Sheri Ann Rodin, News, College of Social Sciences and Development
The Department of Cooperatives and Social Development under the College of Social Sciences and Development (CSSD) successfully organized the International Multidisciplinary Research Conference in the Social Sciences and Development in collaboration with the Institut Kooperasi Malaysia and the Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives. The joint international conference has the theme “Creating Opportunities Through Cooperativism” and was held last October 26 and 27, 2022 via Zoom Teleconferencing.
In honor of this year’s Cooperative Month, this two-day online research conference brought together individuals, particularly cooperators, who have strong ideas for formulating and implementing strategies to resolve the problems that our society is facing. Furthermore, the purpose of this event is to adapt inter- and multidisciplinary concepts in studies to promote both theoretical and practical contributions; to emphasize best practices and innovative ideas in relation and relevant to social sciences in order to further enhance it in terms of its sector and academic discipline; to strengthen social development for the purpose of achieving sustainable development goals in the ASEAN Region; and to motivate everyone in alleviating socio-economic issues.
“We are glad to jointly organize this international research conference with our Malaysian friends, and we look forward to further engagements with you. It is with great privilege that we welcome all our participants in this gathering, for taking the time to join us in this intellectual undertaking. Our Sintang Paaralan is an important training ground for the next generation of leaders through the university’s continuing growth and development of cooperative education, and this activity could not have been more significant as we forge our path towards becoming better cooperators, and in our quest to become the National Polytechnic University,” Dr. Manuel M. Muhi, PUP President shared in his Message of Solidarity.
Honorable Datuk Mohd Ali Bin Mansor, Director General of Co-operative Institute of Malaysia, and Rev. Fr. Anton C. T. Pascual, Chairperson of Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives, also delivered their messages of solidarity. CSSD Dean, Dr. Raul Roland R. Sebastian delivered the welcome remarks. Prof. Datin Paduka Fatimah Mohamed Arshad (PhD, FAsc) delivered a valuable and well-explained keynote speech during the first day of the conference.
During the afternoon session, Hon. Undersecretary Joseph B. Encabo, Chairperson of the Cooperative Development Authority of the Republic of the Philippines, shared his plans for empowering micro and small cooperatives. He also anticipates an increase in registration and the growth of cooperativism in the rural areas.
Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Richard Ng from Koperasi Alam Hijau Perak Berhad discussed Sustainable Development and Inclusion: A Co-operative Perspective in Malaysia (KOHIJAU). In his plenary speech, Dr. Ng emphasized the self-sustainability of a social business, where the impact on society is more crucial than the profit. He also stated that adversity, such as a social problem, can be turned into an opportunity as a social business that can provide jobs for people, eventually leading to the establishment of an enterprise that uses business concepts to solve these social problems.
On the second day of the learning journey in cooperative opportunities, Mr. Balasubramanian (Balu) Iyer, Regional Director of International Cooperative Alliance - Asia-Pacific, delivered a message of solidarity. The second day’s plenary speaker was Mr. Roy S. Miclat, President of 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines Life and General Insurance. He emphasized his belief in the youth as one of the key players in bringing about significant changes and innovations in the cooperative movement around the world. He also shared his knowledge about digitalization in 1CISP, citing DigiCoop as a way for cooperatives to fully embrace digitalization.
In his closing remarks, Honourable Dato’ Dr. Hj. Yunus Bin Rahmat, Board Member of the Co-operative Institute of Malaysia, said that this event is exceptional because it is the first time a joint research conference was co-organized by their cooperative. He also sees many opportunities for collaboration between the Co-operative Institute of Malaysia and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines to keep improving cooperative education in Malaysia and the Philippines.
Aside from the collaborative experience and comradeship formed between the two institutions, participants in the event, particularly the cooperators of the PUP-DCSD, gained insightful learnings from the various research presented by the students and professionals. They’ve certainly established a strong foundation of knowledge on how to overcome society’s challenges with the help of the knowledge and prolific understanding about cooperativism that the speakers and researchers had fed to everyone. Hopefully, this collaboration of various institutions from diverse fields will serve as a model for everyone to keep embracing the spirit of cooperativism. Also, this shows the essence of cooperation to the rest of the world and to put it into practice by helping the communities around us.
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