June 2024 - GTA-PeDAGoG - lists.ourproject.org

[GTA] Global U Communique No.40 (20240625)
by LAU Kin Chi 25 Jun '24

25 Jun '24

Dear GTA network friends, Note: Pleased put down "GTA" on the Questions and Comments column in the zoom registration form, and the registration fees for you and your networks will be waived. Global University for Sustainability Communique of Founding Members Community No.40 (20240625) [cid:28f78d09-0817-46cf-bab6-36609f4f8115] Summer is here! Photo: Dai Jinhua SSFS11 on Global U website: https://our-global-u.org/oguorg/en/the-eleventh-south-south-forum-on-sustai… Zoom Registration: https://lingnan.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qRrRY3TDR6ye8zCU_TBLzQ#/registr… The 11th South-South Forum on Sustainability (SSFS11): Health and the Road to Sustainability, will be held from June 30 to July 5, 2024. The organizers are the Chinese Institute of Hong Kong, CCRD-CS of Lingnan University, School of Chinese Medicine of Baptist University, and Global University for Sustainability, together with 11 co-organizers. It will adopt a hybrid mode: onsite (Lingnan University) and online (Zoom, Bilibili and Xiaoetong). Simultaneous interpretation will be provided: English and Putonghua for all nine sessions, and Spanish for four sessions. Putonghua only for the June 30 session. As in the past, the SSFS invites experts and scholars from the South and the North to meet and brainstorm to foster collective wisdom from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The title of this year's Forum is “Health and the Road to Sustainability”. How can humanity live in peace in a century of great changes? In today’s world, peace is being undermined, pandemics are not receding, and the climate is rapidly and drastically changing ...... Is humanity at the crossroads again? Where are we heading? Can an individual’s pursuit of physical and mental health, and society’s quest for peace, be guaranteed? How can there be sustainability? We have three themes for in-depth discussion at the SSFS11. Theme 1: Cultural Traditions, Physical and Mental Health, and Sustainability. Taking Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the art of painting and calligraphy as examples, we will discuss how, under the collision of Eastern and Western cultures, the Chinese cultural tradition with the unity of heaven and humans can innovate, but also maintain its fundamental principles. There will be three keynote speeches (public lectures) on TCM on July 2 (UTC 0200 hrs): Implications of Cultural Amalgamation for the Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine by LYU Aiping, Vice President (Research and Development), Hong Kong Baptist University, China; Foreign Member of Academia Europaea. The Path of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine in the Cultural Encounter of the East and the West by WEN Jianmin (Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, China; World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies) Culturally Responsive Health Model by YUAN Zhong (Professor, Peking Union Medical College, China) [cid:1b2de2de-4611-482c-8cce-1ef64000fd13] In addition, there will be a keynote speech on the relations between painting and health sustainability (July 2, UTC 0630 hrs): The Art of Painting and Calligraphy, and Physical and Mental Health by PAN Gongkai (Former Dean of China Central Academy of Fine Arts; Director of Fudan Art Institute, Fudan University, China) [cid:edd9782b-6be6-4f07-8214-4d04b9fdad36] Furthermore, there will be a session on the de-colonization of Western medicines and the revival of subjugated indigenous medical knowledge in Asia and Africa. The speakers are as follows (UTC1300 hrs): The Right to Science: Decolonizing Knowledge to Preserve Epistemic Biodiversity by Nicoletta DENTICO (Global Health Justice Program, Society for International Development, Italy) The Contribution of Traditional African Medicine in the Fight Against COVID-19 and Other Tropical Diseases by Jérôme MUNYANGI WA NKOLA (University of Kolwezi, Congo) Ayurveda in Healthcare: Swastha Vritta (The Preventive and Social Medicine) by Thushara LAL S (Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, India) Revisiting the Role of Western Foundations in the Medical System of the Global South by SIT Tsui Jade Margaret (Southwest