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'''This is the official overview page of the conference.
* For research on the topic of "commons economics", check the [[Introduction to the P2P Foundation Wiki Material about Commons Economics]].
* Below in this page, there is [[#Post-Conference Coverage]] ; and [[#Post-Conference Proposals]]
* '''see the [[Final Report on the Economics and the Commons Conference]]'''
** [[Final Report on the Knowledge Stream of the Economics and the Commons Conference]]




=Context=
=Context=
[[Image:ecc2013-logo-1.png|400px|right]]
ECONOMICS AND THE COMMON(S): FROM SEED FORM TO CORE PARADIGM
Exploring New Ideas, Practices and Alliances  ; Berlin, Germany, May 22–24, 2013
Working Draft of Program, February 6, 2013
The conference was preceded by three workshops:
* The [[Asia Commons Deep Dive]] ; see also: An [[Interpretive Summary of the Asian Deep Dive on Economics and the Commons]], by David Bollier.
* The [[Latin America Commons Deep Dive]]
* The [[Europe Commons Deep Dive]] ; see also: [[Reflections from the European Deep Dive on the Commons]]
=Documentation on the conference and its topics=
#Comprehensive list of Participants, see [http://p2pfoundation.net/Category:ECC2013_Participants]
#Listing of Organizational affiliations of participants, see [http://p2pfoundation.net/ECC2013/Organizations]
For research on the topic of "commons economics", check the category page here: [http://p2pfoundation.net/Category:Commons_Economics]
* [[ABC of Commons Economics]]
* [[Articles on Commons Economics]]
* [[Audio Podcasts on Commons Economics]]
* [[Books on Commons Economics]]
* [[Cases in Commons Economics]]
* [[Discussions on Commons Economics]]
* [[Events on Commons Economics]]
* [[Videos on Commons Economics]]


The Commons:  From Seed Form to Real Provisioning System
==Key Event Links==
An Overview of The Economics of the Commons Conference (ECC) on May 22 – 24, 2013,
and Three Preparatory Workshops


# The [[Asia Commons Deep Dive]] took place in Bangkok, October 12-14, 2012
#OPENING OF ECC AND PUBLIC CONFERENCE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 4.30 pm [http://www.boell.de/calendar/VA-viewevt-de.aspx?evtid=12704&crtpage=1]
# The [[Latin America Commons Deep Dive]] took place in Mexico, November 12-15, 2012
#STREAM DESCRIPTIONS [http://p2pfoundation.net/Overview_of_the_Economics_of_the_Commons_Conference#Conference_Streams]
# The [[Europe Commons Deep Dive]] took place in Paris, 30/11 to 02/12, 2012
#SIDE EVENTS [http://p2pfoundation.net/Overview_of_the_Economics_of_the_Commons_Conference#Side_Events]


=Introduction=
=Introduction=


One of the most significant impediments to change is the entrenched power of the neoliberal economic and political paradigm.  The prevailing economic dogma is that individual self-interest, expansive private property rights and globalized free trade can solve most social and environmental problems.  Many challenge this view, of course, and continue to decry the dysfunctionalities of the market economy, the inadequacies of the welfare state and threats to the biosphere from climate change and resource depletion.  But despite the important work of many heterodox schools of economic thought in addressing these issues, few political thinkers and players seem interested in or capable of developing a new political/economic philosophy based on practical alternatives.  We are stuck at an impasse.
One of the most significant impediments to positive social change is the entrenched power of market-fundamentalism as an economic and political paradigm.  The prevailing dogma is that only a scheme of individual self-interest, expansive individual property rights, market exchange and globalized free trade can advance human well-being.  This view has increasingly been called into question as the predatory dynamics of the market economy became clear and as its threats to the biosphere have become more acute.   
 
           
“The Commons:  From Seed Form to Real Provisioning System,” seeks to open up some new vistas in in political and economic discourse by exploring the economics of the commons as an alternative provisioning system, worldview and vision for the future.  Commons-based principles and models have the potential to build a rich array of stable, equitable and ecological alternatives to conventional markets while strengthening communities and networks.  Indeed, the proliferation of commons-based models – for natural resources, digital spaces, civic life and many other arenas – suggests the feasibility of a new Commons Sector.  This conference seeks to expand and empower this work by helping crystallize the economics of the commons as a coherent field of inquiry and action.  The conference will showcase key actors and initiatives, discuss theoretical analyses, identify conflicting schools of thought, and visualize new action-plans for moving forward.
ECONOMICS AND THE COMMON(S):  FROM SEED FORM TO CORE PARADIGM seeks to open up some new vistas in politics, economics and culture by exploring the commons as an alternative worldview and provisioning system.  A rich array of commons – in nature, cities, civic life, the Internet, and many other realms – are showing that commons can provide stable, equitable and ecologically benign alternatives to conventional markets.   
   
The Economics and the Commons Conference (ECC) will expand and empower this work by exploring the commons as a coherent field of inquiry and action.  It will convene approximately 240 commoners -- researchers, practitioners and advocates from around the world -- to explore the relationship of conventional economics and the commons, showcase key actors and initiatives, and devise plans for moving the commons paradigm forward.  Special care will be taken to avoid a “sectoralization” of commons discussion because we believe that a coherent “general narrative” of the commons nurtures global social change and applies across many different sectors of commoning.
           
 
Any inquiry into this topic is challenging because the very idea of the commons demands that we expand standard economic definitions of “value” especially at they apply to land and nature, culture and knowledge, labor, money, infrastructure, and everyday human life.  To understand the commons in these areas, we must understand how different types of social exchange and cooperation create different forms of wealth, much of it non-quantifiable social and ecological in nature.  The commons also requires that we address structures of power and control in a political economy, and develop better understandings of how collective governance regimes work.  
Among the questions to be asked:  What core principles of commoning can be identified across different resource domains?  What makes a commons so generative? In what circumstances can commons-based provisioning models substitute for conventional markets, or interact constructively with markets?  How can the protection and re-creation of the commons be made an integrated part of productive processes?     
           
