African Young Scholars Workshop on Cooperatives 2020

Introduction
Cooperatives are unique models as they are guided by the principles of voluntary and open membership, economic cooperation and democratic control. This means that any individual regardless of wealth and gender can participate in a cooperative. It is these principles that raise questions on the sustainability of the cooperative business model in the modern world. In Africa, major transformation in the economy including globalization and increasing competitiveness present opportunities and constraints for the cooperative business model.

We would like to invite young scholars from different disciplines and backgrounds, interested in cooperative research and practice to contribute to debates dedicated to searching solutions for the challenges facing the cooperative business model. We ask “How do we transform cooperatives into modern and competitive enterprises while maintaining the cooperative principles?” To address this question we organize interactive sessions and discussions around three themes; 1) Governance and inclusion in cooperatives, 2) Enablers of cooperatives in sustainable development 3) Resilient cooperative business models. Each theme will be discussed in parallel groups focusing on agricultural and non-agricultural co-operatives.

We are intending to hold the Young Scholars Workshop on Cooperatives in Kenya 2020, as a side event during the Co-operatives University of Kenya (CUK) Annual Conference which will be held on 23rd and 24th March 2020. The Young Scholars Workshop on Co-operatives in Kenya 2020 will be a two-day event that will attract 22 young scholars sponsored participants and unlimited recruits from the Co-operatives University Annual Conference.

1. The Program

1.1. Content and Format

What to expect
The African Young Scholars Workshop on Cooperatives in Kenya 2020 will bring together young professionals and development practitioners from the African region to deliberate on the role of the cooperative business model in the developing economies. The event will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas amongst youth, networking among them and other professionals in the field of cooperatives and strengthen youth participation in the debates on the development of cooperatives.

Plenaries
The event will be opened and closed with a high plenary session focused on youth and the development of cooperatives in developing economies. These sessions will bring together all the participants, keynote speakers from the government and the non-governmental institutions.

Presenters and Presentations
There will be three invited key note speakers (seniour scholars in cooperatives) who will deliver speech on the two day workshop. These scholars will give their overview on cooperatives in developing economies in plenary sessions. We will have several group discussion sessions among young scholars and one presentation sessions on research on cooperatives in the African region from selected young scholars. Each session is specifically designed to help young scholars improve their knowledge and skills through interactive workshops, brainstorming, and presentations. The contributions from each group will be presented in a loop session where each participant will have an opportunity to hear from all the groups.

Let’s network
Throughout the two day workshop, participants will have opportunities to exchange and connect with other youths and professionals with similar interests from Africa and beyond. Other networking opportunities include the workshop dinner which is likely to be held on 22nd March 2020.

We are inviting applications from young scholars to attend the workshop.
Kindly send your abstract (optional) and cover letter (compulsary) stating your motivation to participate in the workshop to ysicoopworkinggroupafrica@gmail.com and cc smaiyo@cuk.ac.ke before 20th February 2020