Stefan Tuschen

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Bio

A year of grassroots work after highschool in a rural community in El Salvador, Central America inspired me to take up interdisciplinary Latin American Studies at Cologne University, Germany, covering political sciences, economics, Latin American history and culture. Concluding studies with a thesis on the internet's potential for political participation, I worked at the university's Latin America Centre for a while. Subsequently I joined the lobby and advocacy unit of an NGO working on issues such as public health, trade justice, biodiversity and sustainable development. After merging with another NGO I became part of the economy and ecology unit, soon taking over a new task, focusing on sustainable Germany, sustainable development and the necessary great transition. That's how I got in touch with the Smart CSOs Lab. Since my job moved far away from my home and family I opted for a new challenge and advocated for climate justice and climate change as a human rights issue for the past 2.5 years. For now I am back to Latin America, in charge of projects for a specific country.

Probably without knowing, I first came across the [′kɔmənz] using and promoting free software among colleagues and friends. Well, actually - from a retrospective - we did lot's of [′kɔməning] back in that rural community in El Salvador! But my 'conscious' interest in and commitment for the [′kɔmənz] skyrocketed after reencountering with Silke Helfrich who I had met years before in El Salvador, and after supporting and participating in the first Berlin Commons Conference. I am convinced that the [′kɔmənz] paradigm can help to overcome the current concept of (sustainable) development which is trapped in capitalist market based patterns and solutions.

I like to describe the [′kɔmənz] as a kaleidoscope which - by breaking (with prevailing) patterns - visualizes potentials for societal change and forms of oganization beyond market and state; and which mirrors the many-colourfulness of (co)existence.

Some thoughts and writings

to be added..