Canadian Worker Co-op Federation will be participating in the Women Economic Council‘s 2023 conference with the theme “Breaking Barriers: Promoting Inclusive BIPOC Leadership and Economic Empowerment”. This Thursday May 11th at 1:30pm EST, 10:30 am PST, Janielle Maxwell (JEDI Business Conversion Project Coordinator for CWCF) and CWCF Board member, Juliet ‘Kego Ume-Onyido from Black Woman Professional Worker Co-op, will present on “The Need, History, and Legacy of Social Purpose” which will include an overview of some key systemic issues women and BIPOC groups face in the employment sector and details on the CWCF’s IRP Project.

Juliet will discuss the importance of African Indigenous frameworks in shaping co-operative/social enterprise spaces, as well as the pre-existing cultural, and social connection between racialized individuals and solidarity economy/ Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs). From lived experience, she will also discuss some common challenges racialized groups face when converting from a traditional business to a SPO as well as how business conversions to SPOs play a vital role in the preservation of cultural heritage and community, advancing alternative finance models, creating space for formal and informal economies, & building capacity for investment readiness.

If you’re interested in attending this free virtual event, please register for the entire conference at this link: https://whova.com/portal/registration/wecc_202305/

After which you should be able to live stream the presentation on the day of at this link: https://womenseconomiccouncil.ca/conference/ by clicking on “Thu May 11th” under “Event Schedule” and navigating to our presentation where there is a “Join Stream” option.