CoCamp was a Woodcraft Folk International Camp based on co-operation and co-operatives, bringing together 2500 children, young people and adults from around the world, to live, work, and play as a dynamic co-operative community.

CoCamp was created by every participant, bringing their skills, knowledge, ability and ideas to build a community based on mutual respect and understanding, on empowerment and openness, on sharing and working together for the common good.

At the end of CoCamp we stood as one community, ready to take these ideas back to our homes and schools, our workplaces and organisations. Ready to say this is no longer a dream, this is our reality. This is not an idle hope; this is what we, the youth of the world, can forge into our future.

� at follows is a brief report into the successes and di� culties CoCamp encountered and the possibilities open to us in this UN Year of Co-operatives.

"Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility." United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Welcome

Running the festival as a democratic co-operative

The idea, planning, structure and delivery of CoCamp was based on the concept that the theme of co-operation and co-operatives should not just be about content, but about creating a co-operative community that embraced, experienced and developed this way of living and working together. This meant a few changes from previous big camps:

The 'steering committee' of old became a democratically elected board, including positions for venturers, Dfs and representatives of the Co-operative Group and Co-operative College.

'Camp participants' became CoCamp members and played an active part in the development of CoCamp.

Three AGMs were held where CoCamp members voted on key issues including how they wanted the programme and food to be structured and our community's code for living together - the CoCamp Code of Conduct.

Towns, a radical new structure

CoCamp members lived in villages which formed four towns: Blue Cedar; Yellow Aspen; Silver Birch; and Red Oak. This structure successfully brought our co-operative way of living at smaller camps to the larger scale of CoCamp. Towns were the centre of the educational programme

for the camp. Each ‘Town Centre’ included:

Town Hall, venue for daytime workshops and early evening programme.Town Library, programme hub.Town Cafe, run by people from that town.Coopery, base for the town grocer.

Towns added other elements, forging their identity throughout CoCamp, including: solar showers and cinema in Red Oak and a giant camp-wide map in Yellow Aspen. Towns were a place where programme could develop, Red Oak formed a choir and Silver Birch ran a Town Wide Game.

My role on the CoCamp boardJessica Finn

“I’m Jessica, I’m 15 years old and was on the CoCamp Board for two years. I attended meetings and took part in a wide range of discussions and decision making. I was part of a working group with other young people which wrote the Code of Conduct, giving CoCamp participants a set of guidelines for behaviour.

I have gained many new skills from this role: the confi dence to travel to meetings unaccompanied, knowledge of fi lling out a pro forma to show progress in a working group, and minute taking at meetings. I

The CoCamp Co-op

have lead discussions, for example at the PreCamp event it was my responsibility to answer the queries of participants.

There have been challenges, for example di� culties in communication with people outside of the board. The solution has been to attempt diff erent mediums of communication. One success I am most proud of is being directly involved with securing the services of a popular poet to perform and run workshops at CoCamp. It was an achievement to negotiate preferential rates, and secure his commitment to the project, as I had not done anything like that before and I was able to independently come to a good compromise.”

For The Future The clear democratic structure and AGMs were a success and should be repeated and built on.

Town bonding activities at the start would help villages from each town to meet and begin to formulate their town identity.

Whole camp events and other incentives to leave your town and meet others from across the camp community are important too, especially later in the festival.

"I ATTENDED PRECAMP AND SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING OF COCAMP FOR VILLAGE 11...I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE ME CAN BE INVOLVED WITH THE MASSIVE PLANNING IT TAKES TO DO SUCH A GREAT CAMP."

Jake Taylor, Pioneer.

have lead discussions, for example at the PreCamp event it was my responsibility to

"As my first

experience of a

Woodcraft Camp, my

overall impression first

and foremost was that

I was blown away by

the intelligence

and passion of the

debates I saw."�

Tristana Rodriguez

The Town Libraries were the hubs for daytime programme, with teams of librarians organising the system for delivering and attending workshops which took place in each Town Centre in the afternoons. The programme team put together a structure and waited for CoCampers to fi ll it with workshops. In advance of CoCamp all but the fi rst two days looked dangerously empty, but the schedule quickly fi lled and expanded beyond what anyone could have envisaged, providing a large and varied programme based on the skills and enthusiasms of our members.

