Attention Philippine co-ops!

Philippine co-operatives, join this first-ever and important National Summit. Experience why gender and development/gender equality is good for co-op growth and the empowerment of women and men members. Download the Summit brochure/invitation now!

GAD and gender equality make co-op operations and service even more sustainable

Gender and development (GAD) is important to co-operatives’ sustainability. GAD efforts of co-ops enable them to integrate gender equality that leads to even more economic and social growth in the co-ops. With gender equality, co-ops give attention to the needs and contributions of both women and men members. Equal opportunities given to both women and men help strengthen even more the co-ops and communities. International agreements and conventions advocate GAD and gender equality as important factors in development. The "Statement on the Co-operative Identity (SCI)" of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) enshrines the value of equality and equity, and highlights the participation of both women and men in the co-ops. In the Philippines, laws, executive orders, and circulars stress the importance of GAD efforts in fulfilling the government's nation-building goals. The importance of GAD and gender equality is also emphasized in Memorandum Circular (MC) 2013-22, pertaining to “Guidelines on Mainstreaming GAD in Cooperatives,” issued by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on November 18, 2013. (See http://cda.gov.ph/images/Issuances/MCs/MC2013-22-Guidelines-on-mainstreaming-GAD-in-coops.pdf) CDA is the Philippine government’s lead agency in co-op development. MC 2013-22 aims at disseminating to the co-op sector the GAD mandate of the Philippine government to ensure the promotion and institutionalization of GAD and gender equality in co-ops’ policies, programs, and other activities.

In the Philippines’s private co-op sector, there are already gender-fair co-operatives that can attest to the economic and social benefits of advocating and practicing gender equality. These gender-fair co-ops also want to help other co-ops fulfill their GAD and gender equality objectives and needs. Thus some of them have together formed Gender Equality Resource Centers (GERCs) based in the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao regions of the country. These GERCs’ gender focal specialists and advocates have themselves undergone intensive trainers’ training in gender equality and are also long-time co-op advocates and workers. The GERCs are ready to help fellow co-ops and other development agencies achieve greater sustainability in operations and service through gender equality.
 
Where are the GERCs in Philippine co-ops? 

GERC Luzon
Abra Diocesan Teachers and Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ADTEMPCO)
Bulacan Federation of Cooperatives (BUFECO)
Ligas Kooperatiba ng Bayan sa Pagpapaunlad (LKBP)
Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives (NSCC)
Sacred Heart Credit and Development Cooperative (SHCDC)
St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative (SMTCDC)
Contact persons: Ms Lani Babista lani_babista@yahoo.com and
Ms Divina Quemi (NSCC) nsccvigan2@yahoo.com

GERC Visayas  
Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CPMPC)
Cordova Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CMC)
Don Bosco Network Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DBNMPC)
Dumanjug Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DMPC)
Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC)
Mandaue City Public Market Vendors Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MAVENCO)
Metro Ormoc Community Cooperative (OCCCI)
Contact persons: Ms Edita Fernandez  Fernandezedita@yahoo.com and
Ms Rosie Agbay  van2baylon@yahoo.com

GERC MASS-SPECC
MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center (MASS-SPECC)
Aurora Integrated Multi-Purpose Cooperative (AIM Coop)
Bukidnon Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BUGEMCO)
Notre Dame of Marbel University Employees Development Cooperative (NDMU Coop)
Tagum Cooperative (TC)
Zillovia Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ZWMPC) LOGO
(Note: Primary co-ops above compose the MASS-SPECC Gender Equality Committee.)

Also in the GERC MASS-SPECC:
Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology National Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MSU-IIT NMPC)
Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC)
Panabo Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Panabo MPC)
Pantukan Chess Club Cooperative (PCCC)
Contact person: Ms Bernadette Toledo nadettetoledo@yahoo.com.ph

Gender Equality Resource Centers (GERCs) in Philippine co-ops: Strengthening co-ops and families

What is gender equality or GE? In GE, women and men have equal rights, benefits, opportunities for advancement, services, and access to and control over resources; and equal roles to play in development as participants and as leaders.

Click here to download the GERC Brochure (PDF file).

(Note: On November 18, 2013, the Philippine government's Cooperative Development Authority [CDA] issued Memorandum Circular [MC] 2013-22, pertaining to "Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development [GAD] in Cooperatives." The Circular, as stated in the MC itself, aims at disseminating to the co-op sector the GAD mandate of the government so as to ensure the promotion of GE and the institutionalization of GAD in policies, programs, and other activities in the co-ops.)

