Co-operatives and the World of Work: CCR/ILO 2015 International Research Conference, Antalya, Turkey

09 Nov 2015

The Committee on Co-operative Research (CCR) – a thematic committee of the International Co-operative Alliance – and the International Labour Organization co-hosted  co-hosting the 2015 International Research Conference in Antalya, Turkey on 8-10 November 2015.  The conference brought together researchers, students, practitioners, advocates, policy makers, and representatives of co-operatives and employers and workers' organizations involved with co-operative enterprises, social/solidarity economy organizations, and world of work issues.

The Committee received more than 150 responses to the Call for Papers, which sought proposals exploring areas of job creation, rights at work, social protection, and social dialogue, among others.  Interest in the conference came from around the world, with a large number of submissions from Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.  A total of 112 participants from 26 countries attended the conference, many of them presenting papers.

There were six sets of parallel sessions, with three to five sessions in each of the six time slots. They will cover a wide range of themes  including: co-operative and labour legislation, worker co-operatives and trade union relations, gender equality and women's empowerment, among others. The closing session will include highlights from each of the themes discussed during the conference. A number of publications on the conference will also follow based on select presentations.

The session on November 8 was specifically aimed at emerging co-operative researchers. This Young Scholars Programme was made possible through the generous support of the International Summit of Cooperatives. The next Summit will take place in Quebec City in October 2016.

Co-operative News reports about the conference:

 

Presentations and papers

 

9 November 2015

 

Session 1.1: Co-operatives and Sustainable Development

 

Session 1.2: Co-operatives and innovation

 

Session 1.3: Co-operatives and employment creation

 

Session 1.4: Co-operatives and trade unions

 

Session 1.5: Gender equality and women's empowerment in co-operatives

 

Session 2.1: Co-operatives and trade unions

 

Session 2.2: Co-operatives and innovation

 

Session 2.3: Co-operatives and employment

 

Session 2.4: Gender equality and women's empowerment in co-operatives

 

Session 3.1: Co-operatives and trade unions

 

Session 3.2: Labour law and co-operative law

 

Keynote address by Camila Piñeiro Harnecker: The role of co-operatives in Cuba's new economy

 

10 November 2015

 

Session 4.1: Multi-stakeholder and worker co-operatives

 

Session 4.2: Labour law and co-operative law

 

Session 4.3: Co-operatives and innovation

 

Session 4.4: Co-operatives and organizational change

 

Session 5.2: Rural co-operatives

 

Session 5.3: Worker co-operatives

 

Session 5.4: Co-operatives and employment creation

 

Session 6.1: Assessing the impact of co-operatives

 

Session 6.2: Practitioners’ session on South-South and Triangular Co-operation (Co-operatives and Social and Solidarity Economy)