The Co-operative Party’s first female general secretary, Karin Christiansen, will be guest speaker at the party’s north of England and Scotland weekend school at the end of November.
Entitled ‘Next generation lost’, the school will focus on the future for young people and co-operative solutions to issues such as finance, housing, education and employment.
Christiansen, who was appointed in July, will be the evening speaker on Saturday 1 December. She was previously the party’s international development director and took over from Michael Stephenson after its annual conference in September.
The weekend school – to be held at the Gilsland Spa hotel in Cumbria – will also include sessions on regional government, featuring Paul Salveson of the Hannah Mitchell Foundation, international development with Co-op College associate Stirling Smith, and co-operative councils with Anna Turley, co-ordinator of the Co-operative Councils Network.
Labour and Co-op MP Stella Creasy, who has campaigned against loan sharks in her east London constituency, will participate in a workshop on responsible finance, while Inclusion’s Paul Bivand and LSE economics professor Alan Manning lead the opening plenary on the next generation.
The school starts on the afternoon of Friday 30 November and finishes at lunchtime on Sunday 2 December. It costs £180 for delegates for two nights, although some bursaries are available for “young co-operators”, and £80 for one night (including lunch) if you attend from Saturday.
More details from co-oparty.northengland@phonecoop.coop, or contact Joe Russo on 07864 095538.
The Gilsland Spa Hotel has a co-operative history dating back to 1901. It was a convalescent home until 1972 when it became a hotel. It lies in ‘Hadrian’s Wall country’ between Carlisle and Newcastle, close to Northumbria National Park. The nearest train station is Haltwhistle.
—-
More on the Co-operative Party here.
