We are happy to announce the Združimo se! International conference “Co-ops and young people”, which will be held on 6th and 7th of September 2018 in Salon of applied arts in Maribor.
Here you can fill out application form, participation is free of charge.
The purpose of the conference is to open the debate on co-operatives as sustainable forms of employment for young people in Slovenia, which we will do with participating international experts. The number of training programs and actions for establishment of youth cooperatives in Europe is growing, especially in areas where employment potential is low. Cooperatives provide young people with sustainable jobs with increased social security, and, by spreading the risks among members of cooperatives, among other things, promote values such as solidarity and workplace democracy.
On the conference, we will present the conclusions of Združimo se! project, in the framework of which approximately 170 young people were educated (through theoretical and practical contents) about workers’ rights, participatory economy, and cooperatives from 2016 to 2018. We will also present analyses and research on the subject of cooperatives in Slovenia and in Europe, and get to know cooperatives, Slovenian and foreign, in which young people actively participate.
At the conference, we will be joined by Bruno Roelants, one of the world’s leading experts in the field of cooperatives and co-author of “Capital and the Debt-Trap: Learning from Cooperatives in the Global Crisis”. This will be his first visit to Slovenia as the Director-General of International Co-operative Alliance – ICA. The list of conference speakers includes, among others, Diana Dovgan from
International Organization of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (CICOPA), who will present We own it!, their international campaign for promotion of youth cooperative entrepreneurship; Ander Etxeberria from the most recognizable cooperatives federation, Mondragon; Claudia Sanchez Bajo, author of “Capital and the Debt-Trap: Learning from Cooperatives in the Global Crisis”; leading expert in the field of cooperatives in Slovenia, Karolina Babič from Center for alternative and autonomous production (CAAP), and Matic Primc, expert in the field of participatory economy from Organization for participatory society.
Preliminary program (we reserve to right to change, if necessary):
>> Thursday, 6. 9.
9.30 Coffee and croissants
10.00 – 10. 30 >> Welcome address by organizers and Bruno Roelants
10.30 – 11.45 >> Presentation of the last wave of cooperatives in Maribor
Marta Gregorčič: Urbane brazde (Urban Furrows) as a project of integrated and sustainable development of the region
Karolina Babič (CAAP): Center for alternative and autonomous production as a supportive environment for development of cooperatives
11.45 – 12. 15 BREAK
or
11.45 – 12.15 (optional)
Press conference of the project “Active and connected for new jobs and inclusive society “Sociolab” (ground floor of Salon of applied arts) a)
12.15 – 13.00 >> Results of Združimo se! project and presentation of the published collection of papers and tool kit with authors
13.00 – 14.30 >> Bruno Roelants (International Co-operative Alliance – ICA): Development of the international movement of cooperatives with discussion
14.30 – 15.30 LUNCH (Cooperative ‘Dame’ and Cooperative ‘Dobrina’)
15.30- 16.15 >> Diana Dovgan (CICOPA): Presentation of research “Global Study on Youth Cooperative Entrepreneurship” and campaign We own it!
16.15 – 16.30 BREAK
16.30 – 18.00 >> Public tribune with representatives of youth co-ops, experts and decision makers
18.00 – 18.30 BREAK
18.30 – 19.30 >> Guided tour of Maribor co-ops
19.30 Non-formal evening with lunch in Wetrinsky – Art club & Café (PERON Cooperative)
20.30 – 21.30 (optional) >> screening Smaragdna reka in Wetrinsky – Art club & Café (PERON Cooperative)
>> Friday, 7. 9.
9.30 Coffee and croissants
10.00 – 12. 00 >> Ander Etxeberria (Mondragon): Presentation of the large Spanish association of cooperatives Mondragon and ways of introducing young people to cooperative activities
Karolina Babič (CAAP): Cooperatives and youth in Slovenia + discussion
12.00 – 12.30 >> Matic Primc (Organization for participatory society): Introducing the concept of participatory economy in cooperative activities of young people
12.30 – 13.30 LUNCH (Cooperative ‘Dame’ and Cooperative ‘Dobrina’)
13.30 – 14.45 >> Bruno Roelants (International Co-operative Alliance): Systemic incentives for development of youth cooperatives + discussion
14.45 – 16.00 >> Parallel workshops
>> Formulating recommendations for promotion of cooperatives among young people
>> Formulating recommendations for promotion of cooperatives at the decision-making level
16.00 – 17.15 BREAK
17.15 – 17.00 >> Closing of the conference with presentation of the recommendations
17.00 – 18.30 >> Special bonus: Presentation of Claudia Sanchez Bajo and Bruno Roelants’ book “Capital and the Debt-Trap: Learning from Cooperatives in the Global Crisis”
18.30 Non-formal evening with lunch in Salon uporabnih umetnosti
* All events, including lunches, will take place on the second floor of Salon of applied arts, Glavni trg 1, Maribor (PERON cooperative), unless otherwise noted.
** All meals will be vegan and prepared with local products.