Ulma Group and Orona Cooperative both voted to leave at the end of last year, after seeking more autonomy from the federation's management One of the world’s leading co-op federations, Mondragon Corporation, suffered a blow at the end of last year when two of its key...
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In 1997 the Robert Owen Group launched a co-operative school centred initial teacher training project through the Marches Consortium and in partnership with the University of Gloucester. The scheme rapidly grew and became the largest of its type in the United Kingdom , successfully training over 3,700 post graduates who now work in our schools and colleges with many at senior leadership levels. Alongside this we launched a Master’s level programme for trainers in schools and for former trainees and teachers to access as career progression.
It became clear that the absence of an institute of higher education in the Marches sub region posed a real impediment to developing research, seminal thinking and platonic discourse. We often ignore the valuable infrastructure that comes with a quality centre of higher education. The Directors of the Marches Consortium developed a Robert Owen Learning Academy in Leominster and encouraged many ‘hub’ schools to have satellite post graduate libraries for their ‘clusters’.
This is all now background history but our 1998 creation of “query” as a radical journal of left field thinking has now in 2021 led to the addition of this section to the Marches Hive website. We want to stimulate thinking, discussion and the sharing of relevant news and knowledge.
We called the original 1990’s journal query because our minds turned to the creation in the 1870’s of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society which started life as as ‘Health and Education Fund’. In 1920 Walter Conway , Aneurin Bevan and others formed the radical Query Club as a new development. The Club was a cross between a debating society, a mutual support group , a focus for sharing contemporary knowledge and a body set on advancing radical thinking to address the issues of the day. In those times adult education was very much in cells following on the model of the early Methodist house groups.
We believe the challenges of today in many ways mirror those of one hundred years ago and we do encourage everyone’s to engage with query and to share your thoughts, views, knowledge and understanding so that we can all grow together . Thank you
News Articles
Close to the edge: Co-ops turn to crowdfunding through financial crisis
'Groups are fighting on multiple fronts ... Fatigued volunteers, diminished reserves, dealing with the governance ...' One of the benefits of being a co-op is having a membership, and often a wider surrounding community, backing you. This is something co-ops...
Bright Future Co-op reappoints Causeway to run modern slavery programme
The work placement scheme with businesses including the Co-op Group and Midcounties has helped 77 people find stable employment Bright Future Co-op, formed in 2020 to help fast-track survivors of modern slavery into stable, high quality employment, has...
How are retail and food co-ops responding to high inflation in the UK?
From grassroots action by Cooperation Town to support for warm spaces by the big retail co-ops, here's a look at some of the steps being taken Cooperation Town is a network of 21 food co-ops – and it’s growing With food inflation at 16.8%, the festive season was a...
18 New Upcoming Co-op Games of 2023
The triple-A gaming industry is largely dominated by single player titles, often with a strong narrative focus. Even many smaller-scale titles follow this same direction. While we always love a compelling single player experience, co-op games are just as valid in...
Where Are New Co-ops Emerging? The Changing Map of Co-op Development
These days, the presence of cooperatives across the United States is nearly universal. The largest sector is financial cooperatives, better known as credit unions. As of September 30, 2021, the National Credit Union Administration reports that 128.6 million...
Equal Care Co-op – Power in the hands of those who matter most – the people who give and receive care and support.
Equal Care Co-op About our care and support Choose It's a relationship of equals. Independent caregivers and receivers choose one another for the best chance of creating lasting, respectful, quality care and support relationships. Each role - giving and receiving -...
BIKE4WORK: ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Bicycle taxis (boda boda), street vendors, merchants, farmers, trash collectors, etc. For Africans who know very well how to earn money with a bicycle, but who lack means and/or skills, CooP-Africa offers: (modified) bicycles and trailers support in the development of...
BIKE4SCHOOL: EDUCATION
Walking more than 10km to school ensures a lack of energy when sitting in the class or standing in front of it, so students can’t give their full attention to learning. CooP-Africa offers: bicycles on credit for students and teachers school activities to promote the...
BIKE4CARE: HEALTH CARE
Good accessibility to medical services is essential. For both patients who need to access a health facility and medical staff visiting patients at home for home care, education and supervision, CooP-Africa offers: modified bicycles for community health workers bicycle...
