Jem Bendell and Matthew Slater: The billions of dollars of venture capital pouring into blockchain start-ups over the past year reflect how people with a serious financial interest in technology see significant potential in distributed ledger technology (DLT). Yet the actual use of these technologies for everyday applications is still rare. Some say that it is… Continue reading
Shu Yang Lin from PDIS.tw; Francesca Pick, Co-Founder Greaterthan & OuiShare Fest; and Richard Bartlett Co-founder of Loomio sharing insights into online decision-making systems; how online voting tools enable stakeholders to have an active say in decisions that affect them… See the shared notes from this session too.
About Hilary Cottam, Kate Raworth writes, “her work is all about how the welfare state can become a partner state that empowers people by putting human relationships (and local commons) at the heart of their services. She is a designer focused on social change, and creates a series of locally based initiatives that are effectively… Continue reading
The most pressing challenges facing cities today, including wealth inequality, environmental pollution, climate resilience, and social isolation, have the potential to be mitigated by the efficient and equitable sharing of vital resources with each other. Wed 21 November 2018, 18:15 – 20:30 GMT Makespace Oxford: 1 Aristotle Lane, Oxford OX2 6TP, United Kingdom REGISTER HERE… Continue reading
Cross-posted from Shareable. Martijn Arets: As sharing economy companies come under fire for exploitative labor practices, data privacy issues, and more, there’s another movement that’s been brewing to counter some of the negative impacts of these platforms. Called “platform cooperatives,” these digital enterprises are built on foundations used by traditional cooperatives. In the U.S., Green Taxi, Stocksy United [a sponsor of… Continue reading
We citizens battling for civil rights on the Internet will meet our obligation and fight the good fight. We’ll stop this attack on the Internet and democracy sooner or later. Xnet (https://xnet-x.net/en/), an activist group working for civil rights in the Internet, is the founder member in Spain of the #SaveYourInternet coalition, which has among… Continue reading
A co-autored article by Karen Hansen-Kuhn and Oliver Moore: As the role of technology increases in farming and food, and corporate powers use this to extend their power, we need to strive for technological developments that are appropriate for farmers, for eaters and for the planet. Welcome to #AgTechTakeback. What is Agtech? Agtech describes “the increasing… Continue reading
The following texts are extracted from Southern Connected Communities Website. About SCC Our project is a model of what a community-controlled broadband ISP could be in rural Appalachia and the South. We have built a working line-of-sight broadband tower at the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee, that will be able to deliver… Continue reading
Dominant platforms, like Uber and AirBnb were able to use millions of dollars to get to scale. But, without venture capital, what can platform co-ops do to match their growth? In this session, Vivian Woodell, ex CEO of The Phone Co-op and now head of The Foundation for Co-operative Innovation, leads an open discussion to… Continue reading
Originally published on Commondreams.org Andrea Germanos: Tackling ‘Urgency and Scale” of Crisis, Oakland, Calif. Declares Climate Emergency. City council passed resolution Tuesday endorsing declaration of a climate emergency and calling for just transition. The Oakland Climate Action Coalition claimed victory Tuesday night after the California city passed a resolution declaring a climate emergency and committing… Continue reading
Originally published 18 September 2018 at foprop.org Mike Hales: When I first read Gary Werskey’s 2007 ‘three movements’ article – four years ago – I was sceptical. He discussed two British movements of radicals around science, in the 30s-40s and the 70s-80s, and speculated on the possibility of a third (which might possibly have an… Continue reading
Originally posted by Gaiafoundation.org In this interview, Claire Milne, Inner Transition Coordinator for the Transition Network, discusses the addictive qualities of digital technologies, how we can make peace with them in our own lives, and how to repurpose these technologies for the transition to a more just, caring and ecological future. On 20th November, Claire… Continue reading
When Ostrom Meets Blockchain: Exploring the Potentials of Blockchain for Commons Governance, a working paper/preprint by David Rozas, Antonio Tenorio-Fornés, Silvia Díaz-Molina and Samer Hassan. Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). Abstract Blockchain technologies have generated excitement, yet their potential to enable new forms of governance remains largely unexplored. Two confronting standpoints dominate the emergent debate around… Continue reading
Open data is a cornerstone of transparency, democratization and the guarantee of free access to information. But over the last 15 years it has also become a commercial commodity that is hugely in demand, and one that is proliferating fast. Juegos del Común is an exciting digital association in Barcelona using games dynamics to challenge… Continue reading
Is there another transition possible from state-based centralized planning systems, to something that would be different than a mere transition to extractive capitalism, which wreaked such havoc in the Eastern block, where life expectancy and health declined so dramatically after such a transition? Gorbachev wished for a cooperative transition which never came, and Cuba has… Continue reading
Jarrid Green: Resident-owned communities (ROCs) are manufactured housing neighborhoods (sometimes referred to as mobile home or trailer parks) in which the land is community-owned and managed. An estimated 18 million people who earn less than $28,000 a year (less than half the national household median income) live in manufactured housing. That makes it one of… Continue reading