The power pod in Red Oak was a base for workshops on sustainability while the Rebel HQ in Blue Cedar off ered a wide range of programme around Woodcraft Folk’s Aims and Principles and alternatives to capitalism.

Think Inside The Box

Co-op in a Box was led by Julie Thorpe from the Co-op College, kits were provided to elfi ns and pioneers to guide them through the process of setting up their own co-operative enterprise during the camp. One of the 48 kits distributed was used by a group from Edinburgh and Birken-head, decorating and selling pebbles and other crafts:

“I loved the way everyone was so enthusiastic about doing it, and glad that now I know how to do face painting, which I’d not done before” Fiona, Pioneer

“I’m going to take the co-op idea away with me and maybe do it with my friends at home” Rosa, Elfin

What the wee ones want

The theme of cooperation; the town structure – which broke the camp down into smaller more manageable chunks; and the early evening programme located in the town centres were all designed to make CoCamp more woodchip, elfi n and pioneer friendly.

The democratic programme structure meant people brought workshops and skills to run and share with all age groups and there was a thriving elfi n and pioneer programme.

A woodchip tent in Red Oak provided activities for 6-20 woodchips a day, these included: sing-a-longs; circle games run by elfi ns and pioneers; parachute games; fi nger-puppet making; story telling; play-doughing; painting; sticking and gluing and an especially early campfi re - it was a big success with a lovely atmosphere!

For the future:

Some people felt there were too many activities, how can this be addressed?

How can we build on CoCamp and encourage more younger children to come to big Woodcraft Folk camps?

"THE PRIDE MARCH WAS AWESOME AND MADE ME FEEL HAPPY AND GOT THE WORD ACROSS ABOUT EVERYONE BEING ACCEPTED. IT MADE ME FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT AND PROUD. IT WAS A BRILLIANT TIME." Sam, Pioneer

LibrariesBeyond Centralised Programme

"�As my time on camp was drawing to

an end I felt tired but

inspired by the energy

of the volunteers that

organise such a vast

event in the name of

creating positive change

internationally." Phoebe Doyle, Visiting Journalist

success and a new departure for evening programme, but the issue of noise levels reared its head.

There were complaints from a number of villages, particularly two that were very close to the late evening area. Finishing time for loud amplifi ed music was curtailed from 1am to midnight (with some music at a lower level continuing until 3am). The main problem was for adults who were responsible for elfi ns and pioneers having to get up early for them after not being able to sleep; as well as for the younger children themselves. There is defi nitely a need for the future to consider the location and the t� e of music.

Expectations of venturers and DFs on the back of DF and venturer camps have changed from previousinternational camps and complaints were received from these groups that late night activities for them had been curfewed, they felt rejected and angry. This related to when programme went on until and what it consisted of.

CommunitySupporting each other

At any event full of articulate, engaged and passionate people working and playing hard in a tight knit community, tempers will fl are and disagreements will be di� cult to resolve. CoCamp was no diff erent,but at times this natural letting off of steam went too far and some members of the co-operative were left feeling undervalued and disillusioned with the community which we had created.

� ilst not widespread, some CoCampers were subjected to verbal abuse because of the role they hadtaken on within CoCamp, or simply because they stood out from the crowd to question what was going on.

It was sad to see that, at times, the positive culture of our co-operative community was broken down by adults and young people crossing the line of acceptable behaviour.

Not PoliticEngaging Politicians

CoCamp held an Open Day to share our co-operative community with others, to ask them to engage with our ideas and ideals and to take part in the vibrant and vital world we had created. We invited friends; family; like minded organisations; partners; funders and the local MP; MEPs; head of Children's Services and Councillors.

Mark Spencer, the local Conservative MP, took up our invitation, sparking a heated debate as to whether he should have been invited and prompting meetings, some protests and criticism of the CoCamp Board.

“Young people in Woodcraft have been fi ghting against the Tory cuts for the last year. � y should we be expected to just welcome a Tory MP onto the site who is playing a part in destroying the futures of our young people?”Martha, DF

“Educating others about our work means reaching out to people who we don't necessarily agree with. Our job is to change their minds.”Simon, Kinsfolk

These opposing viewpoints, and many in between, continued to be debated throughout CoCamp and have wider implications for Woodcraft Folk going forward, as we engage with and challenge the current administration.

