A sunny May weekend in Brighton saw student co-ops from across the UK and Ireland come together to meet up, share ideas and discuss how to grow the student housing co-operative movement.
Co-hosted by SEASALT Housing Co-operative and Sussex University, the event was organised by Professor Anke Schwittay and was attended by the vast majority of SCH member co-operatives. Over the weekend the students came together to hear talks from different figures within the housing co-operative community and had break-out discussions on a range of topics from Finance & Skill Sharing to Activism within Student Housing Co-ops. The mood of the weekend was overwhelmingly warm and uplifting, with many students coming away praising the event.
Talking about the event Professor Schwittay said: “It was exciting to host close to 40 student cooperators and their supporters at Sussex University in May 2023. The two-day National Gathering saw productive and thought-provoking discussions about wide-ranging themes, from coop activism to finance and knowledge transfer. The highlight was a dinner and party hosted by SEASALT.“
You can find out more about the gathering at Professor Schwittay’s website. SCH plans for another in-person gathering of student co-ops to take place in 2024.