CUK 6TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2022

Throughout the world, Covid-19 has exposed many fragilities in economies, and deepened existing inequalities while highlighting the need for innovation and cooperation (United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy, 2020). To a large extent, much of the impacts of Covid-19 witnessed in different parts of the world have been a result of the disease’s interaction with pre-existing vulnerabilities relating to employment, growing inequalities in societies, global warming and climate-induced human migration, and the current unsustainable industrial food system. This calls for in-depth discourse on measures needed to ensure that when the Covid-19 health emergency ends, the world will not return to the way it was before Covid-19, but move to a better, secure future.

Consequently, there is need for undertaking deliberate measures to address the root causes of exclusionary and unsustainable development; ensuring a “people-centred and planet-sensitive” development; adjusting business models for sustaining agri-food enterprises and supply chains; and, tackling challenges of climate, digital and demographic transition and their implications on the world so as to  shape a different future from that of pre-Covid-19.

The CUK Annual Conference – 2022:  We seek to hold a conference to deliberate on the role Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises and Organizations (SSEOs) need to play in post Covid-19 recovery to create a world that offers everyone a better future. The theme of the conference is: “Building Back Better: The Role of Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises and Organizations in Post Covid-19 Recovery”. The key question we ask is this, what role could cooperatives and other SSEOs play? The Conference will have four sub-themes, namely:

(1) Supply chains recovery options for building resilience to future shocks;

(2) The role of ICT in catalyzing economic recovery and building back better from impacts of covid-19;

(3) Strategic thinking as a pillar in economic recovery and building back better; and,

(4) The Role of Worker Cooperatives in the Post Covid-19 Recovery.

Description of Sub-themes

The first sub-theme (Supply chains recovery options for building resilience to future shocks) requires participants to interrogate options to address the fragilities which COVID-19 pandemic has exposed in global, regional, and sectoral supply chains. These fragilities, arising from raw material scarcity, production, and transportation disruption have forced businesses to reconsider their supply-chain strategies and to restructure their outsourcing strategies for the supply of essential inputs to mitigate the risks of external disruptions.  However, little is known about how the supply-chain strategies and restructuring adopted by businesses to mitigate the risks of external disruptions have worked for the businesses and what has been learned out of this to inform post Covid-19 recovery and building back better. This sub-theme therefore looks at supply-chain strategies and restructuring adopted by businesses to respond to external disruptions in supply chains, and the recovery options which Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises and Organizations can adapt to ensure resilience of supply chains to future disruptions.

The second sub-theme (the role of ICT in catalyzing economic recovery and building back better from impacts of covid-19) considers the role Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has played as a tool against the COVID-19 crisis, and what role it can play in recovery and building back better. Generally, ICT-based innovations and applications are major drivers of enhanced organizational performance, economic growth, and social change. While ICT has the capacity to cause an infodemic, it has been widely applied as a tool against the COVID-19 crisis. As the world has moved dramatically toward online channels during Covid-19 pandemic, ICT has become a central enabler for workers to work from home, while maximizing output.  It is therefore critical to leverage on lessons learnt in application of ICT as a tool against the COVID-19 to promote economic recovery and building back better. This sub-theme therefore looks into ICT-based measures undertaken by Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises and Organizations in response to covid-19 crisis and the role ICT will play in post-covid-19 recovery and building back better to ensure the resilience of SSEOs to future disruptions.

The third sub-theme (Strategic thinking as a pillar in economic recovery and building back better) focuses on strategic thinking for building back better in post covid-19 recovery. Covid-19 crisis has shaken the world, setting in motion unavoidable waves of change with a wide range of uncertain trajectories in the future. Strategic thinking offers pivotal tools for successful policy making in the face of high uncertainty. A strategic recovery plan will ensure public resources are allocated effectively and efficiently. This involves exploring and preparing for a diversity of possible developments to realize future-proof strategies, identify new opportunities and challenges, and design innovative ways of improving the well-being of people and organizations under rapidly evolving circumstances. This sub-theme requires participants to explore approaches which Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises and Organizations can adopt to institutionalize sstrategic thinking as a pillar of their operations, recovery and building back better in post covid-19 to safeguard against future shocks.

The fourth sub-theme (Role of Worker Cooperatives in the Post Covid-19 Recovery) focuses on the place of Worker Cooperatives in the Post Covid-19 Recovery. The fragilities in economies exposed by Covid-19 calls for adjustments in business models in Post Covid-19 recovery for resilience.  As such, there is need for interrogation of the cooperative model and how it has fared on relative to other business models in the face of the Covid-19 shocks and what adjustments are needed to ensure resilience of cooperatives against shocks like Covid-19. In particular, the question of how worker cooperatives mitigated loss of jobs and income inequality is important. Considering that   Worker Cooperatives are fundamentally centered on the needs of workers, the question of how resilient they are, how well they served to meet the needs of their communities during the pandemic and how they have contributed in saving members from job loss and stabilizing their workforces is important. This sub-theme, engaging manly young scholars invites participants to interrogate how worker cooperatives fared on during the pandemic, factors affecting their development and measures that need to be undertaken for the model to provide a pathway to post Covid-19 recovery and building back better.

