Welcome
This website documents an event from August 2018, where we Chicago co-operators came together, shared our stories, and celebrated our co-operation.
This is a living movement! At ChiCommons LWCA, we are documenting it and supporting its development. You can get involved in many ways.
Teaming up with other co-operators, we are hosting a monthly “Chicago CoOp Convergence” on the last Wednesday of every month at 7pm Central Time. Here co-operators from around the region share our successes, failures, needs and offerings to build the movement.
ChiCommons LWCA is helping build the co-operative movement by documenting our collective entities in the Co-operative-Solidarity Map, offering business and technology services with ChiCommons Consulting, and building community owned and operated Internet/intranet connections on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis with BlockShare.
Chicago’s 1st Cooperative Economy Summit: Coming Together
On Saturday, August 25, 2018, nearly 300 people gathered in Chicago to share and celebrate ideas about our cooperative and solidarity economies in Chicago. We spent the day in panels, discussion groups, tabling and networking with each other in the hallways and kitchen. Here are some of the take-a ways:
- Chicagoans are envisioning and creating a different a more humane economy, one in which we all own and share
- Everyone has needs and something to bring to this new economy
- Building this economy demands a wide range of individuals, organizations, support and activities
- Our greatest success will come from everyone having a seat, a voice, and role(s)
- Our success will depend, in part, on the vertical and horizontal integrations of the cooperative/solidarity ecosystem