Workshop with Trebor Scholz: Rethinking cooperation

The platform economy of the digital age has radically changed business models. In addition to the rapid growth of numerous platforms such as Airbnb or Uber, a crisis of platform capitalism can also be observed - worldwide. Precarious working conditions for employees and freelancers, wage dumping and the dwindling influence of trade unions are just some of the symptoms. Smaller companies can barely compete against new monopolies and the majority of supply chains are anything but sustainable.

Trebor Scholz is a science activist and founding director of the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy at The New School University, New York, and initiator of the Consortium for Platform Cooperativism. He provides insight into this form of economy, which can be a plausible and desirable alternative to platform capitalism. The aim is to create a digital economy from which all people can benefit equally and not just a few. Platform cooperativism is based on cooperative principles and democratic ownership.

In the workshop, topics such as economic and socio-ecological justice, democratic participation, the future of work and fair internet will be discussed. In the process, the author of "Uberworked and Underpaid: How Workers Are Disrupting the Digital Economy" will provide valuable insights into exciting cooperative platforms in India, Germany, Australia, Brazil and the USA, in order to initiate a reflection on possible cooperation platforms and their potential for the Val Venosta cultural region and beyond at the end. The aim of the workshop is to develop exciting and concrete ideas for (digital) cooperative platforms for the region together with entrepreneurs, designers, personalities from the cooperative sector, software developers, researchers, students and interested parties and also to think about their practical implementation. In a broader sense, it is also about a constructive discussion of the issues of rural exodus, the common good and life and business in the countryside.

The results of the workshop, which is open to all interested parties, will be made available to a wider audience on 30 October 2020 as part of the Churburger Wirtschaftsgespräche 2.0 in Schluderns.