Saturday 11 June 20116, 10.30am – 7pm. After party from 7pm.
The Synergy Centre 78 West Street, Brighton, BN1 2RA
FREE entry. Donations welcome on the day
We should all have more ownership and control over the different parts of our lives – our housing, our work, our energy, our media, our food, our land, our technology, our democracy and much more.
This day of workshops – organised by Mutual Aid in Sussex and Free University Brighton – gives an introduction to co-operative alternatives and gives you a chance to meet many of the people who are making them happen. It’s also an opportunity for people already involved in co-operatives and social enterprises in the city to come together, get to know each other and see how they can help each other.
| 10:30am Introduction to the day: why co-operatives are important as well as an intro to Mutual Aid in Sussex (MAIS) and Free University Brighton (FUB) – Matt Wilson (MAIS, Bartleby’s brewery workers’ co-op) and Ali Ghanimi (FUB) | |
| 11am Introduction to co-operatives and the co-operative movement – a brief history of the co-op movement, different structures that exist, basic decision making and conflict resolution – Chris Funnell (Founder member of the Co-operative Assistance Network) | 11am Action learning workshop – members of existing co-ops & social enterprises get together to introduce themselves, ask questions and see if they can help each other out or gain contracts – facilitated by Helen Dixon (South Downs Eco Housing Co-op) |
| 12.15 How to set up a workers’ co-op – Cath Muller (Radical Routes, Footprint Workers Co-operative, co-author of ‘How to Set Up a Workers’ Co-operative’) | 12.15 How to set up a housing co-op – Helen Russell (Co-operative Housing in Brighton & Hove, CHIBAH) |
| 1.30 Lunch – food provided by Hail Seitan! (a workers’ collective) | |
| 14:30 Panel: How to fund your co-op or social enterprise? * Sebastian Handelman (East Sussex Credit Union) on the Credit Union, what it does and how you can join and accessing money from it * Will Cottrell (Brighton Energy Co-op) on community shares and attracting funds into co-ops (they’ve recently raised £1.2 million). * Fiona Ras (The Platform – formerly Care Co-ops) on grant funding * Ali Cannell (Skylark Housing Co-op, The Cowley Club) on getting loanstock to help fund co-ops |
14:30 Building your organisational values, your collective learning, your people, your connection with the community and your customers – it isn’t all about business plans! – Mike Aiken (Co-operatives & civil society researcher – Co-ops Research Unit, Open University) |
| 15.45 Open space breakouts on other types of co-ops & social enterprise – take your pick! These sessions will be for people who want to find out more details or discuss a new idea. | 15.45 From conflict to cooperation – dealing with conflict within co-ops – Kate Whittle (Cooperantics, author of series of guides ‘from conflict to co-operation‘) |
| 17.00 How to take things forward – Matt Wilson (Mutual Aid in Sussex, Bartleby’s workers’ co-op) and Ali Ghanimi (Free University Brighton) | |
| 18.00 Dinner/networking – food provided by Hail Seitan! (a workers’ collective) | |
| 19:00 After party – DJs. Beer from by Bartlerby’s brewery (a workers’ co-op). | |
Event supported by Lush and the Worker Co-op Solidarity Fund 
Mutual Aid In Sussex (MAIS) 
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