Building on the work of those who criticize the mechanistic models of conventional economics, we must consider the complexities of human agency, collective organization, and human relationships with nature.  We must move beyond the standard definition of economics as the allocation of scarce resources because this category assumes a priori scarcity, and confuses quantitative and qualitative value and meaning.  In a sense, commons-based provisioning implies a profound redefinition of “the economy.”  The commons helps us re-connect with the original meaning of “economy,” which derives from the ancient Greek word, oikos, for “household,” the most basic unit of social, economic and governmental action.
The Economics and the Commons Conference (ECC) will be hosted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbf) in cooperation with the Commons Strategies Group, The [[Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation]] and Remix the Commons.  The event will take place at the headquarters of hbf in Berlin from May 22 to 24, 2013.  Optional side-events on topics such as communications strategies for the commons, governance of global commons, and others, will be held on May 21-22 and 25.
 
           
=Goals of the Conference=
This conference will explore the foundations of a commons-based economics: What makes a commons so generative? What core principles of commoning can be identified across different resource domains?  In what circumstances can commons-based provisioning models substitute for conventional markets, or interact constructively with markets?  
   
           
To probe these and other questions, the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) in cooperation with the Commons Strategies Group will organize and host a major international Economics of the Commons Conference (ECC) to be held from May 22 to 24, 2013.  The event will be preceded several months earlier by three two-day workshops supported by the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation (FPH), each held on different continents in the fall and winter of 2012-2013:  for Europe in Paris, in cooperation with FPH and Vecam; for Latin America in Mexico City, in cooperation with the regional office for central America and Mexico of the Heinrich Böll Foundation; and for Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, in cooperation with the Böll Foundation’s South-East Asia office.
=The Organizers=


The [[Commons Strategies Group]] and [[Heinrich Böll Foundation]] are the joint organizers of this conference, which is an outgrowth of the landmark International Commons Conference in Berlin in November 2010.  That event brought together about 180 commons activists, academics and project leaders from 34 countries, and for the first time started a cross-disciplinary political and policy dialogue about the commons in diverse international settings.
The ECC seeks to show the breadth and feasibility of commons-based provisioning and forge a coherent narrative and analysis about it and the next steps for action.  
           
Building on the energy from that conference, CSG has just completed a major book anthology of 73 essays on the commons that has been published in German and English.  CSG has also participated in strategic planning for the Rio+20 environmental conference in Brazil in June 2012, and its principals have made dozens of presentations about the commons at various conferences, universities and public events.  This Economics of the Commons Conference (ECC) is a logical next step for the CSG in working with networks of commoners around the world to advance the commons paradigm.
           
The [[Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation]] has supported the attendance of some partners to the International Commons Conference that took place in November 2010 in Berlin and wishes now to continue its support by co-funding the ECC regional consultation process together with Heinrich Böll Foundation. Both FPH and HBF consider the commons a key element for the transition toward commons-based economics and cultures. Both foundations focus their strategic support toward this end, either in cooperation with partners or through their own initiatives.  This “cross-granting” partnership between two European foundations seeks to advance a new culture of collaboration among like-minded political actors and funders. Both foundations believe that a culture of dialogue, sharing and common programmatic approaches among grant makers is a necessity.
==Objectives==
           
We need to formulate a plausible and compelling vision for the future by showing the breadth and feasibility of commons-based provisioning and by forging a coherent public narrative and analysis about it.  This conference aspires to speak to the need by:
*  Convening key researchers, practitioners and advocates from around the world to discuss shared concerns;
*  Consolidating their knowledge into a common field of inquiry;
*  Reconceiving our economy as a constellation of commons-friendly provisioning systems;
*  Developing practical plans for moving a commons provisioning agenda forward; and
*  Deepening and broadening relationships among key individuals and institutions, including after the conference itself.
Substantive discussion at the conference will focus on several key themes:
*  The commons as a way to move beyond economics
*  Alternative economic/provisioning models
*  Macro-economic transformations:  making the transition to a new type of economy
A number of specific sub-themes will also be emphasized:
 
*  Economics of physical commons:  What can we learn from the governance and economics of local physical-resource commons?
*  Economics of digital and cognitive commons:  What can we learn from the economics of digital and knowledge commons?
*  Financial and credit commons: from local credit commons to transnational    monetary reform.
*  Natural resource commons:  How can they help solve the biospheric crisis?
*  Justice and equity in commons:  How does a commons re-conceive the role of          labor    and its entitlements and responsibilities?
*  Spiritual (traditional and religious) commons
*  Issues of governance and power




=The Six Topical Streams=
Substantive discussion at the conference will therefore focus on several key themes:
* The commons as a way to move beyond conventional economics;
* Alternative economic and provisioning models;
* The transformations needed to move to a new type of economy.


=Conference Streams=


The conference will feature six separate Streams with plenary keynote talks and breakout sessions to probe issues in greater depth.  The ECC and its Streams are designed to foster dialogue, collaboration, creative thinking and follow-up action, and not just “expert” presentations.  The six Streams are:


==Land and Nature==  
==1.  Land and Nature==
[[Image:ECC2013-Stream01.png|150px|right]]
Throughout the world, neoliberal economic policies have had destructive effects, resulting both in the degradation of natural environments as well as reduction in fair access to shared resources.  A parallel example of this can be well seen in the aggressive privatization of water systems in large metropolitan areas like Paris, Berlin and Naples, which has resulted in price increases, lower quality water, reduced access to water and less democratic control.  Although a flourishing anti-privatization movement in both Europe and the Global South has arisen, much of this advocacy does not have the analytical and theoretical tools to push for a paradigm shift in the economic organization of our natural resources as a commons.  This stream will bring together legal scholars, ecological economists and commons advocates to develop commons-based policies and models for governing shared natural resources, especially water and land. 


