Central Registrar of Cooperatives, a joint Secretary level officer had a word of caution for the cooperative leaders. Speaking on the occasion of International Cooperative day on July 2 in NCUI campus in Delhi, Shri R K Tiwary said that attracting youth is alright but they should also control the levers of power for a meaningful engagement.
Hinting at the dais he said if youths are occupying seats here, cooperative has a bright future. Being young is virtuous. From corporate world to polity to NGOs- all are looking for the participation of youth. Cooperatives are no exception.
Young people have energy and imagination but more than that they have capacity to adapt to new challenges. Unless we engage them meaningful ly, this movement will not fulfill its objective, Mr Tiwary said.
Cooperative needs youth and youth also need cooperative to fulfill their ambition. But cooperative needs them more than they need us. But how to attract them is a big question. Mere symposium or training of youth in cooperative values will not help, added Mr Tiwary.
We need to come up with such models which would help them fulfill their aspirations. We have to ponder as to what benefit they can get by associating with cooperatives.
Many models have been suggested for their inclusion but best model is forming cooperative of unemployed and young, poor and energetic.
For this cooperative also has to reform. Young people should be encouraged to join the board of directors in cooperatives. Leaders accountability and their stake holding should also increase, Central Registrar said.
Mr R K Tiwary came late in the function and left too soon to have any interaction with the audience. But it was a practical and meaningful speech he made at the function populated by young people.