neil @neil@social.coop

Spread good vibes and good info.

Application deadline 26th Feb

"The Black Liberation Pooled Fund (BLPF) pools resources to then allocate to the powerful ecosystem of Black-led social change organizations around the country."

https://solidairenetwork.org/grantmaking/black-liberation-pooled-fund/

any recommended pixelfed instances for an artist coming from instagram (illustrator/papercutter)?

People's History Mudeum hit their target, excellent

They've got a stretch goal now
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/futurephm

"The most important aspect of the democratic ownership agenda is the battle against the class tyranny of property"

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/12/how-corbyn-style-democratic-ownership-is-taking-off-in-denmark

"the liberation movement radios, in particular, unnerved Portuguese colonial officials"

https://theconversation.com/radio-as-a-form-of-struggle-scenes-from-late-colonial-angola-128019

Anyone have insider info as to if there will be a 3rd cohort of this course? I'd like to take it...

https://platform.coop/blog/platform-co-ops-now-2nd-edition/

Episode from Tech Won't Save Us on "the problems with platforms, why antitrust alone is not enough to fix them, and how we can encourage the creation of democratic platforms that serve the public good."

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004689/7056112-platforms-for-public-good-w-mathew-lawrence-thomas-hanna

Interview with Jessica Gordon Nembhard.

"Credit unions, housing co-ops, CSAs... Black folks have been building and benefitting from cooperative economics for decades, particularly in parts of the economy where we’ve been cut out by the major institutions. [...] In this episode, we dig into the power that we could amass if we took cooperative economics to scale"

https://pushblack.simplecast.com/episodes/the-power-of-black-cooperative-economics-with-dr-jessica-gordon-nembhard

^ I'd like to get involved in civic tech via cooperatives in Preston, so this is music to my ears.

"The development of commons-public partnerships as an alternative to the established public-private, following the Preston and Evergreen models, with DisCOs facilitating:

a. Municipal service provision for local economies.

b. FLOSS-built and open licensed, common-pool civic knowledge
resources.

c. Practical workplace education on feminist economics, the commons,
decentralized technology and the ethical market sectors offered by participating DisCOs."

You don't get a huge amount of the nitty gritty in this document. You need to delve in to the Guerrilla Media Collective wiki (https://wiki.guerrillamediacollective.org/) and DisCO Mothership ([https://mothership.disco.coop) for that I think.

I don't have any experience of working in a cooperative so can't speak to how different / novel / practical it is there. But I love the focus on recognising and actively valuing care work and work that gives back to the commons.

Finished reading through the DisCO Elements. It is gorgeous and fun and uplifting, with a high-level manifesto and outlook that I am totally onboard with. And that seems backed up by lots of practical knowledge and research based on daily life in Actually Existing Organisations.

http://elements.disco.coop/

#DisCOs #DisCo

"From mutual aid societies to independent fugitive communities and from farmer cooperatives to consumer co-ops, Professor Gordon Nemhard details how people work together in the face of racism and active sabotage to improve each others’ lives in tangible ways. Cooperation has proved a powerful tool against discrimination."

https://provender.org/a-short-history-of-black-co-operatives-in-america-african-american-cooperation-for-change/

The People's History Museum in Manchester is a great little place, struggling at the moment for funds. Maybe send it a few bob if you can.

"We are the only museum in the country that explores the past, present and future of British democracy, championing ideas worth fighting for such as votes for all, equality, co-operation, social justice, and a fair world for all."

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/futurephm

"The co-op hopes to boost driver income “by returning profits to drivers and establish basic employment rights for workers in the sector” as well as save drivers’ money through a credit union partnership as an alternative to “predatory vehicle financing""

https://www.thenews.coop/151799/sector/worker-coops/new-york-taxi-drivers-launch-fundraiser-for-platform-co-op/