Programme Schedule

International Symposium on Cooperative Financial Institutions International Symposium on Cooperative Financial Institutions

International Symposium on Cooperative Financial Institutions

“Fueling Inclusive and Equitable Growth”

28-29 May 2026

United Nations Headquarters | New York City, USA

27 May

Evening Reception

Bukhara Grill

217 E 49th St, New York City, NY 10017-1501

18h30-20h30 EDT

28 May

Opening, keynote address and thematic panels

UNHQ

10h00-18h00 EDT

29 May

Thematic panels, keynote address and UN Visit

UNHQ

10h00-15h30 EDT

* Subject to availability and re-confirmation by the UN as ad-hoc government meetings always take precedence.
** Pre Registration Required
Programme in Detail — Day 1 | 28 May 2026
Time Session Speakers / Details
09h00-10h00 Badges collection ICA-ICBA Volunteers
10h00-11h30 Inauguration and Opening Keynote Address
10h00-10h05 Welcome and Housekeeping Santosh Kumar, ICA Director of Legislation
10h05-10h10 Thematic Address: Fueling Inclusive and Equitable Growth Bhima Subrahmanyam, ICBA President
10h10-10h17 Building Bridges: Cooperative Contributions for a Peaceful World Ariel Guarco, ICA President
10h17-10h27 Cooperative Financial Institutions: Pillars of our Community Hon. FCPA Dr. Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, EGH, Chairman, Africa Ministerial Cooperative Conference (AMCCO); Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, Kenya
10h27-10h35 Cooperating towards 2035: Reaffirming Commitments and Building Partnerships H.E. Ankhbayar Nyamdorj, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations
10h35-10h40 Statement : Cooperatives a Better World H.E. Yojna Patel, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
10h40-10h45 Promoting the Cooperative Financial Institutions in delivering the SDGs and shaping the agenda beyond 2030 Charles Kataonga, Director, DISD, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
10h45-10h50 Vote of Thanks José Alves de Souza Neto, President, ICA Americas
10h50-11h30 Commitment to Action
10h50-10h57 Introducing the ICA Strategy 2026-2030: Practice-Promote-Protect and welcoming the Opening keynote speaker Jeroen Douglas, ICA Director-General
10h57-11h27 Opening Keynote Address: Cooperative Financial Institutions, growing a better world together Marjan Trompetter, Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the Rabobank Cooperative, The Netherlands
11h27-11h30 Buffer
11h30-11h50 Coffee/Tea Break
11h50-13h20 Roundtable: Practice - Intercooperation and Access to Finance Format: Special Addresses followed by Moderated Discussions among panelists with guiding questions from the moderator and the floor.

Special Addresses:
a. Marking the International Year of Women Farmers, by Cecile Berranger, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
b. 140th Anniversary of the Legacoop Italia by Attilio Dadda, President Legacoop Lombardia and Member, ICA Global Board

Panelists:
Jungsik Jung (Agricultural Advisor, ICA/National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Rep. of Korea);
Kishore Kumar T.K. (Chief Project Coordinator, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, India);
Raul Calayan Jr. (President and CEO, Network Consolidated Cooperative Bank, The Philippines);
Tarun Bhargava (Senior General Manager, Cooperative Relations, Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative);
Konduru Ravinder Rao (Chairperson, National Federation of State Cooperative Banks, India);
Linda Seaborn, Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals, Australia

Moderated by: Danilo Salerno (Regional Director, ICA Americas)
13h20-14h35 Lunch Break
14h35-16h00 Roundtable: Promote - Policies that Advance Investment for Stronger Future

Format: Special Addresses followed by Moderated Discussions among panelists with guiding questions from the moderator and the floor. 		Special Addresses:

a. Cooperatives in the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation: A promise to advancing Financing for Development by Maria Amparo Grau Ruiz, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

c. Can Cooperatives Advance the Seville Commitment? By Shari Spiegel, Chief of Policy Analysis & Development Branch (FfDO), UN-DESA

Panelists:

Roeland Monasch (CEO, Aflatoun International, Kenya/The Netherlands);
Sudhakar Chowdary (Chairman, Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd., India);
Aicha Errifaai (Director-General, Office for the Development of Cooperatives, Morocco);
Hector Cordova (Manager of Management & Strategic Direction, FEDECACES, El Salvador);
João Pinheiro Valadares Penna (Coordinator of International Relations, OCB, Brazil);
Jyotindra Mehta (President, National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation) Sylvia Paraguay (CEO, National Confederation of Credit Cooperatives, The Philippines);