A Primer: The Gender Equality Resource Center for Philippine Co-ops

What is gender equality? What is the gender equality resource center (GERC) and how can it help a co-op strengthen even more its implementation of gender-related activities that can benefit its own organization? How can other organizations tap the co-op's gender expertise through the GERC?

The Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF)'s new publication "A Primer: The Gender Equality Resource Center for Philippine Co-ops" gives the reader the basics on the setting up and operation of gender equality resource centers (GERCs). The GERCs will greatly help ensure that gender equality (GE) is mainstreamed and embedded in co-operatives. The setting up of GERCs in co-ops was among the thrusts of a GE project in the Philippines that the AWCF implemented in 2010-2012, with support from the Swedish Cooperative Centre (SCC). Fifteen progressive primary- and federation-level co-ops from all over the country took part in that project. Co-ops are viable business enterprises with social goals that reach out even to the remotest areas and to people of the simplest means who are building their future together through co-operation. GERCs will equip co-ops with even more structure and focus, through advocating and promoting GE, in improving the lives of the women and men members and all others involved in the co-ops.

Going beyond the 15 co-ops involved in its GE project in the Philippines, AWCF is urging any and all co-ops in the country to establish GERCs or, at least, to strengthen their gender-related services. Data and experiences show that GE advocacy, capacities, and practices of and by co-ops help them to contribute even more to the development of the members and communities that, as a whole, assists in nation-building. Inputs from AWCF's consultations with the co-ops involved in its Philippines GE project enrich the contents of this GERC Primer. The co-ops involved in the Project, as strong and committed GE advocates, help strengthen and animate the country’s co-op movement with their various gender-related activities and advocacies that benefit their own organizations as well as other groups that are increasingly utilizing their GE services and expertise. These co-ops are also in the various stages of setting up and operating their own GERCs.

For more information on the Primer and on gender equality in co-ops, please e-mail awcf@coopwomen.org

it@coops in the Philippines (video)--Part 2

This is Part 2 of the two-part country report of the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Philippines, at the "Alumni Workshop for Partners and Participants of the Joint Training Programme it@coops," convened by AWCF on 19-24 October 2009, supported by InWent (Capacity Building International, Germany). The event was themed "Renew, Update, Stay Connected—it@coops." In 2004-2007, AWCF and InWent implemented in three of AWCF's member-organizations the it@coops Project (Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives), with assistance from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Participating organizations were the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), Thailand; Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia), Indonesia; and NATCCO. The Project aimed at providing poverty-oriented co-ops in Southeast Asia with skills in, understanding of, and access to IT that will make them more competitive. It was oriented extensively, but not exclusively, to women who put in above-average involvement in co-ops and who provide valuable economic and social work.

it@coops in the Philippines (video)--Part 1

This is Part 1 of the country report of the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), Philippines, at the "Alumni Workshop for Partners and Participants of the Joint Training Programme it@coops," convened by AWCF on 19-24 October 2009, supported by InWent (Capacity Building International, Germany). The event was themed "Renew, Update, Stay Connected—it@coops." In 2004-2007, AWCF and InWent implemented in three of AWCF's member-organizations the it@coops Project (Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives), with assistance from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Participating organizations were the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), Thailand; Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia), Indonesia; and NATCCO. The Project aimed at providing poverty-oriented co-ops in Southeast Asia with skills in, understanding of, and access to IT that will make them more competitive. It was oriented extensively, but not exclusively, to women who put in above-average involvement in co-ops and who provide valuable economic and social work.

it@coops Thailand--a video

This is the country report of the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), Thailand, that was presented at the "Regional Forum on it@coops: Empowering Co-operatives through Information Technology," held 2007, Philippines. In 2004-2007, AWCF and InWent (Capacity Building International, Germany) implemented the it@coops Project (Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives), with assistance from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Participating organizations were CULT; Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia), Indonesia; and National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO). The Project aimed at providing poverty-oriented co-ops in Southeast Asia with skills in, understanding of, and access to IT that will make them more competitive. It was oriented extensively, but not exclusively, to women who put in above-average involvement in co-ops and who provide valuable economic and social work.