In The News

ICA General Assembly 2009
Seah Kian Peng Re-elected to the ICA Board

Never in the 112-year history of International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) had a Singaporean sat on its Board till the year 2005 when Mr Seah Kian Peng was elected to the Board.

On 23 November 2009, it was with great pride that we announced Mr Seah’s (former Chairman and current Trustee of SNCF) re-election to the Global Board of the ICA for a new fouryear term from 2009 to 2013.

The election, during the one-week ICA General Assembly 2009 at the Geneva International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, saw a total of 22 candidates contesting for a seat on the 15-member board.

The re-election is a strong endorsement of Mr Seah’s leadership and passion for the Co-operative Movement not only in Singapore but at an international level as well. Commenting on his reelection, Mr Seah said: “I am indeed honoured and humbled by the results. I am grateful to members of the ICA for their vote of confidence in me and also to SNCF for their nomination and strong support rendered to me. I shall endeavour to do my best to help ICA achieve its strategic objectives in the areas of membership, influence, development and governance.”

Mr Seah also pointed out that the re-election is an indication that ICA acknowledges the strength of our co-operatives here. “Though a small Movement by international standards, we have shown that quality counts and even in a global city like Singapore, co-operatives have a relevant and important role to play. It is also a recognition of the good reputation of our country and the strong brand name that is “Singapore”,” said Mr Seah, who is Managing Director (Group Business) of NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited and a Member of Parliament, Marine Parade GRC.

Leading a contingent of 20 Singaporean delegates to this year’s General Assembly, Mr Chan Tee Seng, Chairman, SNCF Executive Council said, “The ICA Board is the highest body representing 800 million co-operative members throughout the world. The 22-member ICA Board is like the “G-20” equivalent of co-operative organisations. The SNCF is very proud that Mr Seah has been re-elected to the Board of the global body. It is a very strong testimony and recognition for the role that co-operatives have played in Singapore society, and Kian Peng’s contributions and leadership at the international level. We are very proud for Kian Peng, and indeed, for Singapore.”

First Woman ICA President

The ICA General Assembly 2009 was a historic event – Dame Pauline Green of the United Kingdom was unanimously elected as the ICA President and became ICA’s first woman President.

“Global Crisis – Co-operative Opportunity” was the theme of the GA held from 16 to 20 November 2009. The Conference brought together nearly 800 delegates from around the globe.

Other highlights of the General Assembly included:

• Keynote Address by Professor Jeremy Rifkin (President of the Foundation on Economic Trends and a noted economist and adviser to key political and economic leaders in Europe and the USA) on how co-operatives could be the lead organisers of distributed energy
• Panel sessions addressing the theme
• Five resolutions on the economic global crisis, climate change, sustainable energy and peace were adopted
• ICA rules and By-Laws amended
• Rochdale Pioneer Award

The next ICA General Assembly will be held in Mexico in 2011.