Moderated by:
Trebor Scholz, Director PCC at The New School/BKC at Harvard University
16h00-16h30 Coffee/Tea Break
16h30-18h00 Roundtable: Protect - Adequate Regulation for Cooperative Financial Institutions

Format: Special Addresses (5-7 minutes each) followed by Moderated Discussions (± 80 mins) among panelists with guiding questions from the moderator and the floor. 		Special Addresses:

a. Governance considerations for financial cooperative leaders in navigating a new era of technology and change in the financial services ecosystem by Erin O’ Hern, World Confederation of Credit Unions;

b. Apex Federations protecting the Cooperative Identity by Melina Morrison, CEO, Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals, Australia

c. Protect – Adequate Regulation for Cooperative Financial Institutions: Experience from Argentina, Carlos Heller, President, Banco Credicoop, Argentina

Panelists:

Veronica Morales (Director of Digital Transformation - Strategic Planning, Cooperativa Riobamba, Ecuador);
K.N. Rajanna (Member of the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka. Former Minister of Cooperation, Gov. of Karnataka, India);
Carlos Orella (Senior Executive, Coopeuch, Chile);
Satish Marathe (Director, Board of the Reserve Bank of India);
Merav Niv (Lawyer and Head of Cooperative Development, Kibbutz Movement, Israel);
Marília Ferraz Teixeira (Lawyer and PhD. Scholar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona)

Moderated by:
Erin O’ Hern, International Advocacy and Regulatory Counsel, WOCCU
17h50-18h00 Housekeeping announcements for Day 2
Programme in Detail — Day 2 | 29 May 2026
Time Session Speakers / Details
10h00-10h05 Reflections from Day 1 and themes for Day 2 Robby Tulus, Pioneering Credit Unions and Former Regional Director, ICA Asia and Pacific
10h05-11h50 Roundtable: Fostering Purposeful Leadership in Cooperative Financial Institutions Format: Special Addresses (10 minutes each) followed by Moderated Discussions (± 80 mins) among panelists with guiding questions from the moderator and the floor.

Special Addresses:
a. Cooperatives Shaping the Post 2030 Agenda - Ilcheong Yi, UNRISD; Chairperson, UN Committee on the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives

b. Cooperative Impact and Investments. Doug O’Brien, President and CEO, National Cooperative Business Association, USA

c. Making Cooperatives Work: Building Ecosystems - Jeroo Billimoria, Social Innovator, Founder of the One Family Foundation, Convener Government Council for Social Innovation

Panelists:
Kemal Ataman- General Manager, Koopbank, Cyprus
Stefanus Masiun- Chair, Keling Kumang credit union and Rector of the Keling Kumang Institute of Technology West Kalimantan
Mallika Kumar- Vice Chairperson, ICA AP Committee on Cooperatives in Educational Institution
Justin Bomda- Managing Director, MUFID Union, Cameroon
Harsh Sanghani- Youth Representative to the ICA Global Board
Elisabeth Philippe- Director, UN Affairs and Partnerships, UN Federal Credit Union

Moderated by: Bhima Subrahmanyam, President, ICBA
11h50-12h00 Bio Break
12h00-12h05 Implementing the ICA Strategy 2026-2030 and introducing the Closing keynote speaker Jeroen Douglas, ICA Director-General
12h05-12h35 Closing Keynote: Cooperatives for Cooperatives: A Force for Good in Economic and Societal Development Mirjam ‘t Lam, Chief Executive Officer, Oikocredit International
12h35-12h43 Coordinated research on Financial Cooperatives and Law ICA-EU Framework Financial Partnership Legal Framework Analysis 2.0 by Santosh Kumar, Director of Legislation, International Cooperative Alliance
12h43-12h53 Closing Remarks by ICBA

Signing of the MoU between Aflatoun International and the ICBA 		Bhima Subrahmanyam, President, International Cooperative Banking Association
12h53-13h00 Closing Remarks and Vote of Thanks by UN-DESA Amson Sibanda is the Chief of the National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch in the Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN-DESA
13h00-15h30 Lunch and Guided Tour of the UN Building Pre-registration required
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