The three-day lecture programme on “Capacity Building Program for Cooperative Sector in Iran” is part of JICA’s three-year technical cooperation with the ICC to strengthen the capacities of the chamber to develop the cooperative sector in Iran. The lecture series is intended to provide exposure to ICC members on the experiences of international and Japanese cooperative movements.

The ILO COOP Manager Simel Esim was asked to provide the first presentation in this online lecture series to share some thoughts on the economic, demographic, environmental and technological forces transforming the world of work and responses from cooperatives around the world. She reflected on ILO’s work with cooperatives over the last century. Within this context she also reflected on the ILO’s experience in collaborating with the Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU) and Japan Co-operative Alliance (JCA) through implementing the ILO-JCCU Study Tour Programme for African Cooperative Leaders for ten years.

Ms. Esim’s presentation was followed by an extensive question and answer session. Approximately 20 people took part in the lecture and raised many technical questions on worker cooperatives, cooperatives in education and platform economy, women-led cooperatives, post COVID-19 adjustments of cooperatives and development of a national cooperative strategy. A recording of the presentation and question and answer session can be viewed here.