Between November 15 to 17 – 2016, an important meeting took place inside and outside of the European Parliament in Brussels, that gathered more than 150 people, practitioners and researchers of commons and the affirmation of a new economic and political culture. Please find here a report by Sunna Kovannen and myself, Ruby van der Wekken, of the Finnish Solidarity economy network on the starting up European Commons Assembly (ECA) process: https://commons.fi/2016/11/28/european-commons-assembly/

As you can read in the report, one of the things discussed by participants of the ECA (and several RIPESS members were also involved) is the issue of bringing closer the moblisations around Solidarity economy and the Commons, out of the recognition that the development of solidarity economy, including the increased linking together of actors out of which also new practices are born, is a furthering of our commons and commoning, and in fact that what gives our commons and commoning its solidarity, ethical base.

One of the thematical/policy areas defined to also work under in the future in the ECA process, is then exactly about the links between solidarity economy and the commons, and thus the need for enabling policies in both these areas.

The ECA process is yet to be setting its milestones for the upcoming years, there are currently different proposals on the table. One possibility would be to further develop the idea of holding an ECA also at the Solidarity Economy European congress in Athens in June, promoting the collaboration and envisioning between the strands.

Is that something we are interested in to be advocating and facilitating?

Does your network / organisation have experience with initiatives on the Commons?

We would like to create a working group within RIPESS to discuss and develop ways to connect Solidarity Economy to Commons on both the grassroots and policy levels.

Would you be interested in joining?

Ruby van der Wekken (Commons.fi – Finland)

This post is also available in / aussi en: French