Late Evening ProgrammeThe Noisy Noise

The Late Evening Programme ran in the same way as the rest of CoCamp with members being facilitated to get on stage, be involved in debate and try new things, including a fashion show, circus performance, Ceilidh and the CoCamp quiz. These participatory elements were a big

THE ELFINS & PIONEERS FROM NEW BARNET, LONDON HAVE BEEN REALLY UPSET & ANGRY BUT ALSO HAVE ENJOYED THE LOUD BUT COOL MUSIC THAT HAS BEEN PLAYING IN THE LATE & EARLY EVENING. IS THIS GOOD OR BAD?� Rowan McKeever and Maya Howard, Elfins. From their Courier article, The Noisy Noise

Late night noise and the events on and following Open Day were catalysts for this but it is the need for better understanding and more respect for fellow campers, rather than the particular circumstances where problems fl ared at CoCamp, which must be looked to for future events and the future of Woodcraft Folk.

“There is one thing missing from this community, one aspect that I feel should be a cornerstone of all our work and have been shocked and appalled by how easily it has been tossed aside by some. And that is respect for the work of others.

Each of us is working hard on our element of the camp, and it is all too easy to forget that those around you, especially our young people, are also working hard, are also tired, are also wonderful, passionate, caring members of CoCamp, of Woodcraft Folk and IFM, and that as well as looking outwards we must look in, and support each other in what we are doing here, because it is a truly amazing achievement that no one of us could have made alone.” Zoë, Kinsfolk, from an article in The Courier

For the future:

We need to address how we engage with people we do not agree with – both as an organisation and as individuals; externally and within the Folk itself.

As the politically engaged and active organisation for children and young people, Woodcraft Folk needs to take up the debate from CoCamp's Open Day and explore what our relationship with the government is and should be.

Finding a co-operative compromise between the viewpoints on late evening programme and noise is vital and something that should be explored and agreed by all in advance of the next big camp.

RespectPutting the ‘Co’ into CoCamp

"�As my time on camp was drawing to

an end I felt tired but

inspired by the energy

of the volunteers that

organise such a vast

event in the name of

creating positive change

internationally." Phoebe Doyle, Visiting Journalist

Breaking News

The Communications Centre was a hub of journalistic skill sharing, workshops and creativity where children and young people produced daily Red Parrot Radio and Woodie Vision TV broadcasts and The Courier, CoCamp's newspaper.

Woodie Vision was broadcast to Town Halls each evening, with the fi nal two editions going out live – a Woodcraft Folk fi rst and a fantastic experience for our budding TV presenters.

CoCamp was also the fi rst big Woodcraft Folk camp to make full use of social media, with a thriving facebook group and a dedicated twitter account.

For the future:

TV News was not as successful as in the past, technical difficulties with broadcasts happening during daylight not being seen could be resolved, but there is a question of whether the explosion of YouTube means this version of camp news is no longer as relevant and exciting as it once was...

Happening already:

The Courier is continuing as the newspaper for Woodcraft Folk, with three editions a year it offers everyone the chance to write articles, take photos, be the editor or just become an avid reader. woodcraft.org.uk/courier

Food Glorious Food: Localy produced and Co-operatively sourced

Cooking and eating together was key to building the CoCamp community, food has one of the biggest carbon impacts at camp and is a chance to infl uence what people do when they get home.

Local ingredients, Vegetables, meat and dairy were sourced locally: reducing CoCamp's carbon footprint, supporting small businesses and providing campers with fresh good quality food.

“Lots of Village 22 love for tonight's custard! You can't beat collective catering at #cocamp. Now to organise the rest of society like this” @nick4glengate

Structure, The 2010 AGM voted for a 'suggested menu' which each village could adjust as they wished off ering maximum fl exibility, but requiring KPs to engage at an earlier point in planning.

Town Grocers, The distribution of food went from the central depot, to the town grocers, to the villages. This extra layer added some di� culties with communication, but where it fl owed well it allowed a more personal connection between the 'central' food team and village KPs.

