6th Africa Young Scholars Workshop

The 6th Africa Young Scholars Workshop is a continuation of series of workshops on multiple facets of cooperatives and cooperative development under the Cooperative Working Group. This year Workshop is an avenue for young scholars to learn and deliberate on the nexus between cooperative enterprises and UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The Workshop is critical to assisting young scholars to have an in-depth understanding of the evolution of co-operative societies roles and particularly their widening. Young scholars will have an opportunity to learn on the shift from member focus to concern for community and global goals at large. The intent is to ensure participants have an in-depth understanding of greater roles that cooperative play and can play and which will account to realisation of global goals including the ones on global crises. Workshop participants will be benefited with exchange of knowledge regarding developments that have taken place over the years, and which places cooperative enterprises at the centre of sustainable development. The Workshop will have two major parts whereas the first one will involve strategic presentations by a senior scholars in the area. It is in this part where young scholars will be introduced to multiple possible interventions by cooperatives which in one way or the other will contribute to the realisation of UN SDGs including those in the areas of governance, environment and natural resources management, inclusive development; social and solidarity economy; and sustainable livelihoods. Evidence of the enterprises engagement into the realisation of sustainable energy, forestry, water resources, etc. will also be part of the session presentation. The second part will involve young scholars discussions (based on research papers submitted) and subsequently documentation of potentials of cooperatives in sustainable development and home, neighbouring and or other countries experiences. Participants to the Workshop will also share and exchange other emerging thoughts on role of cooperatives in the realisation of SDGs. These thoughts are likely to have trickle down effects to cooperatives in countries where the participants come from and even beyond them. The young scholars Workshop be held alongside the 4^th International Conference on Cooperatives for Sustainable Development. The Conference is jointly organised by Cooperative Working Group partners namely the Moshi Co-operative University (MoCU) and the Cooperative University of Kenya (CUK). It is scheduled to take place between 31^st July 2024 and 2^nd August 2024 in Moshi, Kilimanjaro, in the United Republic of Tanzania. The Conference is an opportunity for young scholars to learn from senior academics and practitioners in cooperatives from various parts of the world. It is also an avenue where networks and partnerships with other cooperators with diverse backgrounds on cooperative development can be created.