Stefan Tuschen

Bio

One year of grassroots work in a rural community in El Salvador, Central America after highschool 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 in 2007, I went on working at university for another year. Subsequently I worked as programme officer at the lobby and advocacy unit of Church Development Service - An Association of the Protestant Churches in Germany (EED), on issues such as public health, trade justice, biodiversity and sustainable development. In 2012 EED merged into Bread for the World - Protestant Development Service. Since then I am part of the economy and ecology unit of the policies department. Just recently I took over a new task, now focusing on sustainable Germany, sustainable development and the necessary great transition.

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 San 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. (Makes probably more sense in German... =)