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Systems change will take shape from the bottom up, hand in hand with the necessary institutional change on various levels. The transformations are already happening, in towns, cities and regions where people are building commons, coops and democratic economies while local governments are experimenting with Community Wealth Building and Public-Civic Partnerships.
Commons Network and Commons Lab organized an inspiring evening where we explored the history of cooperatives, local entrepreneurship, and Community Wealth Building. Additionally, we discussed the role of labor unions and politics in fostering a democratic economy with FNV and GroenLinks. A more in-depth reflection on the event can be found here.
As part of our “Transitiewerkplaats” (Transition Laboratory), we organised a design session in October 2024, bringing together civil servants from various city districts, neighborhood initiatives, funders, and civil society organizations. The goal was to learn from one another and build stronger public-civil cooperation, as well as sustainable support for neighborhood initiatives and emerging (worker) cooperatives.
From September 2023 to July 2024, we explored the vision, ambitions, and potential cooperative structure for De Bol through a collaborative process. Through various inspiration sessions, site visits, and neighborhood meetings, we mapped out the target groups, values, neighborhood functions, models, and opportunities as thoroughly as possible. With the support of a cooperative business coach, De Bol has been working on establishing and structuring the worker cooperative—ranging from writing a business plan to learning about collective decision-making and shared ownership.
Starting in September 2024, Commons Network has been collaborating with Samen Wonen Samen Leven (SWSL) in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Here, Commons Network has contributed to strengthening the CWB practice network through practice meetings, core partner consultations, and workshops with the Afrikaanderwijk Cooperative. We have also been involved in supporting the cooperative Circulair Wildeman.
Commons Network started the 2 year Transition Laboratory project on Community Wealth Building and the community economy. With various municipalities and neighbourhood actors in Amsterdam and other cities.
Commons Network joined the coordination of the translocal network in April 2022. After a kickoff session in Berlin in the autumn of 2022, we also organised a series of online skills-share sessions. These aimed to reinforce peer-to-peer learning among municipalist actors facilitating exchange and learning on practices, methodologies, experiences and strategies that we need to transform the system.
Together with the municipality of Amsterdam, Commons Network started researching and piloting Community Wealth Building in three disenfranchised areas of the city.
Commons Network partnered with the Fearless Cities programme of the municipality of Amsterdam to bring the new municipalism to Amsterdam and to empower local movements. We organized a 2 year program in Amsterdam for municipalists, policy makers, researchers, students and local activists. We developed policy ideas, papers, as well as live and online gatherings and events.
In collaboration with the municipality of Amsterdam, Commons Network researched the chances and challenges of the commons in Amsterdam.
Together with partner Raumlabor, Urban Commons – Shared Spaces was a research project, published by Commons Network, about the emerging urban commons, based on research on scientific literature and fieldwork in Berlin and Amsterdam.
Together with partners Remix the Commons and P2P foundation we organized the European Commons Assembly, a two-day event in the European Parliament and in a social centre, with hundreds of commoners from across europe.
