Edinburgh Co-operative Forum – 17th February 2015
An exciting series of talks at the University of Edinburgh, bringing together leading co-operative academics, students, and members of co-ops.
There are one billion members of co-ops internationally. 250 million workers internationally are directly employed by co-operatives. 12% of G20 workers are employed by co-operatives. In 2012 the world’s 300 largest co-operatives had a GDP of 2.2 trillion USD – equivalent to Brazil’s. Yet you will struggle to find co-operatives in any university curricula and textbooks. Academic research into co-ops is incredibly sparse.
Built on the Rochdale principles, the co-operative model offers an alternative and arguably more resilient way of doing business – one based on ownership and democratic control by the enterprise’s workers, consumers, or producers.
Students for Cooperation is proud to host our first Co-operative Forum, taking place at the University of Edinburgh the event will bring together leading academics in the field, students, and those active in the co-operative movement.
The events are free, welcome to all, and there is no need to register. The organisers can be contacted at contact@students.coop.
The Day’s Agenda
0945 – 1055 — Workers’ savings and the right to manage: How workers’ cooperatives could take over the world — Donald AR George, School of Economics, University of Edinburgh
1055 – 1110 — Tea break
1110 – 1210 — The Development of British Consumer Co-operation from 1844 to 2015: An overview of the development of the British consumer co-operative movement — Professor Tony Webster, Humanities Department, Northumbria University
1210 – 1245 — Lunch
1245 – 1345 — A Comparative Organisational Perspective: International comparisons, the advantages of co-ops, challenges of governance and models of entrepreneurship – Professor Roger Spear, Co-operatives Research Unit, The Open University
1055 – 1110 — Tea break
1400 – 1500 — Co-operative Values and Principles: Putting them into practice – Julie Thorpe, The Co-operative College
1055 – 1110 — Tea break
1515 – 1600 — Student-led workshop on starting and running a co-op – Students from Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative, The SHRUB, The Hearty Squirrel and Students for Cooperation.
The Venue
The Forum will primarily take place in Appleton Tower Lecture Theatre 5 on the University of Edinburgh central campus. An access guide to the building is available here. Please email contact@students.coop if you have any queries or additional access needs.
