Co-ops: Giving young people a fairer future

About the webinar

One of a series of webinars brought to you by Co‑operatives UK in partnership with The Co‑operative Bank as part of The Hive programme which supports new and existing co‑ops.

Offering Hope to Future Generations, a report from Co‑operatives UK, has found that mental health, job security, career prospects, a lack of control over working lives and climate change are major causes of stress in young people.  

But there is a solution: co‑ops. The co‑op model gives members ownership and control, which aids mental health and wellbeing significantly. Co‑operatives allow young people to thrive in an environment that provides fair wages and secure jobs, tackles climate change and provides both educational and personal development alongside a sense of belonging. 

Join this webinar to hear from young people who have set up or joined co‑ops and discover the benefits they’ve reaped from working, living and developing skills co‑operatively.  

This webinar, hosted by Lenny Watson, introduces young adults to co‑ops. Lenny is a founder member of Sister Midnight, a community owned grass roots music venue in South East London. She will talk about her own co‑op experiences and introduce a number of speakers who will share how being part of a co‑op has improved their lives. 

Format

• An online one-hour webinar on Zoom
• Presentations from the host and speakers with an opportunity to ask questions at the end

How much does it cost?

This webinar is FREE to everyone who wants to attend.

What attendees will learn:

• What a co-op is and why it’s different from other business models
• About the experiences of young people who have set up co-ops
• How co-ops address the issues faced by young people, such as the lack of affordable housing
• What it’s like to be a member of a co-op
• How co-ops differ from traditional career routes
• What support is available for those wishing to set up a co‑op from the business support programme delivered by Co-operatives UK in partnership with the Co‑operative Bank

Who should attend?

Young people keen to learn more about co‑operatives, this includes:

• Individuals and groups looking to start‑up a business
• New start‑ups and young businesses
• Anyone wanting to learn more about how co‑ops can empower young people: educators, local authorities, youth community leaders, charities, voluntary sector support agencies, etc

About the speakers

Lenny Watson. As the founding director of South London based community benefit society Sister Midnight, Lenny has spearheaded the organisation’s recent campaign to create the first community owned music venue in Lewisham. Sister Midnight raised an incredible £260,000 towards their goal and they continue to work towards creating a democratically run venue with the community at its heart. Lenny also works in co‑operative development and is training as a community shares practitioner.

Christopher ‘Buncey’ Roseby-Bunce is a worker-member of Suma Wholefoods co‑op and part of the Young Co-operators’ Network. His passion for worker co-operatives came from a distain for corporate greed. “Like many people, I was an expendable, undervalued and underpaid worker for too many years at a soulless corporation. I searched for a business that not only represented my personal ethics, but one which wouldn’t see my labour lining the pockets of invisible shareholders.” He found and became a Member of Suma, Europe’s largest equal pay and non-hierarchical worker co‑op, and has not looked back! 

Amrou Motawa is a student at Edinburgh University and member of the Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op. Amrou has previously spoken at Co‑op Congress about how the Edinburgh Student Housing Co‑op has created an inclusive, affordable student community in the city, reducing loneliness and improving quality of life.

Recording the webinar

This webinar will be recorded. We will share the recording with participants shortly afterwards. This webinar is part of a series. If you cannot attend this one, we hope you can join us for another webinar. Alternatively, visit our step by step: start a co-op tool or read about the business support available to start-up co-ops.