'''Responsible for stream: [[Saki Bailey]] (Italy)'''
*'''Stream Coordinator: Saki Bailey (Italy)'''
*[[ECC2013/Land and Nature Stream|Detailed stream description]]
*[[Documentation on the ECC2013 Land and Nature Stream]]
*[[Rough Draft Notes on Water Breakout Group for Land and Nature Stream]]


'''Framework:''' Throughout the world, neoliberal economic policies have had destructive effects on  land and natural commons both resulting in the degradation of these natural environments, as well as reduction in equal access to natural resources  and the enjoyment of nature. For example privatization measures have been aggressively applied to water in large metropolitan areas, resulting in an increase in price, decrease in quality, as well as decrease in access in places like Paris, Berlin and Naples. In the heart of the metropolis, where access to natural commons maybe even more scarce and the cost of denying access much higher, the issue has become a potent node of political activism.  The fundamental character of water to human life has made it a symbol and rallying cry against the privatization of crucial natural commons, leading most famously to the Bolivian water wars and reform of the Bolivian constitution. However the flourishing anti-privatization movement in both Europe and the Global South and newly emerging commons institutions being deployed to protect natural commons are still lacking in the analytical and theoretical tools to produce a true paradigm shift in the way we look at the economy. Neoliberalism is potent foe precisely because there is a clear vision of the values the economy should serve -competition, commodification, and efficiency- and the legal tools of intervention necessary to producing this type of economy. In order to resist this model, we must reclaim legal and economic knowledge and tools to create the conditions for the new commons based economy founded on the alternative and opposing values of cooperation, "commonification", and sustainability. As commons property scholar Carol Rose suggests, water may be the ideal natural resource for shedding new light on the ways in which to free natural commons from the prison of commodified property units made available on the market for efficient consumption  into the open space of shared resources and realities. “If water were our chief symbol for property, we might think of property rights-and perhaps other rights-in a quite different way. We might think of rights literally and figuratively as more fluid and less fenced-in; we might think of property as entailing less of the awesome Blackstonian power of exclusion and more of the qualities of flexibility, reasonableness and moderation, attentiveness to others, and cooperative solutions to common problems." (Rose,1996)
==2. Doing away with labor: Working and Caring in a World of Commons ==
[[Image:ECC2013-Stream02b.png|150px|right]]
Currently, we witness two parallel phenomena: Global development policies cause the loss of use rights to the natural commons as the livelihood support system for an estimated two billion people. At the same time, an ecology of collaborative production is (re)emerging beyond markets, money and organizational hierarchies as we know them. The lines between production and consumption are becoming blurred by social practices, which are based on sharing and (indirect) reciprocity. These practices are providing innovative answers to the fundamental question of how to (re)produce our livelihoods. Yet, most of the time, they do neither recognize "the whole of work", which means to overcome the structural divisions between productive work and care work (education, health, eldercare, household level, etc.) nor do they reduce embedded gender imbalances in the performance of these activities. And yet, the emerging new patterns bear the potential for a historical transformation toward a model that we could term "(re)prosumption". It is a created term to combine two sides on a structural level: reproduction and production on the one hand and production and consumption on the other. It could provide alternatives to both, globalized capital(ism) and “national-developmentalism”, and to overcome structural causes of gender inequality and the markets externalization of care and nature services.
These trends also point to the transcendence of the conditions that historically forced the division between social reproduction and economic production.  
While most unionists tend to focus on the labor market and a fair distribution of available employment in our world of today, the work of the future may no longer be a “product” that is bought and sold in the market, but it could be managed as a commons. This is the vision we wish to discuss and develop further.  


'''Objective:'''  
* '''Stream coordinator: Heike Löschmann (Germany)'''
This stream attempts to bring together both legal scholars with ecological economists to produce a new theory and model for designing commons based  institutions capable of propagating the new commons based economy. It also attempts to build a theory from both the "top down" and "bottom up" by involving activists and practitioners fighting on behalf of the protection of natural commons particularly water, in order to articulate an alternative economic policy for governing natural commons informed by both theory and practice. 
*[[ECC2013/Working and Caring Stream|Detailed stream description]]
*[[Documentation on the ECC2013 Working and Caring Stream]]


'''Questions Addressed by the Stream:'''
==3. Treating Knowledge, Culture and Science as Commons==
How can legal and economic knowledge be integrated to produce a framework for the commons based economy?
[[Image:ECC2013-Stream03b.png|150px|right]]
What is the role of legal and economic commons institutions in fostering this framework?
How can we learn from the cases of existing institutions particularly in water?
What appropriate and innovative types of regulation can be imagined based on this framework in the context of water? In the context of other "natural commons"?


'''* Read the [http://gondwanaland.com/mlog/2013/10/30/economics-commons-conference-knowledge/ Final Report] of the Knowledge Stream!'''


Suggested Plenary Debate: Carol Rose or Ugo Mattei (law) & Joshua Farley (ecological economist)
Suggested Additional Participants to lead Break Out Sessions: Ugo Mattei/Carol Rose (if not keynote), Fillipo Valguarnera, (reserving one space for female economist/lawyer from Global South to be names soon).


==Money & Value==
Science, and recently, free software, are paradigmatic knowledge commons; copyright and patent are paradigmatic enclosures.  But our focus on paradigmatic examples and the language of “intellectual property” and “openness” may actually limit our imaginations about what might be possible.  If we took the commons seriously, for example, we might begin to see that copyright and patent are not just knowledge enclosures, but “modern” ways of enforcing privileges and inequalities in what may be known and communicated.  Similarly, that open access and use is not necessarily an emancipation, but rather a shift in control to those who own the digital platform.  This Stream will attempt to (re)consider and (re)conceptualize the free/libre/open/commons movements from a strategic and commons-first perspective. 


'''Responsible for stream: Ludwig Schuster (Germany)'''
*'''Stream Coordinator: Mike Linksvayer (USA)'''
*[[ECC2013/Knowledge Stream|Detailed stream description]]
*[[Documentation on the ECC2013 Knowledge Stream]] + [[ECC2013/Knowledge_Stream/Resources|Resources recommended by stream participants]]


==4.  Money, Markets, Value and the Commons==
[[Image:ECC2013-Stream04.png|150px|right]]
The dominant economy is to a huge extent market-fundamentalist and money driven. It is built around unsustainable principles like extraction, competition, profit and exponential growth and fueled by interest bearing credit creation through a profit oriented banking system. A Commons Economy is driven by other motives and proposes a different mindset and different ordering categories than capital, ownership and money.  Some commoners tend to imagine a Commons Economy as a world beyond (artificial) scarcity, rendering money and markets irrelevant, which suggests, that commons can function without money as we know it. Others focus on redefining the role of money or how to design money itself as a commons. But all agree that if a Commons Economy still has credit, money and markets (or at least marketplaces), they will be very different in character than our current economy. 


