Direct democracy and the passion for political participation
Yavor Tarinski is an independent researcher and activist whose publications and talks center on the possibilities of direct democracy and commoning practices as an alternative to the current social imaginary. In this interview with Eve Olney he discusses some of the ideas regarding where direct…
Explainer: new municipalism
Investment might be flowing into local areas but poverty and inequality persist. ‘New municipalism’ is a term that has emerged as an answer to improving local economic development. It is an approach that aims to build wealth in the community using local government procurement to…
Grassroots democracies form North American coalition
For a long weekend in September, 29 2019 organizations dedicated to participatory democracy and the solidarity economy gathered in Detroit for Symbiosis, a “Congress of Municipal Movements.” Despite working on similar projects, it was the first time that many participants had the opportunity to meet…
Commons network joins the Amsterdam Fearless Cities team
Since the summer of 2019, Commons Network has been working with a team of civil servants and activists, supported by the municipality. The Fearless team uses the name ‘The 99 of Amsterdam’ for this new movement, referring to the 99 neighbourhoods of Amsterdam while also…
Earthworker: taking power back
Earthworker is a worker owned coop in Morwell, Australia. Within this coop is a solar hot water enterprise, Red Gum Cleaning Cooperative, an energy retailing coop and plans for hemp manufacturing and a journalists’ coop. The organization Earthworker was shortlisted for the Transformative Cities People’s…
Jakarta poor still fighting for tap water
To fight the water privatization that is taking place in Jakarta, the organization Amrta Institute for Water Literacy is helping make water accessible to all the inhabitants of Jakarta. The organization Amrta Institute for Water Literacy was shortlisted for the Transformative Cities People’s Choice Award…
Empowering women as sustainable energy leaders in Palestine
PENGON-FoE was established as an umbrella organization to coordinate among various Palestinian non-governmental organizations tackling issues of environmental sustainability in Palestine. It remains the only Palestinian environmental organization’s network that works in both the West Bank and Gaza, with fourteen organizational members within it. PENGON…
‘Fighting forward’ with cooperative power in the Bronx
The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative, a network of various Bronx community groups, has four main components underway; the Innovation Factory, to develop new production and innovation capacity with digital manufacturing technology. The BronXchange, to get major local institutions such as Fordham University and Montefiore Medical…
Building a solidarity economy in Jackson, Mississippi
Cooperation Jackson is only five years old, but the vision behind it is older. The original founders began to strategize to build a community of cooperatives in 2001, while many still lived in disparate parts of the country. Eventually, they chose to launch their participatory…