University, China) [cid:4aedea8e-0dce-42e1-be60-e94b108c556d] Theme 2: Health and Sustainability. Amidst the crisis of globalization, how can humanity consciously choose a sustainable path that leads to serenity of mind and heart, as well as social peace? Furthermore, we will explore the relevance of the North-South and South-South frameworks, reflect on the experiences and lessons of ‘development’ and ‘healthcare’, broaden the boundaries of the health discourse, and explore the paths to health projects and cultural sustainability. The speakers are as follows: Rethinking the Birth of the 20th Century in the midst of Multiple Crises by WANG Hui (Tsinghua University, China) Physical and Mental Health and the Defense of Society by DAI Jinhua (Peking University, China) [cid:58c3d138-03ab-4c08-90e2-c65f0e8cb866] De-globalization and Ecological Transformation by WEN Tiejun (Haikou University of Economics, China) Community Building and Life Quality: For Whom, and How to be Sustainable? by HUANG Ping (Chinese Institute of Hong Kong, China) [cid:12b3277f-8d16-4ea8-ae4a-1e2ea7032724] The Decadent West and the New Socialist World Order by Michael HUDSON (Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends, USA) Development, Sustainability, and Ecological/Communitarian Health by Ana Esther CECENA (National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico) Cuba’s Experiences in Healthcare by Remy HERRERA (National Center of Scientific Research, France) Theorizing the South Solidarity of the Oppressed and Diversification of Globalization by YIN Zhiguang (Fudan University, China) [cid:72771478-3243-4cd2-b13d-35c41223e5e4] Theme 3: Health and Community Sustainability. Whether community building and human health can be achieved and sustained is based on good community governance, ensuring the quality of people’s livelihoods, valuing inclusiveness in community life, and building an ecological civilization. The speakers are as follows: Towards Sustainable Healthcare Financing and Good Nutrition by JOMO Kwame Sundaram (Khazanah Research Institute, Malaysia) Venezuelan Communes: Building an Alternative Life-Centered Civilization by Hernan VARGAS (Communes and Social Movements Ministry, Venezuela) Right to Health vs Pharmaceuticalization and Commodification of Healthcare by Mira SHIVA (Initiative for Health Equity and Society, India) [cid:6359deca-7e94-4756-bfeb-317e9d0592f1] Crossing the Gap between Global Drivers and Resources for Climate Justice, and Local Participatory Initiatives in Urban Areas of East and Southern Africa by Rene LOEWENSON (Training and Research Support Centre, Zimbabwe) Gross National Happiness in Strategic and Local Planning and Development by Tandin Wangmo (Centre for Media and Democracy, Bhutan) The Path of Education for Rural Revitalization: Experiments from Communities Practicing Pro-People, Pro-land, and Pro-nature Principles by ZHANG Xiaode (Chinese Academy of Governance, China) Rural Community Building in the Context of Multiple Dilemmas by YAN Xiaohui (Lingnan University, China) [cid:98f1515c-f8e1-49cb-883c-59d8e968c819] A Change of Meaning. Stop the Climate Emergency, Assuming Ourselves as Ecosystems by Claudia CABALLERO (Multitrueke Mixiuhca Network, Mexico) The MST in the Fight Against Agribusiness: the Experiences of Agroecological Rice Cooperatives by Salete CAROLLO ( Porto Alegre Agricultural Production Cooperatives, Brazil) Digital Change and Ecology, Production, and Livelihoods of Rural Communities by YANG Shui (Beijing Institute of Technology, China) [cid:2dbe5a08-da05-4d96-b2d5-9a491a06b3dc] Walking on the road to sustainability, we follow the law of Nature, recognize that the greatest virtue carries the characteristics of water; respect and treasure different and diverse cultures and values, and endeavor for a world in Great Harmony. We thank again the speakers, but we hope many of you will join as we have reserved a lot of time for discussions and interactions. Please feel free to email your messages to the Global U Founding Members Google group for exchanges. Take good care, stay healthy, and see you online at SSFS11! With very warm regards, Kin Chi and Jade On behalf of the Executive Team @[email protected] [Lingnan University Hong Kong] <https://www.ln.edu.hk> [Education for Service] <https://www.ln.edu.hk/transformation-for-life>