==Labor==
The objective of this Stream is to integrate the different “paths of imagination” towards a Commons Economy, and to get a clearer picture of the architecture and underlying design principles of a commons-oriented market places and exchange systems. 


'''Responsible for stream: Heike Löschmann (Germany)'''
*'''Stream Coordinator: Ludwig Schuster (Germany)'''
*[[ECC2013/Money Stream|Detailed stream description]]
*[[Documentation on the ECC2013 Money Stream]]


We witness a convergence of production and consumption and an increase of collaborative forms of production that outcompete hierarchical modes of production. As a result, 'the Commons' is slowly entering the official discourse even of the international trade union movement. Yet, unionists tend to focus on the labor market instead of analyzing the changing character of labor in its double function of a) a needs oriented production activity of goods for consumption and as b) a livelihoods reproducing activity. In a commons based context labor is framed in a holistic way and is not oriented toward the market. It therefore grows out of its historical role as being a market product itself. Labor in the commons is based on the principles of sharing and/or reciprocity and implies subsistence and access rights to the commons. It produces different economic, cultural and political modalities, that present an alternative to national-industrial and „developmentalist“ approaches that are reductionist and - above all -based on an increasingly corporate driven growth paradigm that tends to overexploit common pool resources und undermines democratic principles. Re-conceptualizing labor in a commons economy implies a re-assessment of relations: not any longer between the laborers and the employees but between individual participants of an abundant commons network. It also implies a re-consideration of our relationship with nature as well as of the historical origins of the separation between the productive and reproductive sphere as the root cause for structural gendered inequality and exploitation. It is here where this stream is inherently linked to the stream on the life, meaning and spirituality of the commons, an open outcry for a cultural paradigm shift.  
==5. New Infrastructures for Commoning by Design ==
[[Image:ECC2013-Stream05b.png|150px|right]]
One of the main challenges in advancing commons as a stable paradigm is finding ways to develop commons-friendly infrastructures. We lack infrastructures that “by design” foster and protect new practices of commoning. Many existing systems, indeed, enable commons-unfriendly practices (e.g. fossil fuel-based individual transportation) or generate negative social and environmental impacts (e.g., nuclear power and even “clean” energy sources).  While some infrastructures have progressive dimensions (using distributed networks, promoting local access), they may be minor parts of larger, regressive infrastructures that still depend upon individual transportation, centralized power grids and concentrated industrial structures.  Yet there are important lessons to be learned from commons-based infrastructures such as Internet protocols, which have fostered the emergence of countless digital information commons. An urgent need of our time is to ensure that infrastructures will systematically encourage the formation and protection of commons.


* '''Stream Coordinator:  Miguel Said Vieira (Brazil)'''
*[[ECC2013/Infrastructure Stream|Detailed stream description]]
*[[Documentation on the ECC2013 Infrastructure Stream]]
*[[Rough Meeting Notes from the Infrastructure Stream]]


Questions:
=Conference Organizers=


* What does work, productive activity and labor mean in the context of a commons economy?
The [[Commons Strategies Group]] and [[Heinrich Böll Foundation]] [http://www.boell.de/foundation/about-us.html] are the joint organizers of this conference, which is an outgrowth of the landmark [[International Commons Conference]] (ICC) in Berlin in November 2010.  That event brought together about 180 commons activists, academics and project leaders from 34 countries, and started a cross-disciplinary political and policy dialogue about the commons in diverse international settings. 


* What is the relationship between labor and the commons, ie. in a context where production and reproduction are not separated?
The [[Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation]] supported the International Commons Conference in 2010 as well.


* Is it possible to de-commodify labor?
=Participants=
* The [[ECC2013/Support Team|ECC Support Team]]
* [[ECC2013/Deep Dive Participants|ECC Deep Dive Participants]]
* [http://p2pfoundation.net/Category:ECC2013_Participants full list of participants]


* Can unions transform themselves into commons supporting organizations for laborers?
=Visual Identity=


* Can the discourse of the commons strengthen traditional labor union demands? If so, to what extend? What kind of reform in thinking and perception is necessary?
; Logo and variations
<gallery>
Image:ecc2013-logo-1.png|Official logo
Image:ecc2013-logo-3.png|Alternative logo
Image:ecc2013-logo-2.png|Logo with streams icon
</gallery>


==Culture, Science & Knowledge==
; Backgrounds and art
<gallery>
Image:ecc2013-bg-1.png|Background 1
Image:ecc2013-bg-2.png|Background 2
Image:ecc2013-bg-3.png|Background 3
Image:ecc2013-bg-4.png|Background 4
</gallery>


See also: [[ECC Knowledge Stream]]
; Stream backgrounds


'''Responsible for stream: [[Mike Linksvayer]] (US)'''
<gallery>
Image:ecc2013-bg-stream-1.png|Stream 1
Image:ecc2013-bg-stream-2.png|Stream 2
Image:ecc2013-bg-stream-3b.png|Stream 3
Image:ecc2013-bg-stream-4.png|Stream 4
Image:ecc2013-bg-stream-5b.png|Stream 5
</gallery>


Science, and recently, free software, are paradigmatic knowledge commons; copyright and patent paradigmatic enclosures. But our vision may be constrained by the power of paradigmatic examples. Re-conceptualization may help us understand what might be achieved by moving most provisioning of knowledge to the commons. We must critically evaluate our commoning and strive to fully realize the salience of knowledge commons as fundamental to all commoners.
; Color palette
In RGB and HEX formats


