The topic of the conference was “Creating Impact“.  There were over 300 attendees from many different cooperatives around the United States. It was great to see some of you there!!!! The conference was organized by the Center for Workplace Democracy and The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC).

The program, the schedule, the presenters and sessions were outstanding. The event had a wonderful flow that allowed for networking and conversations to blossom in hallways as well as in the designated networking spaces and times. These efforts included a member drive and outreach for the conference. Discount tickets and scholarships were available to those who needed them, in solidarity with cooperation in this economic war. Convening this many members of the cooperative movement that are scattered about the United states is not an easy task to coordinate. Hats off to Amy Johnson and Esteban Kelly of the USFWC, they did an outstanding job in getting members to the convention and making sure that a great time and good information and plenty of locally sourced healthful food was offered to all.  The event was catered for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a wonderful hall that was easily accessible and roomy enough for people to circulate around and have multiple conversations. Attendees were mostly members of the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) and some belong to coops, or work in coop friendly companies. Some people were there learning how to become a member of a worker cooperative, or start one, all were engaged in lively discussions. The friendly atmosphere was felt by newcomers as they were engaged in deep conversations about their well being, their work, their lives and their happiness in the present and future. A first time attendee was overcome and told of his life changing moment when seeing so many people come together with the skills, the knowledge and the determination to make a better world for all.

Here is a link to a blog that covers news and items of interest in the world of cooperatives. This particular link leads to one blog about conference that was held in Worcester in July 2015 – CoopMatters.com