Part of a guest lecture series organised by the Master of Studies in Social Innovation and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation.
Join our cohort of MSt in Social Innovation students for an open guest lecture with Dr Amanda Benson.
In 1844, the textile town of Rochdale, UK, was home to a group of working people who were sick and tired of being exploited, not only by their employers, but also in being able to access the basic goods required for survival. They set up a new co-operative that bought unadulterated food and sold it to its members at a price they could afford; the movement still exists today, and these pioneers are known as the ‘founders of the modern co-operative movement’.
This lecture will look at the role of social and political events that shaped the development of the co-operative movement and what links co-operatives together in a global movement. The lecture examines the role of co-ops today in tackling a range of problems such as poverty, inequalities, and climate change, and encourages reflection on the parallels between the time of the Pioneers and the issues facing people today.