Let us consider what if:
#Land and Nature
* Copyright and patent are not the first knowledge enclosures, but only "modern" enforcement of inequalities in what may be known and communicated?
#* 81, 161, 38
* Copyright and patent reform and licensing are merely small parts of a universe of knowledge commoning, including transparency, privacy, collaboration, all of science and culture?
#* 51a126
* Our strategy puts commons values first, and views narrow incentives with skepticism?
#Working and Caring
* The value of commons is difficult to quantify – but ''necessary''. We grapple with that, alongside all commoners.
#*197, 20, 28
#*c5141c
#Knowledge, Culture and Science
#*69, 140, 194
#*458cc2
#Money, Markets and Value
#*158, 30, 130
#*9e1e82
#Infrastructures for Commoning
#*245, 127, 17
#*f57f11


([[ECC Knowledge Stream|more]])
=Side Events=
A number of related side events will take place before, during and after the conference. List of Side Events:


==Infrastructure==
* [[Commons Culture Communications - 2013]]
* [[Commons for Public Health - 2013]]
* [[Commons Education Commons - 2013]] : [[Further Developments on the Commons Education Commons]]
* [[How To Change the International Rules for the Commons in Europe? - 2013]]
* [[Commons in Intentional Communities - 2013]]
* [[Commons_Abundance_Network_-_Post-conference_2013|Commons Abundance Network - Post-conference 2013]]
* [[Commons in the Post-Soviet Area - 2013]]
* [[Enabling a Global Climate Commons Pathway - 2013]] ; [[Notes and Power Points for Climate Side Event]]


'''Responsible for stream: Miguel Said Vieira (Brazil)'''
=[[Practical Information for the Economics of the Commons Conference]]=
{{:Practical Information for the Economics of the Commons Conference}}




By Miguel Said Vieira:


One of the main challenges in advancing commons as a solid alternative
=Video Presentations=
paradigm is the issue of the infrastructures needed for commons-based
projects. How can we, for instance, avoid competition and inequality between
different commons in the use and access to this kind of infrastructure, and
turn this competition into cooperation? In other words, is it possible to
build and manage the infrastructure itself also as commons?
We also have to consider the possibility that, while some aspects of
infrastructure issues might be tackled in P2P fashion or at the local,
community level, others might not: car pooling and distributed power
generation help in dealing with transportation and energy dillemmas, but
they often depend on roads and power grids, which are typically built by
states; 3D printing helps in localizing industrial production, but does not
avoid the need for basic industry -- typically provided by markets (and
sometimes subsidized by states). In which cases this dependence on states
and markets poses problems, and in which cases there are better alternatives
available? In which cases it is possible to forgo states --arguably the
strongest actor in the provisioning of infrastructure during the last
century-- without reinforcing the economic and social inequalities that
underpin our society, and how can it be done?
Finally, what lessons can we learn from already existing instances of
commons-based infrastructure? One case in hand is the logical layer of the
internet (its protocols). On the one hand, it is clearly an example of
infrastructure that has strengthened other commons-based projects (not
necessarily related to the internet); on the other hand, the commons-
character of this layer hasn't stopped the arisal of extreme cases of
private concentration and state abuse (or state dependence) on the internet
itself, in its physical and content layers. How does that translate to other
areas of infrastructure? What commons-based infrastructure solutions
currently emerging around that realm (mesh networking, decentralized
P2P "clouds" etc.) could be adapted to other areas?


* Silke Helfrich's opening keynote: [http://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/towards-a-commons-creating-peer-economy/ Towards a Commons Creating Peer Economy] ; [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LLAK_M-ayfo video]


==Life, Meaning & Spirituality==


'''Responsible for stream: Andreas Weber (Germany)'''
==The [[Remix the Commons]] Series==


"Today’s scientific economical theory vastly stretches beyond economy. Rather, it has to be viewed as a comprehensive theory of reality. The current liberal paradigm builds to a large extent on unquestioned assumptions about the nature of reality. These comprise necessary struggle for fitness, the absolute value of efficiency, the denial of real agency, embodied feeling, and meaning. These ideas stem from a historical stream of thought which might be called „bioeconomics“, because liberal economy and darwinistic evolution co-created one another. To show the flaws in current liberalism, and to argue for a viable alternative, we have to 1) uncover the social construction of our economical and ecological assumptions, and 2) re-evaluate living reality for an alternative set of values and structures that could guide the construction of a generalized theory of commons economy. Biology itself is in full paradigm change, shifting from a Newtonian theory of machine-like objects to a theory of embodied subjects constantly building meaningful relationships to one another. If we follow this new paradigm, we can see that feeling, subjective meaning, value and beauty are not „illusions“ but rather form the centerpiece of a new „poetic ecology“ concerned with subjects, not objects alone. In ecological terms, such lived reality can be no longer alone described as a struggle for resources, but rather as a commons where agents and ressources are indistinguishable, and were the self-realization undergoes an endless process of negotiation between subjects and the whole. The biosphere therefore stands model for the basic rules of commoning."


=The Plan for the Conference=
See: [[Defining the Commons]]
           
More than fostering an exchange of information, the conference is intended to help build new working relationships, personal commitments, and a group ethic of listening to each other and caring for each other.  Active participation by everyone and commoning will be vital.  This will be facilitated by an online wiki and listserv, which will include a bibliography of resources, profiles of participants, and other resources to be determined. 
==Day One:== 


What Does the Economics of the Commons Mean?


9:00 am – 10:30 am Keynote remarks + two short talks
* [[Marvin Brown and Smàri Mc Carthy on Democracy and the Commons]]‎ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-dwEF3dbIA&list=PLiO9RvnsUfkatF08AS-5t1PJSU35khJ3S&index=4]  
* [[George Por on the Art of Commoning]]‎ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrGnHKAVXc&list=PLiO9RvnsUfkatF08AS-5t1PJSU35khJ3S&index=3]
           
* [[Ugo Mattei on the Commons Movement in Italy]]‎ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rwu2rdvxs4&list=PLiO9RvnsUfkatF08AS-5t1PJSU35khJ3S&index=2]
Special care will be taken to avoid a “sectoralization” of commons discussion. CSG believes it is important to develop a “general narrative” of the commons that applies cross-sectorally. Even with differences in the rivalrous/nonrivalrous nature of resources, certain principles and ethics of commoning can be seen in each case.
* [[Open Hardware Round Table at the Commons and Economics Conference in 2013]]‎ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib_PtPE7RyM&list=PLiO9RvnsUfkatF08AS-5t1PJSU35khJ3S&index=1]
   