For the future: The online food system will be tweaked so it is available for other big camps.

Noodles & Newspapers

26the

oCamp's

innovative

library structure

is facing

mounting

pressure from an

increased workload

and is feeling the strain

from a lack of volunteers. The structure,

trialled for the first time at this year's

CoCamp, has proved to be extremely

popular and useful to CoCampers, but

librarians are finding it increasingly difficult

to respond to demand.

“Some are finding it okay, but others are

struggling,” said Zoë Waterman, chair of the

CoCamp board. “I don't want to undermine

the work of volunteers because they're all

doing a great job, but I do see that some

libraries are under pressure from their

users.”

This paper can reveal that the situation isn't

being helped by them seemingly becoming

town crèches. Parents have begun leaving

woodchips in the town libraries, with no

supervision apart from by the working

librarians.

A librarian, who asked to remain

anonymous, said “We have lots of lovely,

liberal, free-thinking parents at Woodcraft

Folk camps, but co-parenting doesn't always

work when we don't have lots of parents here

and only have librarians. Woodchips are

being left at the library, but the librarians

can't look after them because they are very

busy.

“[The libraries] have turned into a kind of a

safe space because there's always people

around, but unfortunately it isn't really our

job [to look after woodchips]. It's absolutely

brilliant that woodchips are coming into the

library, but we would ask that they must be

supervised.”

The Librarians themselves are pillars of

enthusiam and are keen to remain open and

avalable to all ages. Ruth Yates from Red Oak

Library said: “Libraries are welcoming places

and everyone is welcome.”

The library resource, and all the resources

within it, have become a vital part of the

CoCamp routine. Councils may be cutting

funding to libraries all over Britain, but

this valuable entity can easily be sustained

by an increased level of volunteering.

>> Helping out one of the CoCamp teams

can be a really fun and rewarding way to

spend your time at CoCamp. Just a few

hours can take the preassure off

volunteers who are working full time and

beyond! Here, Emily from Blue

Cedar Library reads to a

couple of woodchips

enabling their parents

to attend the nearby

Palestine workshop.

Issue Fourwww.cocamp.coop

THE CO-OPERATIVE PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CO-OPERATION#cocamp

Waspgate

Sport

hen going into the Bebop

Cafe everything seems

calm and serene; the smell

of home baked cakes,

coffee and milkshakes are in the air, it is

without question the place to be in the

evening! But behind the scenes all is not as

perfect as appearances make out. A series

of disasters has struck the Bebop, leaving

workers hot, stressed and covered in cake

mix! After the deeply upsetting and

angering experience - the earlier reported

theft of cake - things appear to go from

bad to worse.

A major disaster area seemed to be

battling the natural elements for victory

over sweltering heat, wind, dust and of

course wasps! The most traumatic problem

area was the wind...in one instance of the

afternoon baking session it blew a whole

table over...cake mix was everywhere! It

was carnage. The cakes (Raspberry and

White Chocolate Muffins specifically) were

ruined and had to be started again much to

the upset of all involved.

Due to a lack of volunteers and under the

pressure of constant demand for

refreshment in the evening programme

the workers have had to take drastic

actions in a desperate attempt to keep

their excellent cafe afloat. The most

controversial of which is the fact that

because of consumer demand, Tesco

products are being brought onto camp! A

full scale investigation therefore took

place of course...involving other cafes

active on the camp.

The Stolen Cake

Cuisine Correspondent

Cadan ap Tomos

Exploratory Journalist

W

C

The Pride March in full swing - Turn to page 4 for the Mest-Up special on sex & gender

How to volunteer with your Library & Cafes

Innovative

Library System

Sweats Under

Massive

Popularity

the temptation of icing sugar; a necessity for their

assorted cake and sweet treats. Other cafes including

Chez Chenanigans and The Woodcraft Cafe have

managed to avoid sourcing from Tesco, but nonetheless

completely understand, saying in an emergency they

definitely would go to Tesco also.

The Bebop Cafe like the other cafes sources its milk from

a local farm, and most of its goods are from Suma or the

Co-op...However yet again disaster struck with a whole

order of food not arriving from the Co-op leaving them

in a predicament almost beyond comprehension.

