August 2013 – December 2016
A new movement — a democracy movement — was born in the streets of Seattle on November 30, 1999. This movement’s early years were not easy. Pro-democracy organizers faced crisis after crisis: the stolen presidential elections of 2000 and 2004; the militarization of America that followed September 11th; the destruction of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina; the Supreme Court ruling that corporations wield constitutional rights to buy elections; and today, an economic crisis that is being used to impose fiscal austerity and corporatization schemes on our states and people.
Through these difficult struggles, the new democracy movement has taken form, expanded, and matured. The first Democracy Convention, held in August of 2011, was an incredible “coming of age” celebration for the U.S. democracy movement. Join us at the second convention. It’s time to take more risks and to begin to win the victories that make another world possible.
The Democracy Convention is a project of the Liberty Tree Foundation together with the conveners of each of this year’s nine conferences.
Gar Alperovitz will be delivering a keynote address at the August 7th opening plenary, and a workshop on “The Emerging Shape of the Next System” on the morning of August 8th.
Dire ecological news and the failures of the global economy are fuelling interest in a “new economics” grounded in principles of ecological sustainability, the democratization of wealth, community empowerment and social and digital connection. Following the success of last year’s first annual Boston College Summer Institute in New Economics, we will be holding another session from August 12-18, 2013. If you are a PhD student in the social sciences, you are invited to apply.
We will bring together a group of distinguished faculty who are pursuing research and practice in this emerging field. Confirmed faculty include Juliet Schor (Boston College), Gar Alperovitz (University of Maryland), Gill Seyfang (University of East Anglia) and Michel Bauwens (P2P Foundation and University of Amsterdam). Practitioners working on new economy projects will join us for workshops. Together with a dynamic group of students, we will meet for an intensive program of classes, workshops and participatory sessions. Graduate students attending the Institute can expect to leave with a solid grounding in the latest research and theory, and as part of a network of faculty and other graduate students.
This year’s institute will be held at the Johnson Foundation’s historic Wingspread retreat center, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home at Wind Point, Wisconsin. Wingspread is an exceptional facility at the shores of Lake Michigan that fosters productive conversations, creativity and community. It is located on 32 acres of land and is ideal for hiking, biking and swimming. Wingspread offers superb dining and accommodations.
Core Faculty and Topics
Juliet Schor, Boston College: Labor & Consumer Cultures
Gar Alperovitz, UMaryland: Democratization of Wealth; Complex Systems
Michel Bauwens, P2P Foundation: P2P Economies
Prasannan Parthasarathi, Boston College: Ecological Alternatives
Gill Seyfang, University of East Anglia: Grassroots Innovations & Sustainable Transitions
Sponsored by Progressive Neighbors and co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Young Democrats.
In conversation with Lester Spence and Jamie Raskin, and moderated by Marc Steiner.
Co-sponsored by Red Emma’s Radical Bookfair Pavilion.
Public lecture organized by PERI (Political Economy Research Institute).
On Friday evening, October 11, 2013, political economist Gar Alperovitz will give a talk at the John Dewey Academy at Searles Castle in Great Barrington titled:
“The Next America: The Emerging New Direction as the Old Order Decays”
The talk begins at 7:30 PM, followed by questions from the audience, and a book signing. Tickets are five dollars or five BerkShares. Because of limited seating, pre-registration is required.
To reserve tickets, send an email to schumacher@centerforneweconomics.org with Gar Alperovitz in the subject line. Provide your name, address, email, and number of tickets you wish to have held in your name. You will receive a confirming email. Or call the Schumacher Center for a New Economics at 413 528 1737.
Payment for tickets will be at the door. Tickets will be held until 7:20 PM.
The John Dewey Academy is located at Searles Castle, 389 Main Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The talk by Gar Alperovitz is co-sponsored by BerkShares, Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires, and the Southern Berkshires Community Development Corporation.
For more information contact:
Schumacher Center for a New Economics
140 Jug End Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
schumacher@centerforneweconomics.org
centerfornewecconomics.org
Sponsored by the University United Methodist Church and Cooperation Texas
Social Transformation through Social Innovation
La transformation sociale par l’innovation sociale
4th CRISES International Conference
Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES)
(Center for research on social innovations)
Dates: April 3 and 4, 2014
Place: Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Languages: French and English
Opening address: Enzo Mingione, University of Milan-Bicocca
Confirmed keynote speakers: Gar Alperovitz, Luiz Inácio Gaiger, Florence Jany-Catrice, Jean-Louis Laville, Benoît Lévesque, Frank Moulaert, Marthe Nyssens and Bernard Pecqueur
CALL FOR PAPERS
There is a common consensus that we are currently undergoing an unprecedented period of rapid changes that are affecting our relation to time, space and society as a whole. Economic, social and institutional crises, along with political disinterest, growing inequalities and loss of meaning are combining to create a toxic climate marked by a loss of reference points and overall disenchantment. However, many people see in this a period of transition and an opportunity for renewal. For them, the crises give rise to a second modernity and a dynamic of innovation and transformation. From that perspective, the current disruptions, far from pushing civil society toward apathy, are taken as an opportunity to introduce social transformations that aim to redefine society on more solidarity-based, equitable, ethical, ecological and civic-minded terms.
