Bronwen Morgan

Platform cooperativism stream responds to rise in youth unemployment in the wake of COVID-19

Platform Cooperativism stream lead Bronwen Morgan is involved with an exciting initiative that harnesses the potential of platform cooperativism to respond to the likely rise in youth unemployment in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

The New School, in New York, where Trebor Scholz co-founded the Global Platform Cooperativism Consortium, is collaborating with Mondragon University, itself affiliated with one of the largest networks of cooperatives in Europe, to run the first half of an “an emergency online course to introduce, incubate, and accelerate platform cooperatives”.

The first half of the course, available in multiple languages and countries, introduces those enrolled to the gig economy, blueprints for political imaginaries, an introduction to cooperatives and case studies of platform co-ops. The second part involves international partners working in their local language to support those enrolled to incubate specific platform cooperatives.

Two of the local platform cooperatives involved in Professor Morgan’s earlier work on platform cooperativism will lead this work over the month of July: the Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals and The Coop Incubator.

Professor Morgan remains in close dialogue with the local partners, including on the possibility of feeding into a workshop on professional support services for platform cooperatives. The course has over 300 participants from 46 countries ready to begin.  More information is available here