Clearly, buying products from Tesco has caused a big stir

in the tranquillity of the claustrophobically hot and

stuffy CoCamp, but nevertheless it is blatant that the

Bebop needs help! Bebop needs YOU!

ocamp

SEX

>> Pages 4 & 5

Mest-Up guest

edit a special

report on sex

& gender

The wind blew a

whole table

over...cake mix

was everywhere!

Bebop resort to

value

At first this story appears to be horrific,

however ‘Hood in the wood’ admitted that

they also have been swayed by the Tesco

local convenience appeal, succumbing to

Town Grocers,food went from the central depot, to the town grocers, to the villages. This extra layer added some di� culties with communication, but where it fl owed well it allowed a more personal connection between the 'central' food team and village KPs.

“Some are finding it okay, but others are

struggling,” said Zoë Waterman, chair of the

CoCamp board. “I don't want to undermine

the work of volunteers because they're all

doing a great job, but I do see that some

libraries are under pressure from their

This paper can reveal that the situation isn't

being helped by them seemingly becoming

without question the place to be in the

evening! But behind the scenes all is not as

perfect as appearances make out. A series

of disasters has struck the Bebop, leaving

workers hot, stressed and covered in cake

mix! After the deeply upsetting and

angering experience - the earlier reported

theft of cake - things appear to go from

A major disaster area seemed to be

battling the natural elements for victory

over sweltering heat, wind, dust and of

course wasps! The most traumatic problem

area was the wind...in one instance of the

afternoon baking session it blew a whole

table over...cake mix was everywhere! It

was carnage. The cakes (Raspberry and

White Chocolate Muffins specifically) were

ruined and had to be started again much to

Due to a lack of volunteers and under the

pressure of constant demand for

refreshment in the evening programme

the workers have had to take drastic

actions in a desperate attempt to keep

their excellent cafe afloat. The most

controversial of which is the fact that

because of consumer demand, Tesco

products are being brought onto camp! A

full scale investigation therefore took

place of course...involving other cafes The Pride March in full swing -

the temptation of icing sugar; a necessity for their

assorted cake and sweet treats. Other cafes including

Chez Chenanigans and The Woodcraft Cafe have

managed to avoid sourcing from Tesco, but nonetheless

completely understand, saying in an emergency they

definitely would go to Tesco also.

The Bebop Cafe like the other cafes sources its milk from

The wind blew a

whole table

over...cake mix

was everywhere!

At first this story appears to be horrific,

however ‘Hood in the wood’ admitted that

they also have been swayed by the Tesco

local convenience appeal, succumbing to

CMYK

S P A N T H E W O R L D W I T H F R I E N D S H I P

View from the ChairPat HunterFriends, what a year we’ve had and what a year ahead! It gives me great pleasure to introduce this beautiful and fascinating new resource; The Courier, Woodcraft Folk’s new co-operative newspaper. The last Woodcraft Folk newspaper was closed down under the optimistic hope that the, then blossoming,

internet would be able to cheaply plug that gap in our communications. We rushed online to forums, egroups and facebook for the digital revolution but over time the limitations of online communication became increasingly apparent.The internet lends itself to the immediate. Like

lightning, thoughts can be disseminated, shared knocked back, ridiculed or forwarded. This fast pace has huge advantages but it also carries heavy pitfalls. In the world of email it is easy to bash out a rushed reply without careful consideration of the issue; gut reactions are amplified as we find it far too tempting to hammer our frustration away on the keyboard, reach for the infamous “reply all” button or forward on to the friend you know will be most enraged. In all this speed we’ve

T he word “CoCamp” has a strange effect on my non-Woodcraft friends. They experience symptoms that include, but are not restricted to, eye rolling, watch checking, sighing and foot tapping. Strangely, despite the fact that I regularly force my (hilarious) CoCamp anecdotes upon them, they’ve never actually told me to stop. My friend Aimee explained the reason to me recently - according to her, when I talk about CoCamp, I get “the same innocent look of wonder that a small child does when tasting sherbet for the first time.” She said that no one had the heart to tell me to shut up. So now, out of consideration for my friends, I don’t mention CoCamp to them. It’s easier for me to vent my need to talk about it by sitting in a corner, muttering “co-operation… collaboration… consensus…” while rocking back and forth.I love talking about CoCamp because CoCamp was fantastic. There are no two ways about it, CoCamp was an amazing achievement and an amazing project, taken on by wonderfully generous volunteers. My mahogany tan wasn’t the only reason

