Announcing a new film and groundbreaking collaboration This new film by Furtherfield in collaboration with Digital Catapult broadens the current debate about the impact of emerging blockchain technologies. The underpinning technology of Bitcoin digital currency, the Blockchain is reshaping concepts of value, trust, law and governance. This film sets out to diversify the people involved… Continue reading
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How Does The Commons Work? Our new animation elaborates on David Bollier’s next system
Originally published at The Next System David Bollier, in his paper for our “New Systems: Possibilities and Proposals” series exploring viable political-economic alternatives to the present order, suggests that a commons-based framework could provide a critical template for de-commodification, mutualization, and the organization and control of resources outside of the market. We’re excited to share… Continue reading
On the rise: European Commons Assembly Networking, unity and policy around the commons paradigm
On September 26, a group of nonprofits, foundations, and other civil society organizations jointly publish a “Call for a European Commons Assembly”. The collectively drafted document, which continues to garner signatures from groups and individuals around Europe, serves as a declaration of purpose for a distributed network of “commoners.” The Assembly seeks to unite citizens… Continue reading
Re-inventing Democracy: Understanding the Origins of Liquid Democracy, an Interview with Rüdiger Weis
To understand how Liquid Democracy emerged, one has to understand both history and geography, as well as the interplay of ideas and culture. This interview with Rüdiger Weis, a professor of computer science at the Beuth Hochschule University of Applied Sciences, provides a good starting point for understanding the cultural and political context from which… Continue reading
Re-Imagine The Future
When faced with the massive crises of our time, the most logical response is paralysis. What can an individual possibly do about something so massive and complex? But what if people could manage to imagine changes that matter within their own lives, and then to grow and federate them? My colleague Anna Grear, a law… Continue reading
Open-source development for cities
Martin Dennemark wrote to us recently to tell us about his Open Source City Development project. We liked his ideas and encouraged him to send us more. In reply, he sent this video and text: How can we plan our environment openly and collaboratively? Finding an answer to this question was the main motivation for… Continue reading
The Next System Project’s Pluralist Commonwealth
In a new short film from The Next System Project, Gar Alperovitz explains how the pluralist commonwealth—grounded in democratized ownership and deep concern for community—can provide an alternative to our current inequitable, unsustainable, and unjust system. From the shownotes to the video: In the video above, produced by Democracy Collaborative staff working with Softbox Films,… Continue reading
David Bollier and the City as a Commons
Originally posted at Pakhuis de Zwijger: “With the New Democracy series we investigate democratic change as a transition, looking for socio-economic trends on the one side, and practices of social innovators on the other, that simultaneously puts pressure on the existing system, forcing it into change. Tonight we will continue our research by identifying what… Continue reading
Seven Short Films on the Commons in Seven Minutes
People constantly ask me for a definition of the commons as if a short sentence or two could begin to encapsulate the vastness and variety represented by the term “commons.” So as a quick introduction to the many dimensions of the commons — the inner and outer worlds to which “the commons” merely points to… Continue reading
In search of Europe
Preceding the Dutch EU presidency Flemish artist Lucas de Man proposed a bold idea: he would be travelling through the EU and find young and somewhat older people to explain him how Europe is changing and could be changed. ECF supported Lucas de Man in his plan with networks and some financial help. Upon return… Continue reading
Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?
The answer to the question above is not just no, but the truth is the contrary of it. Humanity needs to wean itself away from forms of agriculture that destroy and degrade every time more of our soil commons. But re-generative agriculture is gearing up. Watch the video and check the background on film-makers below… Continue reading
The Great Transition in the Netherlands – Manifesto for a fair and green economy
Grassroots-driven social change is accelerating all over Europe, but particularly in the Netherlands, which had to suffer the dislocating effects of ultra-neoliberal policies since 2005, and where the population has reacted through an exponential growth of civic and cooperative initiatives, as documented in Tine De Moor’s Homo Cooperans study. All kinds of transition events draw… Continue reading
Catarina Mota introduces the Open Building Institute
Catarina Mota and Marcin Jakubowski introduce a new project seeded in the Open Source Ecology project, i.e. the Open Building Institute. The interview was conducted by James Corbett. From the show notes: “You wouldn’t download a house, would you? Of course you would! And now with the Open Building Institute, you can! Join us today… Continue reading
Nomadic platform societies need platform cooperatives
Very good introduction by Nathan Schneider on why we need platform cooperatives, in a lecture co-organized by Outlandish in London. From the notes to the video: Nathan Schneider (@nathanairplane) gives an introduction to the concept of platform co-operativism, and talks about what the digital economy can learn from the tradition of co-operatives. The talk is… Continue reading
Documentary: Building Communities of Commons in Greece
A documentary on networks in Sarantaporo area produced by the media arts collective Personal Cinema: “Sarantaporo area, situated at the North of Greece, is an agricultural and husbandry region, also hit by the crisis. But even prior to the crisis, state’s attention to the area was poor. Youths were migrating to big cities or abroad…. Continue reading
Bringing CopyLove’s Audiovisual Source Code to Helsinki and Beyond
Pixelache Helsinki wants to bring key members of ZEMOS98 collective from Sevilla, Spain, to the 2016 edition of their festival, under the campaign title ‘CopyLove Helsinki‘ #CopyLove #Helsinki ZEMOS98 will bring feminist-orientated care and warmth, Remix for Bien común (Remix for the Commons), Commons spirit and Love to the North. In particular they will share… Continue reading