Education is one of the most important things a society can provide. This one day conference in partnership with NASUWT will explore the role of co-operation in building a better education system.
It has the potential to transform lives, build communities and support the economy. Furthermore, more than 21% of young people are unemployed in Europe, in Britain 16%. Yet academic and vocational education strategies are increasingly looking to the past rather than building for the future. We have seen education become more subject to competition with league tables and fragmented by privatisation; it’s increasingly subject to political interference where parents, teachers, teaching unions and local councillors’ views are often treated as insignificant or peripheral to strategy.
This European sub Regional conference is based upon the previous successful European Regional Economic Conference, Gateshead in 2012 and will consider the framework of change required to meet the challenge of youth education and employment through consideration of Cooperative education, education policy, vocational training, academic attainment and for more & better jobs for youth: for young Britain, for young Europe.
Co-operative schools are strong in Europe: Spain has a variety of models from multi-stakeholder ones similar in many ways to those developed here, to worker co-operatives. Portugal has a strong grouping of co-operative educational establishments from early years to vocational post-16 provision and France has a big programme supporting co-operation in education – OCCE.
CONFERENCE TIMETABLE
10.00 Registration Welcome by Chair: Jude Kirton-Darling MEP
10.30 Welcome Address: Simon Henig, Leader Durham County Council John Creaby, Regional Chair North Eastern & Cumbria Co-operative Party Council Beth Farhat, Northern Regional Secretary TUC
Keynote Speakers: Co-operative in Education Dr. Patrick Roach, Deputy General Secretary, NASUWT Mervyn Wilson, Retired Chief Executive & Principal Co-operative College
Lunch Break
Speakers: Education Strategy Professor Sue Maguire, Warwick University Centre for Education & Industry Anne Swift, NUT Jnr. National Vice President Joyce McAndrew, UCU Nigel Todd, Co-operative College Board Chair
Plenary speakers panel: Question and answer session Karen Christiansen, General Secretary of the Co-operative Party