Transforming Cooperatives for the Future: 20th ICA Asia-Pacific research conference

Cooperatives and mutual organisations are increasingly becoming active agents shaping future-oriented solutions, rather than stagnating in residual or alternative organisational forms. They have a growing capacity to design and govern resilient models that balance economic viability and organisational continuity with social purpose and democratic accountability.

The 20th ICA Asia-Pacific Cooperative Research Conference will explore this theme bringing together scholars, practitioners, policymakers and cooperative leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

This year’s conference will be held at Monash College, 750 Collins St, Docklands, and is hosted by the Mutual Value Lab, Impact Labs at Monash Business School, in partnership with the International Cooperative Alliance Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP) Committee on Cooperative Research (CCR), and the Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals (BCCM).

The two-day conference will begin with a dedicated Young and Emerging Scholars (YES) program, aligned with ICA country, regional and global initiatives. The YES program will provide a supportive space for presenting early-stage research, facilitate feedback and mentoring from senior scholars, and strengthen regional and international research networks. The second day will comprise a full program of academic and practitioner presentations in parallel sessions.

YES Program Sponsors

The Young and Emerging Scholars (YES) program is supported by:

Details on presenters and papers are coming soon.

By registering, you agree to receive communications from Monash University about this event. 

Monash University values the privacy of every individual’s personal information and is committed to the protection of that information from unauthorised use and disclosure except where permitted by law. For more information about Data Protection and Privacy at Monash University please visit https://www.monash.edu/privacy-monash/privacy-collection-statements to read our “Data Protection and Privacy Procedure” and “Data Protection and Privacy Collection Statements”. If you agree that Humanitix can share your information with Monash University, the University will handle your personal information in accordance with the ‘Visitors and Enquirers Data Protection and Privacy Collection Statement’. If you have any questions about how Monash University is collecting and handling your personal information, please contact our Data Protection and Privacy Office at dataprotectionofficer@monash.edu.

By registering for this event, I understand that Monash will use my information to update the alumni database so Monash can stay connected with me in accordance with the Alumni, Friends and Supporters Data Protection and Privacy Collection statement. For more information about privacy at Monash, see our Privacy Procedure (https://publicpolicydms.monash.edu/Monash/documents/1909233) or contact our Data Protection Officer at dataprotectionofficer@monash.edu.

DEFINITION

These Terms and Conditions apply to every person attending the 20th ICA Asia Pacific Research Conference, themed “Transforming Cooperatives for the Future”, to be held in Melbourne, Australia from 6 to 7 October 2026. All registrations for the Conference are subject to the prior and unconditional acceptance of these general conditions.

REGISTRATION FEES

There is no registration fee to attend this Conference, however, participants need to arrange their own air travel, accommodation and local transport to conference venue and back to their respective countries/city.

ACCOMODATION

Options for accommodation near the Conference venue will be updated on the Conference website in due course. Please keep checking the website for further information.

ONSITE PARTICIPATION

Submission of the online registration form is regarded as a firm booking and acceptance of these terms and conditions.

ICA-AP CCR reserves the right to approve the registration for participation at the Conference. Once your participation is approved, you will be notified via email at your registered email id.

By registering for the Conference, participants are requested to make their own arrangements for health and travel insurance.

CANCELLATION OF EVENT

In the event that the Conference cannot be held or is postponed due to events beyond the control of the hosts and organisers (force majeure) or due to events which are not attributable to wrongful intent or gross negligence of the organisers, they cannot be held liable by attendees for any damages, costs, or losses incurred, such as transportation costs, costs for additional orders, financial losses, etc.

LIABILITY

Views expressed by speakers, sponsors and/or exhibitors are their own. Conference organisers cannot accept liability for any advice given, or views expressed, by any speaker, sponsor and/or exhibitor at the Conference or in any material provided to participants. In addition, the Conference shall not be responsible or liable for any direct or indirect loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of the services or information provided in connection with the event. Lastly, the Conference cannot accept liability for loss of, or damage to, property belonging to Conference participants during the event.

NAME BADGE

The name badge must be worn at all times during the event. Access to the Conference venue will not be granted without the name badge.

VISA REQUIREMENTS

It is the sole responsibility of the attendee to take care of his or her visa requirements. Participants who require an entry visa must allow sufficient time for the application procedure. They should contact the nearest Australian embassy or consulate to determine the appropriate timing of their visa applications.

The Conference hosts and organisers will not directly contact embassies and consulates on behalf of visa applicants. However, we will issue letters of invitation to facilitate visa procurement for you.

TRAVEL AND HEALTH INSURANCE

It is the responsibility of the attendees to arrange appropriate insurance coverage in connection with their attendance at the Conference and bring their medical supplies. The Conference hosts and organisers are not responsible for any individual’s medical, travel or personal insurance.

PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION

The protection of your data is important to us.

The hosts and organisers will collect and store necessary personal information for the preparation and execution of the 20th ICA Asia Pacific Research Conference, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, from 6 to 7 October 2026.

By registering for the Conference, the parties concerned agree that your personal information may be used to contact you by email to supply information relevant to this Conference, or about other conferences, events and opportunities that the organisers are planning and feel may be of interest to them.

You may ask to be removed from the ICA-AP database at any time.

PHOTOS AND FILMING

Photos and videos will be taken during the event, for example, in a group of people or when presentations are made, or questions are asked, and these will be posted and shared by ICA-AP CCR, Monash Business School, and the ICA-AP websites, social media pages, or other communications channels for the promotion of the cooperative movement. Use of the photographic images for purposes other than those described above or for marketing via the transfer of the images to third parties is prohibited.

WEBSITE AND LINKS

The Conference website may link to other websites and networking tools provided for the convenience of the users. The contents of these websites are maintained by their owners, for which ICA-AP takes no responsibility. Neither can responsibility be taken for the contents of any website linking to this website.

GENERAL

We reserve the right at all times to change, amend, add or remove any of the above terms without prior notice if one or more of the conditions outlined in these Terms and Conditions should be or become invalid. The remaining conditions will continue to be valid and apply. These Terms and Conditions apply to all participants of this event, including speakers, sponsors and exhibitors.