education for commons culture & social renewal Why are we here? The earth cries out for a new story: a story of a world that works for everyone.
Such a story invites us to consider there is more that unites us than divides us. Not only do we have a common genetic inheritance, we have a common cultural inheritance founded on a deep set of shared aspirations: for security, for the wellbeing of our loved ones, and for full participation in the possibilities of life. These aspirations lead us to understand that effective stewardship of the bio
sphere is essential, that societal responsibilities must balance short-term and long-term requirements, and that informed citizens can effectively self-organize to manage their affairs. These aspirations are best served by a deep and vibrant appreciation of the commons: the rich reservoir of natural and cultural resources upon which we depend for life. The School of Commoning is dedicated to enable people and organisations to deepen their understanding of and participation in local and global global commons. What Is the Commons? It has many definitions and one of our favourites is this: “The Commons is about building social relationships in such a way that all those things we need to reproduce our livelihood will be shared in a fair way, and managed in a sustainable way,” as Silke Helfrich said at the 1st International Commons Conference in Berlin, October 2010. Another definition that inspires our work at the School differentiates two kinds of commons based on “common pool resources” and “public goods.” Professor Elinor Ostrom, who won the Nobel Prize for her work on the Commons explains the difference in this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzbcgj9F54. The commons is all that and much more. According to Wikipedia, “The commons is the social and political space where things get done and where people have a sense of belonging and have an element of control over their lives, providing sustenance, security and independence. It gives voice to civil society and helps us to learn new social practices, imagine a political, economic and social system beyond capitalism or communism.” (Wikipedia)
Here’s another way of thinking about it, which influences the School’s work: “The commons is the basis of society, which is the connection of individuals to one another and the recognition of their interdependency. It is expressed in culture as a way of life.” (Blue Labour blog, 15 May 2011)
What Is the Global Commons? While the term "commons" has been in use for centuries in one context or another, the "global commons" is a recent conceptualization of something that is ageless and has several meanings:
those resources that are shared by all of humanity, such as the sky, the oceans, the internet, human knowledge, or even the planet itself
the sum of all various local and regional commons across the world
an operating assumption espousing that the natural resources of the earth and the cultural resources of humanity are to be sustainably and equitably stewarded for the benefit of all, both now and in the future. What Is Commoning? There’s no commons without people practicing the art of of commoning defined as commoners engaged in mutually supportive relationships of co-creating and protecting material or intellectual resources essential to their life. In the words of Martin Luther King, we are "caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." The art of commoning, in a broader sense, is one and the same as the art of living. It’s being fully engaged with life, choosing something we are passionate about and engaging with others to achieve more than any one of us could achieve on our own for a better life for everyone and a thrivable culture. In a more specific sense, we can distinguish three scopes of commoning. (Hence the three waves in the SoC logo.) The ensemble of practices used by people in the course of managing shared resources and reclaiming the commons. So in its simplest form, "commoning’ is creating and maintaining something collectively" (Michel Bauwens). Moving from the Me to the We, where people become capable to think, feel, and act as co-creative collective entities, without surrendering their individual autonomy. Recognising the inherent connectedness of humanity as a whole, and having our individual and collective “centre of gravity” in a state of being, where we are not separate from it. Inherent to the identity of the School of Commoning is strengthening the practices of all three ways, and stewarding the evolution of a “commoning” framework that connects them. We work with our members, learners, associates, clients, and other stakeholders, helping them reaching their aspirations, no matter in which wave of commoning they want to manifest them. Invitation to a Radical Inquiry. Let's explore the premise that all life is an indivisible unity. That unity is not some advanced state that we evolve into. Rather, it is a priori or prior to any divisions or difference-making mental or social structures that we tend to overlay on reality. In practice, this means that our decisions, behaviors, and actions take the totality into account, and we operate for the good of the whole. We invite you to join with us in a fearless, unbounded exploration of the implications and possibilities of this presumption.
17/11/2021
📢Event Announcement
A Creative Commons? The future of Estuary Commons - TODAY at 6:30PM - 17th Nov Focal Point Gallery
The Thames Estuary serves many purposes. As the country’s major waterway and shipping channel, it was once the centre of the British Empire controlling a quarter of the world’s land via sea. It includes some of the UK’s most beautiful landscapes and its coastal habitats and marshlands sustain various agricultural and foraging practices, some of which have coproduced its internationally important wetlands and grazing marshes. The Thames barrier keeps out the tides and the sea level rise from flooding in. The environment continues to be a source of inspiration to artists, who for centuries have captured the dynamic, often conflicting transformations of landscape and places that are now home to communities that live, work and play on its banks.
