Commemoration Of National Cooperative Day Held In Bali

DENPASAR - Bali became the location of the National Cooperative Day commemoration which was attended by thousands of cooperative members throughout Indonesia in Sanur, Denpasar, Bali.

Chairman of the Indonesian Cooperative Council (Dekopin) Sri Untari Bisowarno said Bali was chosen to reflect the rise and national awareness of the economic system.

"Where the values of kinship and mutual cooperation are still growing as a living monument among Balinese people," he said, Thursday, July 14.

As many as 8 thousand people who attended came from the management and members of 120 cooperatives from all over Indonesia. In addition, 100 cooperative and UMKM offices from various provinces were also present.

Most of them opened exhibition booths to introduce their cooperatives. According to Untari, not a few of the cooperative members who attended were millennials.

"This is part of a new breakthrough in the form of a 5 million millennial cooperative campaign," he said.

The commemoration of the 75th National Cooperative Day with the theme "Acceleration and Strengthening of Food Sovereignty and Renewable Energy through the Role of Cooperatives and Women's Groups".

In addition, Dekopin is committed to continuing to strengthen the renewable energy sector, food security and empowering women.

The three programs are strategic issues in responding to global challenges in line with President Jokowi's commitment to realizing an independent, strong and competitive Indonesian economy.

"Dekopin is always present to accelerate the presence of renewable energy, food security and women's empowerment through cooperative programs that have been compiled and planned comprehensively," he said.

Untari explained, in the food security sector, Dekopin has expanded this program into a joint program that will be carried out by all Indonesian cooperatives.

It aims to support food availability. Moreover, the global situation is experiencing uncertainty, which triggers price increases and limited food stocks on the market.

"The aim is to anticipate and prevent food shortages and increase the exchange rate of farmers through food security," said Untari.

Therefore, the Dekopin network throughout the country also continues to encourage cooperatives engaged in the food sector to be directly involved with the government's food security program.

Untari also said that Dekopin asked for the role of women in the cooperative sector to be continuously empowered. The reason is, in this era of globalization, women have a great opportunity to be more independent.

In addition, the cooperative movement must also be able to transform itself according to developments. One of them is adjusting and compiling movement steps and programs based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"So, a new breakthrough in the form of the 5 million millennial cooperative campaign can be realized through the creative economy and supports the acceleration of the presence of renewable energy through innovation and digitalization by transforming technology," he said.