[P2P-F] Fwd: [CommonGood] solidarity economy, commons and solidarity4all

Mon Sep 28 10:28:56 CEST 2015

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Schepers, Norbert <schepers at rosalux.de>
Date: Mon, Sep 28, 2015 at 1:16 AM
Subject: [CommonGood] solidarity economy, commons and solidarity4all
To: Common Good Newsgroup <commongood at listi.jpberlin.de>

*From: bir.dai at hotmail.com <bir.dai at hotmail.com> *

*Subject: solidarity economy, commons and solidarity4all Date: Fri, 25 Sep
2015 18:41:48 +0200 *
Dear Friends and Colleagues, recently I was participating in an interesting
conference
on solidarity economy and commons in Berlin. Voilà, here is my report.

Since some years the „Forum für solidarische Ökonomie“ (
www.solidarische-oekonomie.de)  is organising national conferences on
solidarity economy in Germany. This year it took place in Berlin (10/13/9)
under the headline “Solidarity Economy and Transformation” (
www.solikon2015.org). While in the past it was more or less a commemoration
of veteran performers, there was something different this year: a new
generation of young motivated people is experimenting with cooperative
initiatives and commons, organising alternative festivals,
free-software-cooperatives, workers’ controlled enterprises, classical
ecological farming coops, community housing-projects, alternative
Finance-circles, even projects promoting utopian economic relationships by
a culture of donation – without any fixed exchange of goods or money – were
presented and  during the three days conference about 1 500 people were
attending the events.

And another new element in the organisation of alternative conferences in
Germany finally appeared: For the first time European and
South-South-initiatives were genuine part of the conference – and the
Forums were translated in the main (western) languages.

In more than 190 Forums, workshops and panel sessions activists presented
their projects and discussed further strategies. The connection between
classical solidarity economy and the international development of
commons-networks as well as in at least five workshops issues of the
international Commons-debate were discussed (see below).

Specific workshops were dedicated to solidarity-economy and commons in
*Greece*.

Following  1.) a short report on some events concerning solidarity actions
with Greece and 2.) a report on some of the workshops on commons.

*1.) Solidarity4all-Network Greece*

(No plan B or C – just participate in the developing solidarity economy and
commons in Greece).

In Greece many creative resistance initiatives developed under the threat
of the European austerity-regime. The 2012 from Syriza-Activists created
network and funds „solidarity4all – www.solidarity4all.gr. is a appropriate
platform to develop solidarity activities. 2015 already more than 800
social and solidarity enterprises exist. They are active in all kind of
fields: Agriculture, Media, New Technologies, Consumer Cooperatives,
Distribution Services, Cafes and Bars, cooperative Tourism and others. They
defend public spaces, create self-managed social centres,
no-pay-initiatives, about more than 400 solidarity projects already exist
today. Including solidarity kitchens, collective farms, agricultural
cooperatives of all kind they distribute their products and services
without middlemen markets –  social groceries . And already well documented
are the 48 social clinics and pharmacies.

Three examples:

In the *Metropolitan Community Clinic at Helliniko* are working more than
200 volonteers. The clinic  receives donations from fellow citizens all
over Europe. See: www.mkiellinikou.org/en

The project *PERKA* is an urban gardening-project in Thessaloniki on an
abandoned military space of 16 ha. Since 2011, residents of Thessaloniki
have been occupying part of the former Karatsou military base, located in
the Pavlos Melas district in the north of the city. The Perka project, as a
*periastikon** kalliergeion* (Urban farming ) gives this name to each of
the 7 plots maintained by a group of volunteers who grow plants and crops
individually or collectively. Based on the principles of collegiality,
self-management and equality, the general operation seems simple. The
gardeners only practice organic agriculture (biodynamic for some), and
comply with several requirements established as a charter. www.perka.org

 *VIO.ME <http://VIO.ME>. *The workers controlled enterprise in
Thessaloniki still needs massive international solidarity – not only by
developing chains to distribute their product,, The workers of Vio.Me., a
building materials factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, which was abandoned by
its owners, have been unpaid since May 2011. By decision of their general
assembly they have decided to occupy the factory and operate it under
direct democratic workers’ control. After a year-long struggle that has
attracted attention and solidarity in Greece and worldwide, they were
kick-starting production on February 12, 2013, after 3 days of intense
mobilization. Meanwhile the workers lost two existential cases at Court but
still occupy the factory and produce biological cleansing agents and soap –
distributed by solidarity chains through Europe. www.viome.org

In a separate meeting between Greek and German activists possibilities of
cooperation were discussed. The Greek activists proposed *Memorandum of
Solidarity *to be developed soon. German activists asking for opportunities
to cooperate presented their ideas and discussed it with the Greek
activists: To build solidarity chains for the distribution of ecologically
and socially produced goods (b.de. Olive Oil) in German Fair-Trade-nets and
shop; To organise public events and use Media to counter the political
terror and black-mailing of the EU-Council against Greece; To build local
cooperation networks – and, as already started in Berlin (see:
www.initiative-respekt-fuer-griechenland.de) initiatives to motivate local
authorities to create city-partnerships with Greek communities.

