Chairman of the day, Frank Kresin, frames the program during his welcome word.

Collaborative economy: From corporate rhetorics to commons practices.

Steve Hill will provide an introduction to the collaborative economy particularly to the rhetorics and practices of the corporate model with a focus on its expansion in USA.
Mayo Fuster (Dimmons.net) will introduce the frame of commons collaborative economy.

City level: What are cities doing? Which best strategies to promote commons models of collaborative economy?

Mayo Fuster will introduce Barcelona City Council policy program in order to promote a commons collaborative economy and procomuns.net policy recommendations; Vasilis Niaros will introduce the policy recommendations and situation regarding the Greece and Ecuador cases (connected to the work we developed as part of the P2Pvalue); and, an intervention from Amsterdam experience. We will discuss and define possible city collaborations and a Commons actions plan.

Foundups is launching unDevcon2 on September 18 in the aim to switch the economical system of failure and competition to one of infinite growth and abundance. Where startups will no longer fail for 99,7%, but innovation will be accelerated.

With an unconference about blockchain, the war on currencies and the ability to make blockchain of use for the 99%, Foundups launches the discussion how to use blockchain technology properly and serve the planet. The new technology will affect about every field in life possible. At the current moment neo-liberal forces are capturing the most accepted currency. Ethereum Classic might be the best thing ever happened to shift the field and create awareness.

The merits of community and of local stewardship are increasingly recognized. In many cities there is a blossoming of social innovation practices: citizens are taking responsibility for their direct environment, often through the creation of social & cultural initiatives that build and strengthen the community; from urban farming to renewable energy coops. These can be considered urban commons. We will discuss what we mean with the city as a commons, how we can get there, what is happening in Amsterdam and how a laboratory for the governance of the commons could play a key role, sharing the experiences of the Bologna Labgov.

Beyond providing a platform for publishing, the Internet has provided us with a theoretically border-free environment for community gathering and shared workspaces. Networked applications allow us to build virtual companies where coworkers may be sitting in cubicles next to each other, sitting thousands of miles apart in different offices or may have no physical office space at all. Group decisions can be made through online governance tools which permit equal or weighted voting. The provenance of work can be tracked through cryptographically unique identification markers, which allow all collaborators to receive attribution and compensation for the final product, even if they never interact directly with one another. These tools can be used for business, community organizing and for political action from the neighborhood to the global level.

EU as facilitator or barrier to the commons?

The EU is in a deep existential crisis. The EU´s dominant narratives are increasingly unappealing and unsubstantiated. Can we envision the EU and its policies from a commons perspective? This session also includes an introduction and call for a European Commons Assembly.

Platform Cooperativism raises essential questions of governance and workplace democracy within the digital platforms that increasingly mediate our daily lives. But what are we actually producing with our newly democratised labor power? How do open data, ecological stewardship and the active production of Commons expand on and reinvigorate well established cooperative traditions?

The “design global, manufacture local” (DGML) model builds on the conjunction of the digital commons (e.g. open knowledge and design) with desktop manufacturing and automation technologies (e.g. 3D printing and CNC machines). It describes the processes where design is developed, shared and improved as a global digital commons, whereas the actual customised manufacturing takes place locally. DGML could be a model of sustainable development which recognises the limits and scarcities posed by finite resources and effectively organises material activities accordingly.

Historically, commons have had a problematic relationship with conventional law, which generally reflects the mindset and priorities of the sovereign (monarch, nation-state, corporation) and not the lived experiences and practices of commoners. Still, in grappling with political, economic and legal realities, commoners often find ways to secure control over their common wealth, livelihoods and modes of commoning. It is also what is spurring many commoners today to invent creative new types of law – formal, social, technological – to protect their shared interests, assets and social relationships.