The Co-operative Newspaper of Woodcraft Folk

lost something: The craft of constructing an argument, the care in thoughtfully understanding someone else’s point of view, the respect for ideas and discussion even if we’ve already made up our minds. To communicate well it's important to take your time and that is what The Courier will do. Taking its name from the paper that delighted us every day at CoCamp, The Courier is an evolution in our communication that will become a wonderful landmark

We've an incredible

year ahead

LeadersSpectacular

Insert 5-8

need to stop babbling about CoCamp in a corner. Write the babbles down, put them in a box and go through the box no more than once a month. “But how will we survive without

mentioning CoCamp?” I hear you cry. Never fear, because you need to create another box, of CoCamp themes and ideas that combine to form the legacy of CoCamp. Now, this box should be brought out every day and shared.Woodcraft Folk could have such an amazingly exciting time ahead; we need to start looking forward and thinking about how we can progress as individuals and as an organisation. To fully exhaust the box metaphor, we need to add wider Woodcraft Folk themes and ideas to the CoCamp themes and ideas box. The two are utterly intertwined. Through CoCamp, Woodcraft Folk has changed by focusing even more on co-operation and co-operatives. The time has come to think about what the event meant, its implications, and its impact on those who went. That box should be near us all the time, constantly evolving, changing and becoming something amazing.So rather than look back, I’m going to plan. Plan how I’m going to use CoCamp to define mine and Woodcraft's future. At least it changes things up a bit for Aimee!

New technologyis changingcraft timeentirelyP11

Issue ONE Spring 2012Est. 2012

New technologyis changingcraft timeentirelyP11

Moving on after a fantastic CoCampEmma Jagne

my mum didn’t recognise me when I arrived home. My head was bursting with new ideas: I was a vegetarian, I could make a paper crane in a minute and a half and I looked like I had just tasted sherbet for the first time. Those ten days changed more than this young DF; the size of this year’s Annual Gathering agenda proves how much woodcraftier we've become. And this newspaper itself is a perfect example of developing the ideas generated at CoCamp. However, there comes a time when the muttering girl in the corner has to stand up and move on. I will never forget CoCamp, it’s become a part of who I am and I still wear my wristband with pride. It’s time to use what we learned at camp to educate. I’m not sure my friends would appreciate the nth (hilarious) story about cross-dressed DFs skipping along a deserted dust track (though they should). Explaining to them the idea of co-operatives - which a lot of them have never heard of - on the other hand? That would get them listening. So, no matter how heart-wrenching it may seem, we

Moving on after a fantastic Moving on after a fantastic Moving on after

S P A N T H E W O R L D W I T H F R I E N D S H I P

rushed reply without careful consideration of the issue; gut reactions are amplified as we find it far too tempting to hammer our frustration away on the keyboard, reach for the infamous “reply all” button or forward on to the friend you know will be most enraged. In all this speed we’ve

we’ve already made up our minds. To communicate well it's important to take your time and that is what The Courier will do. Taking its name from the paper that delighted us every day at CoCamp, The Courier is an evolution in our communication that will become a wonderful landmark

Write the babbles down, put them in a box

☛ Continued inside, page 10

"1,000 COPIES OF THE #COCAMP COURIER JUST ARRIVED ON OUR DOORSTEP - A PROUD MOMENT FOR JOURNALISM!"