In that context, the challenge for the social sciences consists of identifying not only the failures but also the new avenues and opportunities that are emerging. Through its research on social innovation, aligned with this perspective, the CRISES research centre seeks to understand the social reconstruction driven by the emergence of socially innovative developments at the micro and macro levels, including the impacts of these experiences on the social transformations taking shape. By investigating the actors, structures, subjects and impacts of these developments at once, the analysis of social innovation will help to determine the capacity for initiative on the part of individuals, organizations, collectivities and social movements. These investigations will also shed light on the process of innovation transfer and the role of public policy in the dynamics of institutionalization that arise from this transfer. However, to meet these challenges, which are both social and scientific in nature, research on social innovation would have to adopt a cross-disciplinary perspective and specify its epistemological and methodological stance. Only in this way can it produce action-oriented knowledge and ensure that the normative and ideological foundations of innovation are made explicit. Such a process will allow to go beyond the discourse of those creating innovation in order to address the political issues that accompany the emergence of any social innovation, and which have a determining influence on its durability and potential for social transformation.
Social innovation is, by definition, a transgression of rules and standards that may lead to a transformation of the prevailing order. There thus exists a constant dialectic between innovation and institution. In that context, the state is called on to provide the necessary support to innovation by relaxing or adjusting its public policies and by offering increased access to financial and informational resources. In addition, it must give the actors greater autonomy to let them unfold their transformative potential and provide the latitude necessary for engagement in the innovation process. Further, for social innovation to become a carrier of social transformation, it must engage in two types of processes: one, a collective learning and creation process that allows individuals and communities to (re)empower themselves, and, two, an interaction between the actors concerned that makes room for dialogue and compromise,
so that innovation can evolve in a dynamic of path building. Under these conditions, social innovation can then become the key ingredient of an alternative development strategy that gives rise to new values (solidarity, equity, social justice). The many references to social innovation that are currently made—to the point where social innovation has become a widely used concept—demonstrate that social innovation is not simply a fleeting reflection of a transition, but very much a constituent part of a new model that promotes a culture of change. However, this evolution raises questions about the orientation of that change: Who (or what) will it benefit? How will it be implemented?
The proliferation of social innovations alone is not sufficient to generate a new development model. Rather, it is by the embeddedness of these innovations within a new way of seeing and solving problems that social innovations can eventually embody the emerging paradigm, providing it with experiences that reflect new societal concepts. The spinoffs from social innovations vary depending on the specific institutional frameworks prevailing in the different sectors and territories, and on the period concerned. All of these aspects are likely to be of interest to research and to drive the development of knowledge about social innovation and its place in the process of social transformation.
The Economics of Sustainability conference will focus on the intersection of Economics and the Environment.
What will the Earth look like in 2030, 2050, or 2100? Can we organize economic relationships to honor the carrying capacity of the Earth? Can we implement economic models that respect the Earth and its finite boundaries?
How will we mitigate the effects of climate change in a way that honors the Earth and puts people before profit?
Programs will include workshops, networking meetings, action groups, and outstanding presentations from economists, scientists, activists, and leaders in the environmental movement. The goal is to launch a platform for systemic change — economically, culturally, politically — and to network organizations for collaborative efforts in that pursuit.
Confirmed Speakers: Gar Alperovitz, Ellen Brown, Richard Heinberg, Michael Brune, Randy Hayes, Mark Hertsgaard, Mark Z. Jacobson, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin (Richmond, CA), David Korten, Andrew Kimbrell Janet Redmond, Jihan Gearon, Don Shaffer, Nikki Silvestri, Osprey Orielle Lake, George Lakoff, Georgia Kelly, Representatives from the Mondragon Cooperatives (Spain): Pio Aguirre, Michael Peck, and more!
Partner: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)
Co-Sponsors include RSF Social Finance, The Nation Magazine, YES! Magazine, Ethical Media Markets, Shift Network, Move to Amend, Firedoll Foundation, Appleby Foundation, Organic Valley, Pachamama Alliance, Presidio Graduate School, Straus Family Creamery, World Centric, and others being added.
The International Society for Ecological Economics 2016 Conference will be held this year at the University of the District of Columbia. This year, the conference tackles issues surrounding “Transforming the Economy: Sustaining Food, Water, Energy and Justice.” The plenary will feature distinguished speakers from across the globe spanning multiple disciplines to discuss the topic at hand. Gar Alperovitz will speak alongside Frances Moore Lappe’, author of Diet for a Small Planet and founder of the Small Planet Institute; Marina Silva, former Minister of Environment, and contender for the presidency of Brazil; Jairam Ramesh, former Minister of the Environment, who was recently reelected to the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. and more. To register, click here.
Gar Alperovitz will speak alongside Jodie Evans on “Capitalism and transition to Peace Economy” at this weekend conference at American University in Washington, D.C.
Join us to learn about and engage in working on viable alternatives to war and militarism.
Friday and Saturday events will be livestreamed at TheRealNews.com and videos posted there within three days after. All events, including Sunday’s, may possibly be livestreamed by American University.