Events

Hi

We’ve another Co-op Hackathon coming up and thought some of you might be particularly interested in this one as it’s focused on creating joined up digital infrastructure for the co-op movement.

It's on 1 & 2 October, free to attend, and will take place at Central Co-op HQ in Lichfield, Staffordshire. Some travel bursaries are available.

We held a Round Table at Co-op Congress to create a problem statement, and are holding collaborative online meetings to translate that into challenges/ideas to work on. It would be great for you to join us.

https://www.uk.coop/get-involved/campaigns/enabling-tech-and-digital/co-op-hackathon

There's events taking place all over the UK as part of the Good To Grow week:

https://www.goodtogrowuk.org/map/

There should be one at a community garden near all of us. :D

Posting these events on Behalf of Maria Dorthea Skov:

I’m reaching out to let you know about a couple of cool things I’m organising in London next month, as I’m hoping you’ll be able to join me - or if not, support me in spreading the word. 

Firstly...

For the last six months I’ve been hosting and participating in Living The Good Life Huddle (part of Huddlecraft) - a peer group of seven women prioritising leisure, play and rest as our source of personal and societal transformation, in the spirit of exploring and living ’the good life’. We’ve questioned our own, and society’s, devotion to work and productivity. We’ve done more of what brings us joy and makes us feel alive. We’ve shared and held space for the moments in which we’ve struggled to find joy. We’ve played together and moved through some of the awkwardness that brought up. We’ve slowed down and been spacious, with ourselves and others. 

It’s been such a rich, expanding experience to journey alongside these six other women, diving deep in to what it really means to live a good life, in community. I haven’t shared much about it till now, I think because I have just wanted to be fully present to the experience rather than having to articulate it. 

However we are getting ready to articulate and share our explorations, experiments and learnings at an in-person 'showcase' event in central London on Saturday 11th May at 4pm OR 7pm (we’re doing two rounds - more here) @Locke at Broken Wharf, EC4V 3DT. 

Rather than just conventionally presenting our journey - although there’ll be a bit of that - we’ll be inviting you to join our Living The Good Life Experiment for the day. Expect interactive installations, creative activities and deep conversations on these themes. As well as space to ‘just be’ and relax. 

If you’re in London and available on Saturday 11th May I’d LOVE to see you there. More info on the event + tickets can be found here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/livingthegoodlifehuddle/1217808. If you’re not able to attend, I’d deeply appreciate your support in spreading the word. Please share with your friends, colleagues and networks. 

Secondly...

I’m supporting my talented artist friend Dominique Savitri Bonarjee to put on a public embodied artwork titled COLLAPSE on Friday 31st May at 12:30pm (also in central London, exact location tbc). 

COLLAPSE is a ritual protest that intervenes in the dynamics of capitalist architecture: it makes visible the exhaustion of a human body always running out of time, caught in an entropic dance with the force of gravity. As the body gradually surrenders, its material strangeness comes into focus against the verticality of the urban landscape. (A lot of resonance here with our Living The Good Life experiment which in many ways has been a post capitalist journey.)

We’re looking for participants to activate this artwork with us on May 31st! If this resonates, please express your interest by filling out this form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeM5ROyGFC4l4WsmhyQ1fSuhtz2YdMXeAaH4mhbtaP2b_7K7g/viewform

COLLAPSE is actionable by all bodies. Participation (ideally) involves attending a preliminary free workshop on Sunday May 12th 4-7pm at Colet House (London W14 9DA) where Dominique will lead a movement research session and share the ‘choreography’ of COLLAPSE. Dominique has activated and led COLLAPSES in diverse locations since 2015, in private and public sites, sometimes alone and other times with participants. You can find links to previous ones in the introduction on the Google form. 

Again, please share on to people in your life who might be interested. 

Hope to connect with you again at one or both of these London happenings. 

Much gratitude, and spring vibes, 

Maria Dorthea Skov

Hi all

Co-operatives UK is holding another Co-op Hackathon after the success of our first one last year. It’ll be on 8 & 9 May in Manchester,  and we have some travel bursaries available.

The hackathon aims to boost the development of co-operative, ethical tech. It’s an exciting free two-day event that will bring people together to develop digital solutions for the UK co-operative movement – and beyond.

We’re looking for people to sign up with their ideas/projects, and for people to share their skills and support the teams. All ideas are considered and we particularly welcome proposals around Sustainability, also Housing.

It’s a collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Design Factory.

Sign up link and more info https://www.uk.coop/hackathon

Hope some of you can join us, and please share.

Thanks

Terry

It's in the diary: Sat 17th Feb 2024 at the University of East London, Stratford, Water Lane, E15 4LZ

@olisb Yes, everyone will get in the time machine that we're just working on. Later (or earlier?), we're planning to go back to about 1967 and stay there.

Seriously, thanks, early morning post, I've corrected it.

@Hugh Barnard did you really mean 2017!?

The first https://newham-citizen-science-fair.uk/ will be on Saturday 17th September 2024 in Stratford (London, not the Shakespeary place).

We're still looking for exhibitors for this kind of project (Raspberry Pi sensors, maker, green projects etc.) and some 'reserve' talks. There'll be lightning talks as well. Website is a little scruffy at present but watch the space and keep the date. It'll be Eventbrite ticketed, because it's UEL space and there are capacity issues.

Also, there's a core organiser's meeting on the 25th November in Stratford, contact me, if you'd like to come.

a) they could do with a few more men and LGBTQ+ at this b) there's food!

Please find a link to information about this FREE event, Gender Equality in AI, organised by Responsible AI-UK (RAI-UK).
https://www.rai.ac.uk/events/gender-equity-in-ai
It is happening this Thursday Nov 2nd 10am-12pm with lunch at BMA House, Tavistock Square London WC1H 9JP.
Please share this information with your colleagues and mailing lists!

I’ve also placed the Eventbrite link here.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gender-equity-in-ai-tickets-742006971827?aff=oddtdtcreator

@Oli SB Hi! Great teams. Flower Grower Collective won the top spot but each team got a prize, Deep Time, Grassroots City, The Impact Collective https://www.uk.coop/news/winners-2023-unfound-accelerator-ps10000-prize-fund-revealed