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How to Build Power From Below
by Yvonne Yen Liu 11 Jun '24

11 Jun '24

Happy Pride! We have two upcoming panels that may be of interest. 1) Direct Democracy, Constituent Power, and the Common(s) Date: Thursday, June 20th 2024 Time: 2:45 to 4:15 PM ET/1:45 to 3:15 PM CT/11:45 AM to 1:45 PM PT RSVP at https://municipalism.org/direct-democracy-constituent-power-and-the-commons/ Our panel will explore how to build power from below. Central to the question of movement building is how we can organize ourselves democratically, without coercion and power-hoarding, and with the particularities of gender, race, ability, and other forms of domination in mind. We will explore many aspects of directly democratic governance, including collective decision making, equitable management of resources, and the emergent contradictions of building and sustaining radical democratic institutions. We will be presenting this panel at the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. We are making our panel available for people to attend virtually by livestream. Panelists: • ALISON CHOPEL, Universidad de Puerto Rico • NDINDI KITONGA, Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid • KERMIT O • YVONNE YEN LIU, Solidarity Research Center Paper abstracts: Power Building from Below in Puerto Rico by ALISON CHOPEL This paper explores relationships between what Michael Hardt refers to as the natural (ecological) and the artificial (social and economic) commons, through the lens of three specific power building projects in Post-María Puerto Rico. Post-María Puerto Rico has much to offer the world in terms of understanding possibilities for our future, in particular the varied possible ways in which commons are acknowledged as such and managed collectively or continued to be coopted through the illusion of private property ownership, as it is in the forefront of both climate and social vulnerability (given it has among the highest climate risk index and the highest economic inequalities in the Western hemisphere). A look at the journey of a collective of queer artists combatting displacement in the capital's arts district (La Futura es Rosario) shows how we must practice and improve management of natural commons to enable the immaterial production of artificial commons to happen in a way that is healthy, just and joyful. My colleague at the Graduate School of Planning in the University of Puerto Rico, Ariam Torres Cordero, has described a practice of Bomba Planning that demonstrates how we can bolster and invest in the immaterial knowledge, skills, roles and processes to make decisions together to manage commons and plan into the future. Lastly, the Resiliency Law Center’s theory of change posits that investing in the building of the artificial commons assets of collective, localised governance is arguably one of the best investments for conservation/ management of the natural commons as well, as local communities that depend on healthy ecosystems are their best stewards. Direct Democracy, Building Power, and Counter-Narrative Education by NDINDI KITONGA Is it possible to nurture a learning environment in which students can participate in democracy, built on the radical notion that young people should and can be free and that their full participation is vital not only in classrooms but in larger socio-political contexts? This paper will explore three educational spaces based in Los Angeles experimenting with notions of abolition and direct democracy outside of mainstream schooling institutions. The programs include Colegio del Pueblo (Parent Ethnic Studies program), Escuelita Aztlan (Community Saturday School open to all ages from infant to abuelita), and Angeles Workshop School (cooperative micro-school). These programs predominately serve working-class Black and Brown folks interested in anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist politics. The paper will discuss the three models’ practices with: 1) developing learner agency and mode to transform oneself from a victim of hegemony, capitalism, and internalization of the -isms, to an empowered agent of change at all levels, 2) nurturing learners’ participation in ones’ community to build combat injustices and challenge institutional power, 3) building widespread democratic education networks to support learning and foster the type of praxis necessary to build alternative worlds free of capitalist exploitation, ecological degradation, and all other antagonisms to human flourishing. Building BLOCs for Autonomy and Self-Determination in Philadelphia by KERMIT O Enclosure, the division of common land into private segments which forms the underlying logic of capitalism, also finds expression in our relationships to time, space, community, the body, knowledge, labor, and life itself. Abolition derives from both the Latin abolere, to destroy, and adolere, to grow. Abolition might therefore even be defined as the dissolution of enclosures, which creates or restores pathways for living. Commoning, the return to stewardship, sharing, and solidarity, is a key strategy in our approach to abolitionist horizons. While we must resist relations of domination at every turn, it is essential to prefigure the world we want. Building BLOCs — block level organizing committees — to dream, design, and democratically develop our immediate social and material realities is one tactic being explored in Philadelphia for modeling and practicing more liberatory relations, toward greater autonomy and self-determination. The Municipalist Moment in Los Angeles by YVONNE YEN LIU Experiments in municipalism and the reclamation of the common(s) have been slow to develop in North America and yet one is emerging in Los Angeles. The city is inhospitable to the majority: growing numbers of unhoused residents are swept off the sidewalks to be incarcerated, while Black and Latine families are subjected to racial banishment and pushed to the periphery. The fragmentation of the built environment of the city is mirrored in the inability of social movements to come together. Divisions are made to weaken constituent power and to pit groups segregated by race and place to fight for meager resources. A network of social movement organizations, under the name of Los Angeles for All, is attempting to establish collective action plans, governance, and infrastructure to build power from below. The long-term vision is to replace the status quo with a directly democratic polity and solidarity economy. The presentation will explore how the common(s) and public goods can be managed in a transformed city and will reflect on how governance and institutions can transition to this municipalist model. 2) Building Power in Place: A Municipalist Organizing Toolkit Date: Saturday, July 6th 2024 Time: 12:00 to 1:30 PM ET/11:00 AM to 12:30 PM CT/9:00 to 10:30 AM PT RSVP at https://municipalism.org/building-power-in-place/ Join us July 6th for the release of “Building Power in Place: A Municipalist Organizing Toolkit.” This downloadable toolkit outlines organizing strategy for your local organizing context. Drawing upon curriculum from the Municipalism Learning Series and case studies from organizers’ own experiences, we have developed a comprehensive toolkit to support individualized movement building efforts. “Building Power in Place: A Municipalist Organizing Toolkit” presents a snapshot of the praxis and theory of various place-based movements we describe as radical municipalist: a vision that our movements can destroy the hegemonic structures that rule over us and replace them with alternatives based on direct democracy and the solidarity economy. This toolkit provides tools and practices to share with fellow organizers, community members, and comrades. Our intended audience is people seeking cultivated space to think through questions around place-based organizing strategy. Maybe the term municipalism is new to you, maybe it is familiar. Regardless of your familiarity, we invite you to think deeply about the ways that you are already using many of these theories and practices in your movement work. Municipalism Learning Series is a project of Solidarity Research Center, a nonprofit organization that builds solidarity economy ecosystems through data science, story-based strategy, and action research. Our goals are to introduce radical municipalism to a broad audience in North America, and to connect municipalist organizers across places. We offer public panels introducing the theory and practice of radical municipalism. And, we launched a 12-week cohort fellowship last year, which brought together municipalist practitioners to develop strategy plans to win power in their place. Sign up for our mailing list to be apprised of future panels. And, please support our efforts if you have the resources. Municipalism Learning Series +1 (323) 539-7654 info(a)municipalism.org municipalism.org Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Yvonne Yen Liu (she/her) Solidarity Research Center yvonne(a)solidarityresearch.org 323 539 7654 213 762 2667 Schedule a meeting at calendly.com/yvonnegraphy

