even for their business transactions. The following co-ops, meanwhile, have initiated BDCs: Lamac MPC and Cebu People's Co-op, both in Cebu; and Labo Progressive MPC in Bicol. The BDCs of Lamac, Cebu People's, and Labo focus mainly on developing and marketing members' products. IT has helped them do research on product innovations and use web-based tools to market their members' products. Using IT tools contributed to improving their image as co-op organizations, enhanced their credibility in transacting business with clients, and, consequently, expanded their access to bigger markets. Labo Co-op, particularly, has gained foreign clients to its pineapple-based products through its web-based promotional activities.

For the Project’s participants in Indonesia, new websites were developed by FORMASI Indonesia and the NGOs Bina Swadaya, PEKERTI, PPSW, LP3ES, Bina Desa, ASPPUK. Meanwhile, Bina Arta Swadaya, Koperasi Kredit Sehati, Koperasi Kredit Melati, PERSEPSI, LPPSE, and Koperasi Karya Insa are preparing their websites. FORMASI, ASPPUK, LP3ES, Bina Swadaya, and Bina Arta Swaday have migrated several of their computers to use FOSS. The IT training given to the co-op members has improved their knowledge and skills that help them do their work. For example, Koperasi Kredit Melati gave a Powerpoint training to the members, including teachers. The teachers are now using Powerpoint in their presentations in school. Women, including mothers, are now learning to use computers and the Internet. They are able to get more information using these tools. Likewise, they have become more aware of what their kids do when the children visit the Internet café. Organizations with BDCs are starting to gain popularity for their services. For example, the Bina Desa is now more known as the distributor of organic rice among its clients in Jakarta that include NGOs, a university, private companies, and government agencies.

All this growth being experienced by co-ops and co-op members in Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines through the "it@coops Project" has proven to be an impetus for co-ops, and are bound to be sustained and to become even bigger as the Project's processes are aimed at being a continuing program for co-operatives in the region.

More information about the Project is at: http://www.it-coops.net

Ms Naning Mardiniah, AWCF Chairperson, and Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director, represented AWCF in the sixth meeting of the International Co-operative Alliance-Asia and Pacific Regional Women’s Committee (ICA AP RWC) held October 16, 2007 at Carlton Hotel, Singapore. They were joined by Ms Norma Pereyras, Secretary of the AWCF Board of Trustees (BOT), who took part in the meeting for the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) where she is a Board member representing the women’s sector of the NATCCO network. NATCCO is member of both the ICA and AWCF. The three women were among 50 women from 10 countries who took part in discussing the progress of gender integration programs in nine AP countries, based on reports made by 13 committee members. The reports highlighted the following needs: a) more leadership development programs for women and b) mainstreaming gender in co-ops to increase women's participation in co-ops at all levels especially at the international level. The meeting was followed by a study tour to the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) Insurance Co-operative that enabled the participants to have a glimpse of the co-operative work in Singapore.