Every November, over 400 participants converge in Ann Arbor, Michigan to share ideas, learn new skills, and look at issues affecting the cooperative movement worldwide. Since 1977, NASCO's Cooperative Education & Training Institute has been widely recognized as one of the most important training and networking opportunities available to members, directors, staff and managers of housing cooperatives. Please join us this year, November 4-6 in Ann Arbor, Michigan!

Creative Intersections: Education, Media, and Cooperatives

Art by Bec Young of Justseeds' Artist CooperativeThe 2011 Cooperative Education and Training Institute will provide a space for cooperative members from all over Canada and the United States to explore the intersections of education and media with cooperatives. Education and media work in tandem: while the principles of democratic and popular education inform the dynamics of teaching and learning, media provides creative and accessible forms for exchanging knowledge, ideas, and information. We will explore several threads that connect media, education, and cooperatives: How can cooperatives create and support media that is community owned and democratically controlled? What are ways to integrate media into cooperative education and grow our movement? This year we will engage with the media-making potential of last year's theme --mapping-- while cultivating our roles as educators, media activists, artists, actors, allies, and last but not least, as "students of cooperation."

We will offer workshops in the following seven tracks:

• The Art & Practice of Cooperative Education
• Airwaves to ‘Zines: Grassroots Media & Technology
• Cooperative Solutions for People-Driven Education and Media
• Building Blocks of Housing Co-ops
• Together We Know A Lot: Advanced Topics
• Transformation Starts with Ourselves: Healthy Cooperative Communities
• From Roots to Shoots: Developing New Co-ops

Read the full track descriptions

What's in the pipeline for this year's Institute?

• Radio broadcasting from Institute!
• Integrating social media (Twitter, Facebook) throughout the weekend
• Creating multimedia stories about cooperation for the United Nations International Year of the Cooperative in 2012
• Celebrating the launch of the International Year of the Cooperative
• Recording select workshops and events and posting them to NASCO's YouTube Channel
• Hands on media workshops and skillshares: learn how to create a digital story, map your community using open source software, screenprint with non-toxic materials, start a Drupal website, set up a blog, put together a ‘zine, write a comic strip, and many more!
• More workshops on popular education, dynamic facilitation, cooperative games and ice breakers
• Cooperative Leadership Track: a full-day, sliding-scale, anti-oppression training
• Detroit Tour of urban gardens, grassroots media projects, cooperatives, and education enterprises
• Documentary Film Festival highlingting media arts and using media for social change
• More regional co-op networking opportunities
• Annual General Meeting, Caucuses and Working Groups, Interfaith Celebration, Developing New Co-ops Track, Staff & Managers Track, NASCO's Hall of Fame, local co-op tours and more!

Introducing our Keynote Speaker: Adrienne Maree Brown

Adrienne Maree Brown is an organizational healer, pleasure activist, facilitator, singer, doula-in-training and artist living in Detroit. She is a facilitator for the Detroit Food Justice Task Force and the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition. She is also partnering with Engage to facilitate a year-long Community of Practice on Distributive Networks.

Adrienne Maree Brown Adrienne was the executive director of The Ruckus Society from 2006-2010, and now sits on their board. She was also a National Co-Coordinator for the 2010 US Social Forum and currently helping with the transition phase of that work.

In addition, Adrienne sits on the boards of Allied Media Projects, Third Wave Foundation, and Common Fire, as well as the advisory board of East Michigan Environmental Action Council. She facilitates the development of organizations throughout the movement (most recently the leadership team of the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program in Detroit, the Young Women's Empowerment Project in Chicago, New Orleans Parents Organizing Network, ColorofChange.org and Detroit Summer).

A co-founder of the League of Pissed Off/Young Voters and graduate of the Somatics and Social Justice Cohort, Rockwood's Art of Leadership training, and Robert Gass's Art of Change yearlong training, Adrienne is obsessed with learning and developing models for action, community strength, movement building and transformation.

Read Adrienne Maree Brown's blog

Get Involved

The diverse workshop offerings and inspiring, talented faculty are what makes Institute great year after year. We would love to hear your ideas for workshops and other events. Submit a session proposal for a workshop, panel discussion, film, skill share, caucus/working group, or table. We are accepting proposals through July 1, but prefer earlier submissions by June 10.
Submit a session proposal

Consider contributing to NASCO's Low Income Scholarship Fund (LISF). This fund subsidizes registration fees for low-income cooperators who might not be able to come to Institute otherwise.
Support Institute

Spread the word: help us promote Institute to your communities. Link to nasco.coop/institute or request conference postcards by emailing mingwei@nasco.coop.

Check the website over the summer for updates on the schedule, workshops, events, scholarships, accessibility and more.  Registration opens August 1.