Update: for those who missed it, the video recording of the conference is available here
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On February 22, 2023 at 11.30 am EST., Professor Marcelo Vieta, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, will present a talk on “Mapping the Potential of Converting Workplaces and Community Spaces to Co-operatives in Canada and Beyond”. The presentation will be online and is organized jointly by the Department of Management of HEC Montréal, and the Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins International Institute for Cooperatives.
The presentation will be given in English.
When: February 22, 2023
Time: 11.30 am – 1pm EST
Place: Online, open to all, registration mandatory.
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Abstract
Most of Canada’s 1.2 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been affected by the pandemic, compounding the already-existing business succession crises due to circa 75% of retirement-aged business owners not having succession plans. One underutilized option in Canada for saving these businesses, their jobs, and the communities they serve is to sell SMEs to employees or community members and convert them to co-operatives. Since 2018, The Conversion to Co-operatives Project (www.coopconvert.ca), working together with Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (www.canada.coop), has set out to better understand business conversion to cooperatives (BCCs) by: mapping how many currently exist in Canada, where, and in what sectors; documenting their conversion stories; comparing them to international best practices; assisting the country’s co-op movement build BCC capacity; and contributing to policy change. Prof. Marcelo Vieta’s talk will highlight key findings from The Co-op Convert Project, drawing attention to the advantages and challenges of BCCs for business succession and sustainable community and cooperative development.
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Marcelo Vieta is Associate Professor in the Program in Adult Education and Community Development, Director of the Centre for Learning, Social Economy & Work, and Director of the Collaborative Specialization in Workplace Learning and Social Change, all located at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. Professor Vieta has published and presented widely on workplace learning and organizational change, labour activism, political economy, economic democracy, social movements, and the social and solidarity economy.