Highlights of the sub-themes: Key focus in the sub-themes: as tabulated:

Conference Key Dates

• 1^st Call for abstracts 1^st April 2022
• Early Bird Registration opens 2^nd May 2022
• 2nd Call for abstracts 2^nd May 2022
• Last Date for Submission of Abstracts 16^th May 2022
• Last Date for FULL PAPERS Submission 20th June 2022
• Last date for Registration 22^nd July 2022
• Conference 26^th – 27^th July 2022

         Conference Cost:

• 3,000 for the presenters of papers
• Kshs 1,000 per person for other participants and corporates

Submit your Abstracts and Papers to: abstracts@cuk.ac.ke

Registration – To register follow the link:  https://forms.gle/zujnQ22NzMXdwV3FA

Abstract guidelines

The following should be included in the abstract: Title, name, contact and affiliation of the author(s); brief background/contextual and conceptual aspects; research problem; objectives; theoretical anchorage/conceptual framework; methodology; results; conclusions; and Recommendations.

Other instructions: The Abstract should be submitted in English; a maximum of 300 words in New Times Roman; 12-point font size; single spacing; with 3-5 key words in bold at the bottom of the abstract.

Charges and Payment Details

Charges: Kshs. 3,000 (USD.30) for the presenters of papers and Kshs 1,000 (USD10) per person for other  participants not presenting papers.

 Sponsorship Categories

We are offering the following sponsorship packages to organizations. This provides an opportunity for organizations to raise brand awareness and contribute to dissemination of knowledge necessary for resilient and sustainable SSEOs. The packages are:

Payment Bank Details

Bank: Co-operative Bank of Kenya | Account Name: The Co-operative University of Kenya | Branch: Karen Account No. 01120125033500 | Narration: Research Conference

We will need to find a way of getting into the virtual meeting rooms only those paid up participants. A corporate payment may be given up to 5 participants?? or you might decide BUT they should pay more.

To be updated Soon.

To be updated Soon.

Dear Author(s), Presenter(s), in the 6^th Annual Conference 2022,

On behalf of The Co-operative University of Kenya Annual Conference Organizing Committee, we congratulate you for writing a great paper, peer-reviewed and accepted for presentation at the CUK 6^th Annual Virtual Conference 2022 to be held virtually on July 26th – 27th, 2022. Only papers presented during the Conference will be eligible for publication in the conference proceedings. By agreeing to provide your presentation material and registering for the conference, your work will be published in the conference proceedings and Book of Abstracts.

Given the virtual format of the conference, your Paper Presentation needs to be PRE-RECORDED. However, you will need to be virtually present for your presentation to be streamed. Your pre-recorded presentation can be a video of yourself speaking to the audience, or a Voice over PowerPoint. Details on how to record your presentations are as below.

Presentation length:

Paper presentation: 13 minutes (15 minutes maximum)

It will be appreciated if you could SHARE YOUR PRESENTATION NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, JULY 19^th  2022, by sending it via the email abstracts@cuk.ac.ke  

For any question (s), contact the Conference Organizing Committee Secretariat via the email: abstracts@cuk.ac.ke  

We highly encourage you to include an audio/video presentation of your work to allow you the opportunity to explain your work and get more exposure to the audience, as well as making the conference more informative, valuable and engaging for the attendees. Your presentation material will only be made available to conference attendees (i.e. those who have registered for the virtual conference) for a limited period of time, beginning July 20th, 2021.

Best Regards,

Prof. Wycliffe Oboka, Ph.D., 

Chairperson, Conference Organizing Committee

To be updated Soon.

To be updated Soon.

Conference Cost: Kshs. 3,000 (USD.30) for the presenters of papers OR Kshs 1,000 (USD. 10) per person for other participants and corporates Registration Deadline – All participants and presenters are required to register for the conference by Friday, July 22, 2022, via the link shared below:

THE 6^TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

The login link will be shared with all presenters after the close of the registration period via the email address provided on the registration form.

Membership of the Conference Organizing Committee (CoC)

1. Dr. Wycliffe Oboka – Chairperson
2. Prof. Kennedy Waweru – Member
3. Dr. Lydia Mutua – Secretariat
4. Mr. Silas Maiyo – Secretariat
5. Prof. John Kihoro – Member
6. Dr. Shem Mbandu – Member
7. Dr. Lucy Kiganane – Member
8. Dr. Charles Katila – Member
9. Dr. Michael Ngala – Member
10. Dr. Moses Gweyi – Member
11. Dr. Kennedy Kirima – Member
12. Mr. Kirianki M’Imanyara – Member
13. Mr. Victor Wambua – Member
14. Ms. Mary Mbugua – Member
15. Mr. Victor Njogu – Member

Official Conference Contact Information,

 Dr. Lydia Mutua – Registrar, CDRI and Conference Organizing Committee Secretariat

Email: lmutua@cuk.ac.ke

Mr. Silas Maiyo – Coordinator, Secretariat – Conference Scientific Committee

Email: smaiyo@cuk.ac.ke

Submit Abstracts / Papers to Email: abstracts@cuk.ac.ke

Official University Contacts

P.O Box 24814-00502

Phone number: +254 724 311 606

Email: enquiries@cuk.ac.ke

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