Letter of Association

Letter of Association in Solidarity with the P2P Foundation, April 2021

The world stands at a crossroads not defined by left vs. right. The past year has seen the largest, quickest consolidation of wealth in living memory. We believe the years ahead may well determine who will have access to substantive material and cultural commons, and who will control that access.

Will humanity unify to co-produce abundance and nurture sustainable cultures, while respecting the finitude of natural resources and the carrying capacities of the bioregions to which each of us belongs? Or, will humanity carry forward familiar fights over scarce natural resources, coupled with artificial scarcity of cultural innovations, while embracing materialist, utopian dreams whose pursuit exacerbates the precarities we already face?

We, the undersigned, believe the changes at hand beckon action in support of peer-to-peer commoning (P2P) from movement leaders, network weavers, creative producers, convincing enthusiasts, skilled curators, and constructive critics. In thousands of workshops, offices, and gardens around the world, we peers and commoners are already building the new alongside what it cannot yet replace. In these efforts, we intentionally work alongside, learn from, and share insights with peers who have been marginalized, including those who are fighting for their lives. Not only does this inclusion carry forward justice in managing the commons; we believe these peers’ insights—including into how to make do with less, and how to make things using less—can be invaluable in nurturing regenerative, circular economies. We know that the P2P Movement is bigger than any of us. We also believe that the P2P Movement has been and continues to be made better by Michel Bauwens, whose extensive curation and network weaving has benefitted each of us.

As peers, we welcome collaboration with diverse leaders, network weavers, producers, enthusiasts, and curators—including in the P2P Foundation itself, whose current size has meant that not all of these talents are consistently available to move projects forward. We likewise welcome a healthy presence of constructive critics in our midst. We appreciate the opportunities that critique can open up to make our work even better. In balance, absent egregious violations of professional norms, we also commit to stand in solidarity with one another, in a P2P ecosystem that crosses traditional political divides.

To this end, we join with Michel Bauwens in pledging that in P2P spaces:

We will welcome diversity:

• We will not allow efforts to maintain power to crowd out new voices;
• We will not allow established experts to suppress efforts that develop such expertise in others; and
• We will not model lower or higher expectations of an individual based solely on characteristics over which that person has no control.

We will practice inclusivity:

• We will not see or treat our peers primarily as obstacles to be overcome, ideas to be vanquished, objects to be used, nor irrelevancies to be ignored;
• We will not permit an attitude of, “you’re either with us or against us” to polarize our discussions; and
• We will solicit participation from people in significant ways unlike ourselves.

We will enact solidarity:

• We will not demonize one another for thinking differently than we do;
• We will not seek to deplatform one another over disagreements; and
• We will not become party to the latest round of well-funded, divide-and-conquer strategies, which have long been used against those who labor together to realize a better tomorrow.

We will intentionally de-polarize participants in our projects:

• We will not expect any of a person’s immutable characteristics to correspond to, let alone to determine, that person’s ideas, ideals, or capacities for culturally sensitive participation;
• We will not restrict comfort or support to members with characteristics over which they have had no control; and
• We will not facilitate the radicalization of our colleagues by driving them from a space in which they can be accepted while learning, to a space where the only people who will accept them are spouting hate.

Whenever we can, we will embrace opportunities to co-produce a more robust and antifragile commons—taking risks, learning from our mistakes, embodying mutual respect, and in the process, co-creating conditions for celebration.

• We will seek out, listen to, and learn from the personal experiences of under-resourced peoples.
• We will remain open to questions about the frames that we and others use to contextualize and make sense of our experiences.
• We will, when appropriate, suggest alternative, potentially more empowering frames for contextualizing and making sense of personal stories, and we will welcome these suggestions from one another.

To state what should be obvious about any independent scholar, not all of us agree with Michel Bauwens’s positions on every issue. Nevertheless, we proudly associate with Michel as a peer and support his continued leadership of the P2P Foundation, which continues to help people, organizations, and governments transition towards commons-based approaches to society by co-creating an open knowledge commons and resilient, sustainable human networks.

Some of us have chosen to directly support Michel Bauwens’ curation efforts, documentation of commons’ history and promise, and catalyzation of cosmo-local production through regular, ongoing contributions, and we invite others to do likewise.

Similarly, some of us donate time, money, and/or expertise toward the P2P Foundation’s open access wiki, commons transition website, and/or web magazine, helping the Foundation to fulfill its aim to be an incubator and catalyst for an emerging P2P ecosystem, focusing on the “missing pieces” and the interconnectedness that can lead to a wider movement. We invite others to do likewise.

All of us are excited about what the future holds for the P2P Movement, of which we consider ourselves a part.

Signatories

If you want to be added to this list of signatories, please write to Matthew McNatt at matthew@ease.coop (and/or Michel Bauwens at michel@p2pfoundation.net).

