Twenty-four people involved in research and alternative economic models, met on February 22 2016 at the Bildungswerk Heinrich Böll Stiftung in Berlin. They discussed how the research world can contribute to the ongoing process of social transformation in the direction of an equal and solidarity world for all people. WuPSSE is the translated acronym of “Research and Practice Social Solidarity Economy”.
What practical experiences are there?
From the university field there were the Brandenburgische Technische Universität, the Alice-Salomon-Hochschule, the Humboldt-Universität and the Hochschule für Nachhaltige Entwicklung in Eberswalde. Beside teachers and students of those institutions, other activists were able to participate: there were representants of Wirtschaftswandel Workcamp, Wandelwoche, berlin.imwandel.net, the German CSAs and the Forum für solidarische Ökonomie. They brought examples about where are the needs of the projects and how they can cooperate.
Network between research and practice
After the first input-phase the participants started to work in small groups. The AG-Exchange tried to work on the network between research directions and practical needs. There is a lot of potential in the Hochschulen, offering some accademic help to solve problems of the alternative economies. On the other side, too often on the projects side time and competence to research and find creative solutions for the problems beside the daily operativity are missing.
Online- and Offline- Exchange
The tendency of the workers is to jump from the problem solution to another problem, instead of finding sustainable and creative solutions, that also can work as a model and an example to other initiatives. That’s where came the idea of an online and offline tool for alternative economies projects and enterprises, that can have some needs of academic and researchers help. At the same time the students can find new practical opportunities for their university career.
More information (in German) here.
