# CoTech Newsletter: February 2018 **URL:** https://community.coops.tech/t/cotech-newsletter-february-2018/627 **Category:** General **Tags:** newsletter **Created:** [23 February 2018 12:11 UTC](https://community.coops.tech/t/cotech-newsletter-february-2018/627 "2018-02-23T12:11:07Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 1
### Author: ![chrislowis](https://community.coops.tech/user_avatar/community.coops.tech/chrislowis/32/2507_2.png) [@chrislowis](https://community.coops.tech/u/chrislowis) #### Post date: [23 February 2018 12:11 UTC](https://community.coops.tech/t/cotech-newsletter-february-2018/627/1 "2018-02-23T12:11:07Z")
# CoTech Newsletter February 2018 Welcome to the first edition of the CoTech Newsletter! One of the themes that came out of the retreat at Wortley Hall was how difficult it is to keep up with the goings-on across CoTech. Our aim with the newsletter is to collate and curate the news from across CoTech into one place: “If you only read one CoTech thing a month, read this”. Thanks! - [The CoTech newsletter team](https://git.coop/cotech/newsletter/project_members) ## Contributing - Send feedback or items for the next issue to [newsletter@coops.tech](mailto:newsletter@coops.tech) - Join us in [#newsletter](https://tech-coops.slack.com/) on the CoTech Slack channel - Contribute to the [project repository](https://git.coop/cotech/newsletter/) ## Featured Coop > Animorph is an immersive media workers’ co-operative specialising in augmented > and virtual reality. We provide software solutions to institutions, which aim > to establish themselves in the emerging mediums. We work with social > initiatives and artists to increase their impact, deliver workshops to young > audiences and build our own prototypes. We are particularly dedicated to > developing augmented reality interfaces because of AR’s potential for > transforming everyday lives. We believe that the next computing platform > should increase human potential in a sustainable way. > > [animorph.coop](https://animorph.coop/) ## Cool Stuff ### 1st CoTech Community Call Laura Hilliger from We Are Open organised the first CoTech Community Call - a chance for CoTech members to drop in and meet virtually once a month. Laura has shared the minutes of the call and some thoughts on how it all went on the We Are Open Blog, and there’s some discussion on the community forum about when the future calls should be. - [1st CoTech community call.](https://blog.weareopen.coop/cotech-community-call-episode-one-d13345c4625a) - [CoTech Community Call discussion](https://community.coops.tech/t/cotech-community-call/582) ### CoTech has a constitution One of the outputs of the Wortley Hall retreat was to try and write down a constitution that puts into words some of the ways we’ve implicitly made decisions up to this point. The document is simple, has some obvious inconsistencies but provides a starting point to more formally codify our processes. - [CoTech Constitution](https://wiki.coops.tech/wiki/CoTech_Constitution) - [Decision to retify the draft constitution](https://www.loomio.org/d/wgz3Zjqa/ratify-the-initial-constitution) ### Aptivate work with Pula to support their work with farmers in Africa > In order for a crop to be successful farmers need the weather conditions to be right. Farmers invest in seeds and if it doesn’t rain they can lose their investment and be left without the money to buy more seeds. Pula’s project provides farmers with Germination Insurance, included with each seed purchase. - [Aptivate & Pula](http://www.aptivate.org/en/blog/2018/01/02/helping-protect-farmers-in-africa/) ### Jeremy Corbyn Visits Outlandish and Space4 Jeremy Corbyn, labour leader and constituency MP for Islington North, paid a visit to Outlandish and had lunch in the Space4 office with the CoTech members who work from there and the other organisations that use the space. - [Jeremy Corbyn endorses Outlandish](https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/962327274459664384) - [Discussing cheese, and a bit of politics, with Jeremy Corbyn](https://outlandish.com/blog/general/discussing-cheese-with-jeremy-corbyn/) ### Open Data Service review of 2017 The [Open Data Service](http://opendataservices.coop/) co-op shared their review of 2017 in a twitter thread. - [Open Data Service’s Work in 2017](https://twitter.com/opendatacoop/status/946721006101647360) ### Webarchitects are 20 [Webarchitects](https://www.webarchitects.coop/) has been going for [20 years](https://www.webarchitects.coop/20th) (although they have only been a co-operative for 7 years) and they are having a party to celebrate in Sheffield on Saturday 3rd of March 2018, [register for a ticket](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/webarchitects-co-operatives-20th-birthday-party-tickets-43390288521) if you would like to attend. ## Collaborations - Aptivate have joined the Webarchitects co-op and [moved their repositories over to Webarch’s git.coop hosting](https://twitter.com/webarchcoop/status/956201898197028864) ## Hiring - [Aptivate: We’re hiring a web developer](http://www.aptivate.org/en/blog/2017/10/06/were-hiring-a-web-developer/) - [GreenNet: Web Developer](http://www.greennet.org.uk/community/jobs/web-developer) ## Events - [Webarchitects 20th Anniversary](https://www.webarchitects.coop/20th) : 3rd March 2018 : Sheffield - [OPEN 2018 – The Platform Co-op Conference](https://2018.open.coop/) : 26th - 27th July 2018 : London ## Decisions and Debate - [Planning the 2018 CoTech retreat](https://community.coops.tech/t/2018-wortley-hall-or-wherever-planning-inside-cotech/610) - [3 new members apply to join CoTech](https://www.loomio.org/d/gI1Ts8i5/membership-admission-decisions) - [Ratify the Nextcloud recommendations from Wortley Hall](https://www.loomio.org/d/P8u9GsqK/ratify-the-nextcloud-recommendations-from-wortley-hall) - [Ongoing debate about NextCloud usage](https://community.coops.tech/t/questions-about-the-cotech-nextcloud-server/512) - [Can we survive without Google?](https://community.coops.tech/t/can-we-survive-without-google/455) - [Using StackOverflow cooperatively for recruitment](https://community.coops.tech/t/using-stackoverflow-for-recruitment/577) --- _[View the full topic](https://community.coops.tech/t/cotech-newsletter-february-2018/627)._