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New article on RED - The rise of the fashion industry in the 20th century
by Pooja Kishinani 05 Jun '24

05 Jun '24

Dear friends, We have a new article <https://radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/beauty-fashion-the-rise-of-the-fashi…> on REDWeb written by Alessandra Monaco. This is the second article in a three-part mini-series on beauty and fashion. The first article <https://radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/beauty-fashion-confronting-commodifi…>, which has also been adapted into a comic <https://vikalpsangam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Confronting-Beauty-Comi…> by Shaunauk Sokey, investigated the meaning and role of ‘beauty’ through history. In this subsequent piece, Alessandra explains how key events in the twentieth century such as the two World Wars, the Countercultural Revolution and the Second Wave Feminist movement of the 1960s have shaped, influenced, and resisted societal narratives of beauty. The article also examines how globalisation, neoliberalism, and profit-driven industries have commodified health and beauty into marketable goods and have led to the rise of the fast fashion industry. Read it here: https://radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/beauty-fashion-the-rise-of-the-fashi… Please do share it within your networks. I have also copied Alessandra on this email, in case you would like to share any thoughts or comments with her. Lastly, REDWeb also has a presence on social media now. Please do follow us on Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/radecologicaldemocracy/>, LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/company/radical-ecological-democracy/>, and X <https://x.com/FutureOfEcology>. Happy reading! Best, Pooja

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