* [[George Por on the Commons Education]]
Rest of day:  details to follow
* [[New Infrastructures for Commoning by Design]]
* [[Money, Markets, Value and the Commons]]
* [[Knowledge, Culture and Science as Commons‎]]
* [[Theory and Practice in the Management of Natural Commons]]
* [[Friederike Habermann on the Ecommony]]‎  
* [[Charlotte Hess on the Need for a Commons Research Agenda]]
* [[Tomislav Tomasevic on Commons-Based Political Struggles in Central and Eastern Europe]]


==Day Two:==
==Directory==


From Stocks to Flows, and from Market Assets to Commoning
* [http://bollier.org/blog/now-available-videos-talks-economics-and-commons-conference Videos of Talks from the Economics and the Commons Conference]
* Day 1
*#Opening speech by Barbara Unmüßig http://youtu.be/G_Nk_rZWok0
*#Keynotes Stefano Rodota and Maristella Svampa: http://youtu.be/H2YGN78ouGE
*#Framing the ECC (Silke Helfrich): http://youtu.be/LLAK_M-ayfo
* Day 2
*#Morning session Keynotes "Management of Natural Commons (Yoshua Farley / Ugo Mattei): http://youtu.be/pJv-YNyTUjM
*#Keynote "Working and Caring in a World of Commons" (Heike Löschmann): http://youtu.be/7bwckeOXReE
*#Keynote "New Infrastructures for Commoning by Design" (Miguel Said Viera): http://youtu.be/B5_5-fSnMJs
*#Day 2 evening session Keynote "Treating Knowledge, Culture and Science as Commons" (Carolina Botero): http://youtu.be/AJlFK5fLHgE
*#Keynote "Commoneering Money, Markets and Value" (Jem Bendell): http://youtu.be/w_f0QUln8PU
* Day 3
*#Keynote "Life, Meaning and Spirituality in the Commons: Towards a Cultural Paradigm Shift" (Andreas Weber): http://youtu.be/fqI0qKFWugo
*#Closing: Towards a Commons-Based Society: http://youtu.be/2mssjbGsDq8


9:00 am – 10:00  Recap the principles of commons and core design principles.
=Post-Conference Coverage=


10:15 am – 1:00  Begin two sets of sectoral discussions focused on these resource domains:
* [[Reactions from Participants to the Economics and the Commons Conference]]; [http://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/quotes-feedback-on-economics-the-commons-conference-i/ part i],  and [http://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/take-aways-from-economics-the-commons-conference-ii/ part ii] summarized by Silke Helfrich.
   
* Land & Nature         
* Money & Value
* Labor
* Culture, Science & Knowledge
* Infrastructure
* Life, Meaning & Spirituality
   
Task force hosts will facilitate breakout groups to discuss specific action steps for synthesizing knowledge, convening key players, publishing strategic documents, organizing institutions and/or the public, etc.  
Self-organized  Break
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
         
1:00 – 2:15  Lunch
2:15 – 4:30  Reconsidering Provisioning Systems


An un-conference format where participants divide up into specific commons sectors of their own choosing.  A key question for each group: What does it mean to reconceptualize that domain (labor, knowledge etc.) as commons?  How exactly does needs-based production work?
* [http://commonsabundance.net/2013/06/13/ecc2013-highlights/ ECC 2013 Berlin – highlights], by [[Helene Finidori]] in the [[Commons Abundance Network]] blog
4:30 – 5:15  Groups report back to plenary session with five minute reports.


==Day Three==
* David Bollier, A Rich Convergence of Commoners, An Explosion of New Initiatives [http://bollier.org/blog/rich-convergence-commoners-explosion-new-initiatives]


(for task force leaders and participants who choose to stay)
* Jay Walljasper, From Berlin With Hope, International Economics & the Commons Conference breaks new ground [http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/berlin-hope]


How Do We Get There from Here?
*  Questions of Commons and Inclusion – conference report. By Anna Seravalli. [http://medea.mah.se/2013/05/questions-of-commons-and-inclusion/]
 
* Neal Gorenflo's (Shareable) Report from the Economics and the Commons Conference [http://www.shareable.net/blog/a-report-from-the-economics-and-the-commons-conference]
 
* Tina Bakolitsa, Occupy London: [http://occupylondon.org.uk/scrumming-futures/ Scrumming Futures], excellent 'atmospheric' account
 
* [http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/how-do-we-commonify-our-minds How Do We "Commonify" Our Minds?]. Alexa Bradley. On The Commons.
 
* What the Commons Is Missing, By Joel Dietz.
* [http://keimform.de/2013/notable-quotes-from-the-ecc/ Notable quotes from the Economics and the Commons Conference] by Christian Siefkes
 
* Denis Postle
 
# Beyond Market and State – the Commons and Commoning [http://psycommons.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/beyond-market-and-state-the-commons-and-commoning/]
# Making Money [http://psycommons.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/making-money/]
 
 
==Other Languages==
 
In Spanish:
 
* [http://www.colaborabora.org/2013/07/11/paradigma-procomun-y-microrealidades-en-el-paraguas-berlines-4thecommons/ Paradigma procomún y microrealidades bajo el paraguas berlinés #4thecommons]: in-depth treatment by Rosa Fernandez of Colaborabora, Bilbao.
 
==Special Topics==
 
* Reciprocity and Stigmergy. By Stefan Meretz [http://keimform.de/2013/reciprocity-and-stigmergy/]
 
* [http://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/csg-statement-on-franco-iacomella-case/ CSG-Statement on the Franco Iacomella case]


9:00 am – 1 pm


[[Category:Commons]]
[[Category:Commons]]
[[Category:Conferences]]
[[Category:Conferences]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Commons Economics]]
[[Category:Commons Economics]]

Latest revision as of 13:44, 10 August 2019

This is the official overview page of the conference.


