Recently I jumped on a train to Birmingham and attended the founding conference of Students For Co-operation, a new national federation supporting students to set up co-operatives while at university. The aim is to help students gain control over key areas of their life, such as housing, food and transport, in an affordable and democratic way.

As soon as I arrived I could feel the excitement of something new beginning, and throughout the weekend I was inspired by the numerous ways co-operatives are already being used to help people collectively meet their needs in the UK and across the world.

Students had come from all corners of the UK to attend the conference. They were setting up housing co-ops to reduce rent and enable them to own their own building, something most of our generation can only dream of; food co-ops to provide ethical food to students at affordable prices; bike co-ops teaching students to build and fix their own sustainable transport; and a reuse and share co-op facilitating the free exchange of items students were throwing away.

We heard from Juan Saavedra, a young Spaniard who studied a four-year degree in team and co-operative entrepreneurship at Mondragon University. Located in the Basque region, Mondragon is the largest co-operative in the world. Employing more than 80,000 workers, it shows that co-operation is possible on a big scale, as well as recognising that education at all levels is crucial to the creation of an alternative political and economic system. Excitingly, Saavedra is now trialling his degree in team entrepreneurship as an undergraduate degree at the University of the West of England in Bristol, using horizontal and participatory approaches to learning.

Emily M Lippold Cheney joined us from the US to share the lessons she had learned from her experience with NASCO, a network of student housing co-ops across the US. With more than 8,000 members, eight housing co-ops, and surplus from low rent contributing to NASCO carrying out co-operative education and development work across the country, NASCO has been very successful.

Cheney's advice was to ensure the organisations we build are owned and controlled by youth, that there is a redistribution of wealth within the co-operative movement from older and wealthier institutions to support the young to start and grow, and finally that we invest in and build our assets (such as land and housing) to create autonomy and independence from grants. She told us how Puerto Rico has passed a law to put a student cooperative in every school and it made me think what potential we have in this country with more than 700 co-operative schools in existence.

By the end of the first day I was overwhelmed by amazing examples of how co-operatives are transforming people's lives on a big scale across the world. By the end of the second day I was brimming with ideas of new and exciting ways to apply and innovate the co-operative model in this country. I also thought about how the open source and co-operative community could work more closely to develop new tools that could boost collaborative and open ways of working online from the bottom up.

For example, apps that could help us to make decisions democratically and effectively within our co-operatives when we are in different geographical locations. Or software that could support the delegation and remuneration of different tasks and jobs that need to be done within a co-operative business, allowing for flexibility and pay based on the specific contributions people make rather than just the hours they put in.

There was exploration of how we could create more student ownership in student unions. Not just by electing student officers, but by putting students in control of the businesses and spaces within our unions. If they ran the shops inside our unions it would mean a transfer of wealth from rich companies such as Tesco or Costa Coffee to students with little money and large amounts of debt. Moreover, it would give students a chance to be innovative and responsive to the needs of their peers, and to learn alternative business skills in co-operative management and team entrepreneurship.

As I sat exhausted on the train home, two things stayed clearly in my mind. First, the numerous ways in which co-operatives are transforming the lives of people across the world and right here in the UK. Second, the incredible potential of what can be achieved as youth, technology and co-operative values are beginning to come together and see the multiple ways we can create a better future.

AltGen supports 18- to 25-year-olds to set up workers' co-operatives as an empowering and collaborative solution to youth unemployment. To get involved and find out more, visit the website, Facebook page, or tweet @AltGen101.

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