Owen Sedgwick-Jell �@OwenJell

"BY FAR THE BEST FOOD AND MENU SYSTEM I HAVE EVER SEEN ON A BIG CAMP!"Tanya Harris, Spelthorne

"Helping with

everything, cooking

food for Ramadan,

playing games with

people from all over the

world and attending

different culture

sessions is really the

greatest thing I've

ever done"

Walaa Tbhaki

IYF, Palestine

"I'D LIKE TO PUT FORWARD THAT I HAD THE BEST TEN DAYS OF MY LIFE - MAKING NEW FRIENDS, DOINGACTIVITIES AND MOST OF ALL, WITNESSING ALL THE AMAZING ATMOSPHERE AT THE CAMP. I WOULD DO ANYTHINGTO LIVE AT COCAMP, AND I ALREADY CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT INTERNATIONAL CAMP. I HAVE ENDLESS THANKSFOR MAKING ALL OF THIS HAPPEN. IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE..."� Reuben, Venturer

Spanning the World...Defiantly International

There were almost three hundred international participants at CoCamp; mostly from Europe but also including young people from Palestine, Indonesia, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Peru. International evenings were a great success, giving groups the opportunity to share their games, songs and dances - a moment we felt truly international.

We would have had more international participants at CoCamp but the UK Border Agency refused many visa applications, including groups from Senegal, Chile, Columbia and Western Sahara and some members of the Pakistani, Peruvian and Indonesian delegations.

"This camp was an opportunity for all of us young people from across the world to learn about, and put into practice, co-operative values, and with these values also embedded in the planning, organisation, and programme of this event. The International aspect of the event brought about a wide range of different perspectives on co-operations and co-operatives and strengthened our experience of "being part of something bigger". The clans and the clan duties were so much fun. The ice-breaking name games, the regional games and music

made us all bond with each other. The fun-filled activities, the discussions, the decisions as a village every day at the Village circle and the Town council was the epitome of Democracy and Alliance, the attributes that Woodcraft and IFM stands for and then there was this one day... Called the' Indian day' in our village. It was an extraordinary experience. Cooking Indian food, talking about our traditional values, Indian dances, Indian music. Every day was an experience in itself, a learning experience. An experience I would cherish

all my life! Learning to work together, have fun together, to support one another, respect for one another and ultimately making such wonderful friends..!! Friends made for a lifetime, we exchanged our cultures, our stories, our traditions and our art... We were unknown when we went there but at the end of the CoCamp, it was one big family just going back home with memories of a lifetime and a promise to see each other again! This will be an event etched in my memory forever!"

Dhruti ChokshiAntar Bhartiya, India

For the future

Woodcraft has launched a campaign to get the UKBA to allow young people to travel the world freely to meet others and progress social change – so get involved! woodcraft.org.uk/campagins

Raising the funds to come to a big camp can be di� cult, so CoCamp took two approaches to supporting this:

Firstly, a guide was written and support provided to help districts in fundraising from external bodies. A number of districts were successful in gaining grants, and many others raised money through sponsored ceilidhs, swims, gigs and other events.

Secondly, a Solidarity Pot was created, using some of the central budget and gift aid recovered from donations to CoCamp. The fund was available for support with the costs of hosting international delegations or other groups from the UK; or to help districts bring their own members to camp. Contributions from the fund totalling just over £10,000 were made to 15 districts – only one request (from an international group with no connection to a Woodcraft Folk district) was turned down.

The costs of CoCamp were covered by donations from districts and individuals and fi nancial and practical support from the Co-operative Group; the Co-operative College; the EU / British Council “Youth In Action” programme; the Scurrah Wainwright Charity; the WF Southall Trust and West Bromwich Building Society.

For the future:

Encourage and enable more districts to recover Gift Aid on donations raised locally.

Repeat the concept of a solidarity fund open to application for supporting both UK and international participation.

CoCampcocamp.woodcraft.org.uk

Woodcraft Folk@woodcraftfolk

woodcraft.org.uk

IFM-SEI@IFMSEIifm-sei.org

@coop_collegeUKco-op.ac.uk

@TheCooperativeco-operative.coop

UN Year of Co-operatives@coopsyear

social.un.org/coopsyear

Money

Expenditure

Site Hire | £96,111Food | £91,975

Programme | £30,834On-site Services | £30,743

Staff | £30,026Solidarity | £17,556

Admin | £16,626Democracy | £12,927

Cafes | £6,743Other | £8,829

"@WOODCRAFTFOLK LET'S HOPE THAT WHAT HAPPENED AT #COCAMP DOESN'T STAY AT #COCAMP"

Richard McKeever@rmlondon