Only Co-ops can mitigate Covid led economic recession: NCUI Webinar

Under Coop Connect Program, NCUI organized a Webinar on ‘Importance of Cooperatives As a Business Model for Youth’ recently in which Dr Yashwant Dongre, former University Professor, and Dean Mysore University was the Key Resource Person.

With more than 50 participants, the webinar was attended by representatives of the cooperative sector, students of schools, colleges and universities, youth organizations and a few international delegates, informs a press release.

In his introductory speech, N Satya Narayana, Chief Executive, NCUI highlighted the importance and uniqueness of the cooperative model for youth. He elaborated on the initiatives of NCUI in popularizing the cooperative model of education in schools, colleges and universities.

In his presentation Dr Dongre underlined the relevance of the cooperative model in the current Covid crisis and said during the global recession in 2007-2008, cooperatives were found to be the most stable and resilient enterprises.

Talking about school cooperatives in Malaysia, University cooperatives in Japan, Youth cooperatives in Indonesia, he said that it is a big challenge to set up vibrant campus cooperatives in India with the help of students, teachers and the school management.

He said that on an average the cooperative sector in India recruits 2 lakh people every year. He also elaborated on various models of cooperative entrepreneurship and the potentialities of youth to venture into various areas as coop business entrepreneurs.

The interactive session was brain-storing and stretched for almost an hour where the students came up with various questions which showed their inquisitiveness to know more about cooperatives. For example, many questions had a focus on ways and means to start a cooperative business enterprise, and job prospects in cooperatives at a time when the problem of unemployment is increasing due to the covid crisis.

The other questions revolved around what should be the strategies to involve youth in cooperatives in the post-covid period, what should be the role of cooperatives in providing skill development to youth, the role of youth in organizing cooperatives for improving manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors through digital transformation, the role of NCUI, etc. Sanjay Verma, Dy Director (Coop Connect) NCUI coordinated the program.