The undersigned did so in personal capacity; institutional affiliations are listed to show the embodied engagement of the signers:

A

Bruce Alderman, Houston, Texas, Adjunct Faculty at JFK University

Adam Arvidsson, erica.adam@gmail.com, Professor at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II,

George Anadiotis, Athens, Greece

Tom Atlee, cii@igc.org, Research Director, Founder at The Co-Intelligence Institute

Asli Telli Aydemir, Izmir, Turkey; Co-founder at Güniversite

B

Alexander Bard, bardissimo@gmail.com, author Futurica Trilogy, philosopher of the network society, Stockholm, Sweden

Raphaële Bidault Waddington, rbwadd@gmail.com, Paris, France, LIID Future Lab

Paul Bishop, Actor, Councillor at Redland City Council, Australia, Sustainability, changemaker/advocate

Max Borders, author of ‘After Collapse’

Jake Bornstein, Seattle, Partner at Talentism

Philippe Borrel, Author & Filmmaker

Anna Boyle, Camden Town, UK,

Tiberius Brastaviceanu, tiberius.brastaviceanu@gmail.com, Montreal, Canada; Sensorica, Open Sensors and Hardware Community

Timothée Brès, Brussels, timothee@ouishare.net, co-founder Civic Innovation Network

Doug Breitbart, Co-founder at The Values Foundation

Paul Bruno, rondehoep@gmail.com, Castelo Branco, Portugal , Power Flower Phi Sci

Bud Blumenthal, bud.blumenthal@gmail.com, Brussels, Belgium; Teacher, Choreographer, Digital Artist, and Activist

John Buck, Silver Spring, MD, USA, Co-author of We the People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy and Company-Wide Agility with Beyond Budgeting, Open Space, & Sociocracy, Founding Member of Governance Alive

Edivia Navarro Bueno, Madrid Spain Professor UFV, authorenbenb2015@gmail.com

James Burke, NYC, co-founder of the P2P Foundation

Lydia Burton lydiagailburton@icloud.com, Toronto, Ontario

C

Bruno Carballa, bcarballa@gmail.com, Paris, France; Researcher at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission

Camila Amaya-Castro, entrepreneur, Paris, France

Daniel Chavez, chavez@tni.org, Uruguay and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Transnational Institute

Karl-Filip Coenegrachts, Ghent, Belgium, Cities for People

Joe Corbett, Shanghai, China,

Peter Critchley, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK; Peter Critchley e-Akademeia

Michael Croft, Michael.Croft@protonmail.com, Australia

Rudy Cruysbergs, rudy@electronic-design.be, entrepreneur, Belgium, Electronic Design

D

Fradin Didier, La Madeleine, Nord-Pas-De-Calais, France ; local commons activist

Vasko Drogiski, commoner, Daylesford Australia.

E

Sharon Ede , sharonede.au@gmail.com, Urbanist + Activist for Regenerative Cities. AUDAcities. Adelaide, South Australia

F

Maria Finders, Arles, France, Luma Foundation

Aline Frankfort, aline.frankfort@consulteam.be, Professorship at UCL Louvain-la-Neuve, founder of Shapership Academy

Jonathan Fraser, fraserjb@gmail.com, Richmond Virgina

G

Carl Gaignage, carl.gaignage@ Gmail.com, Willebroek, Belgium, health & safety, human factors advisor

Géraldine Gobert, Belgium, facilitator and Founder at A Lotus Seed

Daniel P. Görtz, Sweden, sociologist, cofounder of Metamoderna

Thomas Greco, tomazhg@gmail.com

H

Jordan Hall, jordan.greenhall@gmail.com , Civium Project

Andrea Harding, wildwire@btinternet.com, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Symphonics, coherence-based organisation and systems for co-creation

Gibin Hong, tentandavia@naver.com , Seoul, South Korea; Karl Polanyi Institute Asia

Pascal Houba, p2p.act@somakino.org, Liege, Belgium, Revue Multitudes

I

Dyab Abou Jahjah, Belgium/Lebanon, Diversity activist

J

Heather Johnson, M.Ed., Eugene, Oregon, USA, Co-founder Eugene Alliance for Somatic Education (EASE.coop)

K

Laetitia Kava, Perpignan, France,

Alex Kennedy, London, UK; Director at Once Collective

Mixel Kiemen, Belgium, Independent researcher at the Interversity, ‘investigating the hive mind’

Jan Krikke, Pattaya, Thailand, futurist

L

Janique Ladouar, janique75@gmail.com, Paris, web editor

Luca Lamonaca, Italy

Inez Laponte, UK

Brice Le Blévennec. Brussels, Belgium, P2P Foundation Co-founder

Olivier Lejade, Nosara, Costa Rica , designer,

Barry Letzer, Founder (company) at The Sharing System

Michael Lewis, tommylewis2591@gmail.com, Canada, Adjunct Professor at Athabasca University, Synergia Institute

Wayne Lewis, soop2nuts@gmail.com, USA

M

Victor MacGill, Nelson, New Zealand

David MacLeod, Bellingham, WA, PatternDynamics Practitioner and co-initiator of Transition Whatcom