*2. From Commons to Commonism*

At least five workshops concentrated on Commons. There was a remarkable
participation of European and International activists in these seminars.
Various Presentations of projects in Europe, Canada, USA and from Brasilia,
mostly concerning common Land- and Housing-Trusts, urban gardening and
agriculture as well as the Digital Commons were followed by more
theoretical debates. In all workshops the common understanding was:
commoning and commons are the appropriate method to confront the
destructive capitalist system with alternative paths of development.

The Land- and Housing-Trust initiatives show the necessary new relationship
between public and commons: Commons need to be protected institutionally
and there  is a new relationship between public and civil society
partnerships arising: Instead of Public-Private-Partnerships Initiatives
create Public-Social-Partnerships.

To give an impression about the presentations and debates here some rather
arbitrary examples of the Land-and-Housing-projects presented in the
workshops:

The Island of EIGG/Scotland: the citizens bought the small Island
(belonging to the Inner Hebrides) together and built up a common autonomous
system with renewable energy-sources.

The Champlain Housing Trust (Burlington/Vermont in USA) comprises about 2
300 houses to rent or to own.

Similar success-stories were reported from Brooklyn/NY: They started
squatting houses in NY, united equity houses and created homes for people
with low income. Then they developed other common activities as
food-cooperatives and local credit unions.

The „Evergreen-Cooperatives“ in Cleveland a Community Land- and
Housing-Trust helps people with lower income to secure their social
situation and develop other activities as there are locally centred
services and goods and credit unions,  kindergardens and ecologically based
food-cooperatives. One participant of the seminar called the spirit of
commoning “a common weel”.

The LILAC-project in Leeds/UK is a pioneering project trying to respond to
three key-issues: the financial crisis, the threat of global warming and
the breakdown of local communities. The plot comprises 20 dwellings with
shared gardens. The houses are completely built with ecological materials
and use solar water heating. Services like childcare, group meals and
others are already working. „All this contributes to reducing the
inhabitants’ environmental and economic footprint“.

The „Mietshäusersyndikat“ is organising activities of small communities
living in rented houses to avoid speculative rents. Already 98 projects in
Germany take part in these activities.

With the French SCIC (Sociéte coopératives d’intérêt collectif  a legal
form for solidarity economy) founded so far 486 projects/enterprises all
over the country and general information is provided on www.encommun.org

Besides these reports a more theoretical debate took place too. Pat Conaty
from NEF (New Economic Foundation) refered to Elinor Ostrom and calls
Commons-theory a relation-theory. He differentiated three functionary
levels to create commons: the resource level, the institutional level and
the social relationships.

Pat Conaty and Mike Lewis from CCCR (Canadian Centre for Community Renewal)
asked politics to provide the right conditions to make communing easier and
said, each of the commons needed to be protected institutionally.

The main slogans of these workshops where:

*- Transform the system and make it democratic.*

*- Provide the conditions to make commoning easier: Commons need to be
 protected institutionally.*

*- Commoning allows to create a new kind of public-social-partnership *

*- Starting with one activity, communing very often is going on creating
very different common activities.*

Last comment: between basic theory and practise still missing the strategic
dimension

of debates – see BD’s introduction to the commons-debate at WSF Tunis.

And, just for information: from *10 to 17 Oct. all over Europe action-days
against TTIP and CETA* – Free Trade Agreements between EU/USA and
EU/Canada  - in many EU-countries are organised. The German national
central Manif will be on Oct. 10 in Berlin. Further information under
www.labournet.de/2p=40247 (in German) and

www.stop-ttip.org.

With all best wishes, yours, Birgit

*bir.dai at hotmail.com <bir.dai at hotmail.com>*
*www.birgitdaiber.eu <http://www.birgitdaiber.eu>*
*Fon: 0039-090-9452432 <0039-090-9452432>*
*Mobile: 0039-366-4207762 <0039-366-4207762>*

*Brussels: Rue du Canal 19, B-1000 <1000> Brussels *

*Sicily: Casella Postale No. 28, I-98055 Lipari *

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