The UK Society for Co-operative Studies (UKSCS) holds its annual conference in Birmingham on 8-9 May, with a look at government-led efforts to double the size of the national co-op economy.
It says the conference will offer “a timely opportunity to explore the role of co-operatives in addressing major societal challenges while contributing meaningfully to economic and social development”.
Keynote speakers are Giuseppe Guerini, president of Cooperatives Europe, vice-president of the International Cooperative Alliance for the European Region and chair of the EU Coordination Committee; and Dominic Kendal Ward, group secretary and general counsel of the Co-op Group.
“This year’s conference comes at a timely and important moment for the co-operative movement,” said UKSCS chair Elisavet Mantzari, “in an international context where co-operatives are increasingly being recognised as integral to wider discussions on sustainability, democratic participation and inclusive development, and at a point when there is also renewed policy momentum around co-operative growth in the UK.
Related: Reports on previous UKSCS conferences
“By bringing together research, education and practice, the conference aims to foster dialogue, shared learning and collaboration around the future of co-operation.”
Mantzari said the conference will include contributions from the UK and internationally, with a programme that “reflects the diversity and contemporary relevance of current work in the field”.
It will appeal not just to co-operators, she added, but also to those interested in “democratic organisation, social innovation, and more inclusive and sustainable ways of organising”.
The conference themes will address “the historical development, contemporary practice and future possibilities of co-operatives, while highlighting their contribution to democratic governance, sustainability, education, social inclusion, and wider economic and social development,” she said.
Click here for details of fees of the conference and dinner, hosted by Birmingham Business School. The deadline to register for the dinner is 8 April; after this date, participants will still be able to attend the conference, but not the dinner.