Context

ECONOMICS AND THE COMMON(S): FROM SEED FORM TO CORE PARADIGM

Exploring New Ideas, Practices and Alliances  ; Berlin, Germany, May 22–24, 2013

Working Draft of Program, February 6, 2013

The conference was preceded by three workshops:

Documentation on the conference and its topics

  1. Comprehensive list of Participants, see [1]
  2. Listing of Organizational affiliations of participants, see [2]

For research on the topic of "commons economics", check the category page here: [3]


Key Event Links

  1. OPENING OF ECC AND PUBLIC CONFERENCE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 4.30 pm [4]
  2. STREAM DESCRIPTIONS [5]
  3. SIDE EVENTS [6]

Introduction

One of the most significant impediments to positive social change is the entrenched power of market-fundamentalism as an economic and political paradigm. The prevailing dogma is that only a scheme of individual self-interest, expansive individual property rights, market exchange and globalized free trade can advance human well-being. This view has increasingly been called into question as the predatory dynamics of the market economy became clear and as its threats to the biosphere have become more acute.


ECONOMICS AND THE COMMON(S): FROM SEED FORM TO CORE PARADIGM seeks to open up some new vistas in politics, economics and culture by exploring the commons as an alternative worldview and provisioning system. A rich array of commons – in nature, cities, civic life, the Internet, and many other realms – are showing that commons can provide stable, equitable and ecologically benign alternatives to conventional markets. The Economics and the Commons Conference (ECC) will expand and empower this work by exploring the commons as a coherent field of inquiry and action. It will convene approximately 240 commoners -- researchers, practitioners and advocates from around the world -- to explore the relationship of conventional economics and the commons, showcase key actors and initiatives, and devise plans for moving the commons paradigm forward. Special care will be taken to avoid a “sectoralization” of commons discussion because we believe that a coherent “general narrative” of the commons nurtures global social change and applies across many different sectors of commoning.


Among the questions to be asked: What core principles of commoning can be identified across different resource domains? What makes a commons so generative? In what circumstances can commons-based provisioning models substitute for conventional markets, or interact constructively with markets? How can the protection and re-creation of the commons be made an integrated part of productive processes?

The Economics and the Commons Conference (ECC) will be hosted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbf) in cooperation with the Commons Strategies Group, The Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation and Remix the Commons. The event will take place at the headquarters of hbf in Berlin from May 22 to 24, 2013. Optional side-events on topics such as communications strategies for the commons, governance of global commons, and others, will be held on May 21-22 and 25.

Goals of the Conference

The ECC seeks to show the breadth and feasibility of commons-based provisioning and forge a coherent narrative and analysis about it and the next steps for action.


Substantive discussion at the conference will therefore focus on several key themes:

  • The commons as a way to move beyond conventional economics;
  • Alternative economic and provisioning models;
  • The transformations needed to move to a new type of economy.

Conference Streams

The conference will feature six separate Streams with plenary keynote talks and breakout sessions to probe issues in greater depth. The ECC and its Streams are designed to foster dialogue, collaboration, creative thinking and follow-up action, and not just “expert” presentations. The six Streams are:

1. Land and Nature

Throughout the world, neoliberal economic policies have had destructive effects, resulting both in the degradation of natural environments as well as reduction in fair access to shared resources. A parallel example of this can be well seen in the aggressive privatization of water systems in large metropolitan areas like Paris, Berlin and Naples, which has resulted in price increases, lower quality water, reduced access to water and less democratic control. Although a flourishing anti-privatization movement in both Europe and the Global South has arisen, much of this advocacy does not have the analytical and theoretical tools to push for a paradigm shift in the economic organization of our natural resources as a commons. This stream will bring together legal scholars, ecological economists and commons advocates to develop commons-based policies and models for governing shared natural resources, especially water and land.

2. Doing away with labor: Working and Caring in a World of Commons

Currently, we witness two parallel phenomena: Global development policies cause the loss of use rights to the natural commons as the livelihood support system for an estimated two billion people. At the same time, an ecology of collaborative production is (re)emerging beyond markets, money and organizational hierarchies as we know them. The lines between production and consumption are becoming blurred by social practices, which are based on sharing and (indirect) reciprocity. These practices are providing innovative answers to the fundamental question of how to (re)produce our livelihoods. Yet, most of the time, they do neither recognize "the whole of work", which means to overcome the structural divisions between productive work and care work (education, health, eldercare, household level, etc.) nor do they reduce embedded gender imbalances in the performance of these activities. And yet, the emerging new patterns bear the potential for a historical transformation toward a model that we could term "(re)prosumption". It is a created term to combine two sides on a structural level: reproduction and production on the one hand and production and consumption on the other. It could provide alternatives to both, globalized capital(ism) and “national-developmentalism”, and to overcome structural causes of gender inequality and the markets externalization of care and nature services. These trends also point to the transcendence of the conditions that historically forced the division between social reproduction and economic production. While most unionists tend to focus on the labor market and a fair distribution of available employment in our world of today, the work of the future may no longer be a “product” that is bought and sold in the market, but it could be managed as a commons. This is the vision we wish to discuss and develop further.

3. Treating Knowledge, Culture and Science as Commons

* Read the Final Report of the Knowledge Stream!


Science, and recently, free software, are paradigmatic knowledge commons; copyright and patent are paradigmatic enclosures. But our focus on paradigmatic examples and the language of “intellectual property” and “openness” may actually limit our imaginations about what might be possible. If we took the commons seriously, for example, we might begin to see that copyright and patent are not just knowledge enclosures, but “modern” ways of enforcing privileges and inequalities in what may be known and communicated. Similarly, that open access and use is not necessarily an emancipation, but rather a shift in control to those who own the digital platform. This Stream will attempt to (re)consider and (re)conceptualize the free/libre/open/commons movements from a strategic and commons-first perspective.

4. Money, Markets, Value and the Commons

The dominant economy is to a huge extent market-fundamentalist and money driven. It is built around unsustainable principles like extraction, competition, profit and exponential growth and fueled by interest bearing credit creation through a profit oriented banking system. A Commons Economy is driven by other motives and proposes a different mindset and different ordering categories than capital, ownership and money. Some commoners tend to imagine a Commons Economy as a world beyond (artificial) scarcity, rendering money and markets irrelevant, which suggests, that commons can function without money as we know it. Others focus on redefining the role of money or how to design money itself as a commons. But all agree that if a Commons Economy still has credit, money and markets (or at least marketplaces), they will be very different in character than our current economy.