With a looming environmental and social justice crisis dramatically reshaping our world, the future of the Estuary is too often framed by dominant narratives that portray a landscape of dereliction, dominated by decay, which is ripe for economic investment, remediation and regeneration. Can these different narratives be reconciled? Is it possible for the Estuary to emerge as a true ‘common’, offering public right to it as a resource? Can we deduce models for sustainable development that ensure access to goods and services, that are deemed neither private or public, but instead are valued, protected and made accessible to people and wildlife through renewed mechanisms of commoning?
In the final of three discussions, Victoria Barrow-Williams, Sarah Dance, Emma Edmondson and Dr Mark Hampton will look ahead to consider how we might harness the Estuary to ensure our communities can take ownership of this common resource for the betterment of cultural practice, through creative practitioners making interventions and addressing the challenges between public and private spaces. The conversation will be chaired by Dr Khalil Betz-Heinemann.
📢Event Announcement
A Creative Commons? Commons, Ecosystems and Public Interventions - TODAY - 10th Nov Focal Point Gallery
The Thames Estuary serves many purposes. As the country’s major waterway and shipping channel, it was once the centre of the British Empire controlling a quarter of the world’s land via sea. It includes some of the UK’s most beautiful landscapes and its coastal habitats and marshlands sustain various agricultural and foraging practices, some of which have coproduced its internationally important wetlands and grazing marshes. The Thames barrier keeps out the tides and the sea level rise from flooding in. The environment continues to be a source of inspiration to artists, who for centuries have captured the dynamic, often conflicting transformations of landscape and places that are now home to communities that live, work and play on its banks.
With a looming environmental and social justice crisis dramatically reshaping our world, the future of the Estuary is too often framed by dominant narratives that portray a landscape of dereliction, dominated by decay, which is ripe for economic investment, remediation and regeneration. Can these different narratives be reconciled? Is it possible for the Estuary to emerge as a true ‘common’, offering public right to it as a resource? Can we deduce models for sustainable development that ensure access to goods and services, that are deemed neither private or public, but instead are valued, protected and made accessible to people and wildlife through renewed mechanisms of commoning?
In the second of three discussions, Graham Burnett, Christina Peake, Cherry Truluck and Rosanna Vitiello will explore of the current creative uses of Estuary land through individual and collective action, such as artistic intervention in the work of contemporary novelists, poets, musicians and artists, or in how we use our land and what we produce, the food systems and structures that and its value to people and wildlife. The conversation will be chaired by Dr Khalil Betz-Heinemann.
Thames Estuary: Creative Commons?
3-17 Nov 21 Focal Point Gallery
Exploring public right to culture across Britain’s largest waterway.
Landscape painters (artists) of the past created ignorant ideals of other lands. Reality was different, justifying defining them as degraded, in need of colonial care - in practice exploitation. Today the waterway from which colonialism was shipped to 1/4 of the world's land, the , has been defined as derelict, with the consequent exploitation of it called "economic investment". What role will artists play?
GOOD NEWS -
By popular demand, there will be a second Open House, a gathering of people who already feel called to the Protopia learning journey and those who are simply curious.
To reserve your seat and receive the Zoom link, click on this link to the Open House Registration Form: http://bit.ly/385NTva .
So why “Protopia”? Well, between the utopia of impossible pipe dreams and the dystopia of a nightmarish future, there is a future worth striving for.
Protopia is the practice of prototyping the path to this future as we walk it. https://www.facebook.com/events/3338653389569439
If you are wondering what part you can play in the transition Russell Razzaque is talking about in this video https://lnkd.in/eUFGn4Z,
check out the 'Protopia' course by Pavel Lukash. https://bit.ly/38XsrZ1
The course helping people discover their unique role and contribution in this transitional process. It is shaped as a collectively created learning journey to explore the world we want to see – and the possible ways to bring it into being. It will take you on the pathway to the roots of the evolutionary crisis – economic, political, and epistemological – and then to discover what lies beyond the crisis, behind the barrier, the ‘evolutionary attractor’ of the flourishing planetary futures.
We will learn to sense into, (re)connect with, and act from, this ‘evolutionary attractor’ that manifests itself through our ways of being and acting. Our final aim on this course will be to design our new personal ‘operating systems’ – habits of thought and action, supported by tools and practices – that will help each of us become the future we aspire to be
Protopia: a journey to the edge of collective evolution – Campus Co-Evolve
This course is for practitioners – entrepreneurs, researchers, facilitators, change leaders, policy makers, and more – who sense that our civilization is going through a great evolutionary transition, and who want to find their unique role and contribution in this process. The course is shaped a...
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This learning community starts on Monday, April 20. To secure your place, register today.
From Me to We to All of Us
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