With its focus on open access and equitable distribution of ownership, traditional Intellectual Property regimes are unsuited for commoning. The more prominent hacks to existing IP frameworks — such a Copyleft and Creative Commons Non Commercial licenses — have proven to be successful alternatives. But what are the advantages and drawbacks of these new licenses and can we imbue a sense of reciprocity while licensing for the Commons?

Workshop: City as a commons.

Concept: 1. How can we get there. 2. What is happening in Amsterdam? 3. What could LabGov do in Amsterdam?

Chairman of the day, Frank Kresin, wraps up day 1 during his closing words.

Chairman of the day, Frank Kresin, welcomes visitors back to the event and frames day 2 in his welcome word.

As a twist on the original phrase, consider this: “Some people can volunteer all of the time, all of the people can volunteer some of the time, but all of the people can’t volunteer all of the time”.

Increasingly precarious situations for workers worldwide are causing many people to turn to commoning to overcome their alienation in the labor market and, when possible, to meet their materials needs. But as a practice, commoning cannot yet provide sustainable livelihoods for all potential commoners; hybrid solutions must be sought. This plenary explores the concept of work solidarity to ensure the creation and resilience of commons-oriented projects, and social protection for today’s disenfranchised laborers.

How can we promote community-based renewable energy in the EU?  What is the role of energy cooperatives in the energy transition and for developing the Commons?

During the plenary session, we will first present the background of the energy transition and the role of community energy in that transition. In particular, we will focus on policy as part of the enabling environment, using examples from Germany and other countries, including the Netherlands. We will also place these considerations in a broader view, especially within that of the EU policies (Energy Union). A large place will be left for discussion, in order to investigate the tools that could help to promote energy cooperatives at local and global scales (from policy making to digital tools). Finally, other points of discussion will involve the role of community energy in building the Commons (and vice-versa), the potential for transferring knowledge and technology, etc.

During the workshop session, we want to share practical and grassroots experiences from energy cooperatives, and have an open discussion focusing on the limits and barriers for communities to build their own power plant (e.g., financing), how to overcome these in order to scale-up.

How can we promote community-based renewable energy in the EU?  What is the role of energy cooperatives in the energy transition and for developing the Commons?

During the workshop session, we want to share practical and grassroots experiences from energy cooperatives, and have an open discussion focusing on the limits and barriers for communities to build their own power plant (e.g., financing), how to overcome these in order to scale-up.

From community-oriented business to business-enhanced communities, Meta Economic networks are affinity-based networks combining new forms of labor with supportive and commons-generating solidarity structures. Hear the stories of people working together to “do Stuff that Matters” from Catalonia (Spain), Madison, Wisconsin (USA) and New Zealand as well as the innovative proposal for a Venture Commune.

Platform Cooperativism raises essential questions of governance and workplace democracy within the digital platforms that increasingly mediate our daily lives. But what are we actually producing with our newly democratised labor power? How do open data, ecological stewardship and the active production of Commons expand on and reinvigorate well established cooperative traditions?

Can the Commons and the State fruitfully co-exist – and if so, how? Can commoners re-imagine “the State” from a Commons perspective so that its powers could be used to affirmatively support commoning and a post-capitalist, post-growth means of provisioning and governance?

While many platforms can be described as P2P, our understanding of the term is more generally human-scale rather than exclusively tech-focused. Exploring peer to peer as “person to person” or “people to people” highlights its relevance as a relational dynamic. P2P Cultures describes the process of people self-organizing in non-hierarchical ways to create common value in diverse socio-economic and cultural settings worldwide.

International collaboration around public awareness, sharing public opinions and sharing measurements. Digital democracy has been a journey. Issues around privacy arise every time someone wants to introduce it. Oview app offers citizens the possibility to share opinions and institutions a way to measure and become aware. A new playing field for the commons on democracy arises.

Michel Bauwens, president and founder of the P2P Foundation will synthesize the dialogues, ideas and possible outcomes of the conference during this special closing keynote.

Chairman of the day, Frank Kresin, wraps up day 2 during his closing words.