The objective of this Stream is to integrate the different “paths of imagination” towards a Commons Economy, and to get a clearer picture of the architecture and underlying design principles of a commons-oriented market places and exchange systems.

5. New Infrastructures for Commoning by Design

One of the main challenges in advancing commons as a stable paradigm is finding ways to develop commons-friendly infrastructures. We lack infrastructures that “by design” foster and protect new practices of commoning. Many existing systems, indeed, enable commons-unfriendly practices (e.g. fossil fuel-based individual transportation) or generate negative social and environmental impacts (e.g., nuclear power and even “clean” energy sources). While some infrastructures have progressive dimensions (using distributed networks, promoting local access), they may be minor parts of larger, regressive infrastructures that still depend upon individual transportation, centralized power grids and concentrated industrial structures. Yet there are important lessons to be learned from commons-based infrastructures such as Internet protocols, which have fostered the emergence of countless digital information commons. An urgent need of our time is to ensure that infrastructures will systematically encourage the formation and protection of commons.

Conference Organizers

The Commons Strategies Group and Heinrich Böll Foundation [7] are the joint organizers of this conference, which is an outgrowth of the landmark International Commons Conference (ICC) in Berlin in November 2010. That event brought together about 180 commons activists, academics and project leaders from 34 countries, and started a cross-disciplinary political and policy dialogue about the commons in diverse international settings.


The Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation supported the International Commons Conference in 2010 as well.

Participants

Visual Identity

Logo and variations
  • Official logo

    Official logo

  • Alternative logo

    Alternative logo

  • Logo with streams icon

    Logo with streams icon

Backgrounds and art
  • Background 1

    Background 1

  • Background 2

    Background 2

  • Background 3

    Background 3

  • Background 4

    Background 4

Stream backgrounds
  • Stream 1

    Stream 1

  • Stream 2

    Stream 2

  • Stream 3

    Stream 3

  • Stream 4

    Stream 4

  • Stream 5

    Stream 5

Color palette

In RGB and HEX formats

  1. Land and Nature
    • 81, 161, 38
    • 51a126
  2. Working and Caring
    • 197, 20, 28
    • c5141c
  3. Knowledge, Culture and Science
    • 69, 140, 194
    • 458cc2
  4. Money, Markets and Value
    • 158, 30, 130
    • 9e1e82
  5. Infrastructures for Commoning
    • 245, 127, 17
    • f57f11

Side Events

A number of related side events will take place before, during and after the conference. List of Side Events:

Practical Information for the Economics of the Commons Conference

<img src="http://www.pk.boell.org/images/pics/HBS_Berlin_small.jpg" class="external-image" />

Venue

Hotels

Choices you have for booking your own accomodation.

Best Western Hotel Berlin-Mitte


Costs
  • 93 € for single
  • 103 € for double room incl. breakfast

These are special rates for us and if you want to book your accommodation in this hotel, kindly mention the code “1925972 Heinrich Böll” when booking.

Motel One Berlin-Hauptbahnhof

Costs
  • 76,50 € for single room incl. breakfast

These are special rates for us and if you want to book your accommodation in this hotel, kindly mention the code “534085748 Heinrich Böll” when booking.


Alternative accommodation:

If you look for alternatives to a hotel, please browse through the following web-pages:

Please look for the area around or in Berlin-Mitte. City codes: 10115, 10117, 10119, 10178, 10179 which is the nearest area to the Foundation.

Transportation

There is direct bus connection from the airport Tegel to the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Best Western Hotel with bus TXL Airport Express, costing only 2.40 € for one way ticket (Zones A & B). Get down at the 7th stop “Karlplatz” and then walk 350 meters to the Heinrich Böll Foundation, or to the Best Western Hotel. You can also stop at the Station "Washingtonplatz/Hauptbahnhof" to go the Motel One Berlin-Hauptbahnhof Hotel.

How to get there:

For guests arriving by train at the Central Railway Station (Hauptbahnhof) you find Motel One/ Berlin Hauptbahnhof next to the Railway Station. You can also take the TXL bus from Washingtonplatz (Exit to the South). Get down at the next stop “Karlplatz” or even walk the entire way to the Heinrich Böll Foundation (1.8 km, see map).

The nearest major station is Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse where all Stadtexpress (SE) or Regionalexpress (RE) trains, S- or U-Bahn from all four directions stop as well as the RE and SE trains or S-Bahn from and to the (Zones A, B and C costing 3,10 €) Schoenefeld Airport.

Upon arrival at Bahnhof Friedrichstraße take the Exit (to the West), cross the River Spree on the roofed iron bridge, then walk on the Albrechtstrasse and then cross the Reinhardtstrasse and you will see the Heinrich Böll Foundation on the left and Best Western on the right.

Assistance

Whom to contact in case you need advice?

  1. Kim Nommesch, Conference Assistant, mailto: ecc-support2@boell.de
  2. Tsewang Norbu, Conference Assistant, mailto: ecc-support1@boell.de
  3. Simone Zühr, Project Manager at International Politics Desk, mailto: zuehr@boell.de

phone: ++49 +30+28534-317, cellphone (during conference): +49 (0)151-4347 1254 (logistics/ admin/emergencies)


Video Presentations


The Remix the Commons Series

See: Defining the Commons


Directory

Post-Conference Coverage

  • David Bollier, A Rich Convergence of Commoners, An Explosion of New Initiatives [12]
  • Jay Walljasper, From Berlin With Hope, International Economics & the Commons Conference breaks new ground [13]
  • Questions of Commons and Inclusion – conference report. By Anna Seravalli. [14]
  • Neal Gorenflo's (Shareable) Report from the Economics and the Commons Conference [15]
  • Denis Postle
  1. Beyond Market and State – the Commons and Commoning [16]
  2. Making Money [17]


Other Languages

In Spanish:

Special Topics

  • Reciprocity and Stigmergy. By Stefan Meretz [18]
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