Nenad Maljković, Croatia, Croatian Permaculture

Sarah Grace Manski, PhD, George Mason University

Chistine Marsan, France, Altercoop

Antony McMullen, Australian co-operative founder, director and developer, LinkedIn

Matthew McNatt, GCFP, Eugene, Oregon, USA, Co-founder Eugene Alliance for Somatic Education (EASE.coop)

Lloyd Allan MacPherson / lloydmacpherson@hotmail.com (musician: Eagle Eye View) - Overture Negotiations

Mónika Megyesi, Washington, DC, Certified Mediator and Sociocracy Consultant, Conflict Management Professional, Founding Member of Governance Alive

Lincoln Merchant, USA

Bronwen Morgan, Sydney, Australia, Professor of Law, UNSW Law School

Emmanuel Mossay, Brussels, Belgium, P2P Foundation board member

Liam Murphy, artframers@icloud.com , Norwich, Norfolk, UK; advocate for ethical intellectual property for art and culture

Fernando Suarez Muller, f.suarezmuller@gmail.com, Assistant Professor Ethics & Sustainability - Univ. of Humanistic Studies - Economy for the Common Good Netherlands

N

Franz Nahrada, globalvillagesinfo@gmail.com; GIVE Laboratory for Global Villages Vienna and Bad Radkersburg, Austria

Samuel Winburn Nelson, Perth, Western Australia

Micha Narberhaus, micha@protopialab.org, founder The Protopia Lab

Michael Norton, michael@wolvenindustries.com, Murcia, Spain

Jean-François Noubel, jf@noubel.com, Open Source lifestyle researcher and advocate in France

O

David Orban, david@netsoc.org, Founder & Trustee at Network Society Research

P

Aaron Pfauth, aaron.pfauth@gmail.com, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Distinguished Professor Global studies and Sociology

Petra Pieterse, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Jose Luis Vivero Pol, joseluisvivero@gmail.com, Dublin, Ireland, food commons scholar

George Por, george.por@gmail.com, Founder, Director of Research at Future HOW: Center of Action Research for Evolutionary Emergence

Q

Harrison Quigley, Alpine, Utah, USA, Co-founder of Raindance Producer Cooperative

R

Rebecca Grace Rachmanu, founder of DAO Leadership

Jose Ramos, Melbourne, Australia, interim co-coordinator of the P2P Research Network

Bruno Rouffaer bruno.rouffaer@gmail.com Lima, Peru and Belgium, Professor at CIDE-PUCP, author

Will Ruddick, Mombasa, Kenya, Sarafu community currencies

Jim Rutt - Jim Rutt Show, #GameB, Big Change Coalition

Robert Conan Ryan, Futurist and Assistant Professor, Clayton State University

S

Dr. Sed Saad, Professor and Entrepreneur (www.DrSedSAAD.com), Brussels

Juliette Santegoeds, juliette.santegoeds@gmail.com. Senior Lecturer, Public Management. The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Commons Lab, The Hague.

Dean Sayers, Richmond,VA

Willi Schroll, Berlin, Germany

Ishan M. Shapiro - Founding peer @ Metamaps.cc, Futurescouts.co, Futurefields.cc

Kylie Stedman Gomes, kylie@praxorium.org, Founder at Praxorium

Stefano Serafini stefano.serafini@biourbanism.org, Rome, Italy; International Society of Biourbanism

Eimhim David Short, involuteconduit@gmail.com, agroecology/permaculture, Ireland

George Smiley, Detroit, Michigan

Jesse Soininen, Helsinki, Finland

Chris C Stewart, Melbourne, Australia, Futurist & Healer www.ChrisCStewart.com (and initiatory founding member of P2P Foundation).

Mark Stewart, Substitute Teacher at Lake Geneva School District

Tirrania Suhood, Sydney, Australia, Founder, InCollaboration

Evi Swinnen, Founder and coordinator Timelab, Belgium, and Chairwoman of the P2P Foundation Legal Board

T

Chong Kee Tan, Salem, Oregon, Founder at Labishire Homestead Commons

Philip T Trice, USA, metalworker (artisan)

V

Jaap van Till, NL, vantill@gmail.com, ‘TheConnectivist’, network society advocate

Mary Valiakas, Athens, Greece

Harry van der Velde

Frederick Vandenberghe, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia e Antropologia - PPGSA

Roland Vanderbeke, roland.vanderbeke2@telenet.be, Belgium

Hans Vanmechelen, hansvanmechelen@yahoo.co.uk , Leuven, Belgium

Ivan Verkempinck, ivan@verkempinck.com, Ostend, Belgium, (soon to be retired) entrepreneur

W

Andrew Ward, Australia, facilitator for the cooperative economy Francois Wayenberg, Brussels, Belgium, lurching@gmail.com, Ajinometrix (startup)

Koen Wynants, Antwerp, Belgium, koenwynants@hotmail.com, Commons Lab Antwerpen

Z

Maxime Zaït, Brussels, Communa

Marco Zubieta , La Paz, Bolivia, Green Fablab