The ICA World Conference in Panama, held under the theme “Building Bridges: Cooperative Contributions to a Peaceful World”, was the setting chosen for the General Assembly of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which took place on 15 September at the Panama Convention Centre, where members elected their new Board of Directors for the 2026-2030 period.
Ariel Guarco was re-elected President of the ICA, being the only candidate for the position. Alongside him, the members of the assembly elected 15 of the 24 candidates to join the Board of Directors, with seven representatives renewing their mandates and eight new members.
The previous ICA electoral General Assembly was held in Seville, Spain, in 2022. At the Panama Assembly, a total of 116 voters from 66 countries took part in the meeting. The Conference focused on peace, an area that has marked Ariel Guarco’s work since his first election as ICA President in 2017.
New members and renewals
Among those who renewed their mandates are Márcio Lopes de Freitas, from Brazil, President of the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives since 2001; Attilio Dadda, from Italy, President of Legacoop Lombardia, Vice-President of Legacoop Nazionale and President of the Alliance of Lombard Cooperatives; and Douglas O’Brien, from the United States, President and CEO of NCBA CLUSA.
Also renewing their mandates are Simona Cavazzutti, from Paraguay, President of CONCOPAR Ltda. and REDACOOP; Rose Marley, from the United Kingdom, Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK; Íñigo Albizuri Landazabal, from Spain, Director of Global Public Affairs at MONDRAGON Corporation; and Maria Eugenia Pérez Zea, from Colombia, Executive President of ASCOOP, principal member of the Coomeva Board and Director of CONFECOOP.
The new members of the Board of Directors are: Marie-Josée Paquette (Canada), CEO of the Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité and Executive Director of the Office of the ICA Presidency; Dileep Sanghani (India), Chairman of the Board of Directors of IFFCO; Yuyan Wang (China), economist and President of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives; Yoshito Shinno (Japan), President of JA-Zenchu (Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), as well as of the JCA (Japan Cooperative Alliance); Ünal Örnek (Türkiye), Education, Research and International Relations Coordinator at ORKOOP; Ryszard Jaśkowski (Poland), Vice-President of the National Cooperative Council, President of the National Union of “Społem”, and member of the Board of Directors of Euro Coop; and Abdul Fattah Abdullah (Malaysia), President of ANGKASA, the supreme body of Malaysia’s national cooperative movement, since 2013.
The Global Board of Directors is thus composed of 30 members, including the President, the elected representatives, four regional Vice-Presidents, eight representatives of the sectoral organisations, and the Presidents of the Youth and Gender Equality Committees, Harsh Sanghani and Xiomara Nuñez de Céspedes, respectively.
Review of the International Year of Cooperatives
During the Assembly, a review of 2025 was presented, the second International Year of Cooperatives declared by the United Nations, during which regional and international events were held, including the Second World Summit for Social Development, with significant representation from the global cooperative movement.
For his part, ICA Director-General Jeroen Douglas presented the 2025 Annual Report and the 2026-2030 strategy, entitled “Practice, Promote, Protect”, based on five areas of action focused on people, data, advocacy, finance and the future.
The meeting concluded with a welcoming ceremony for the new members who have joined since the last General Assembly.
