International Commons Conference (ICC)

Berlin, (October 31), November 1/2 2010

Introduction

An epoch in modern history has ended. The growth imperative of market capitalism is evidently endangering the ecosystem. Confidence in governments as reliable steward of people's interests has been shaken. Therefore, a new path forward is coming into focus: The commons!
The commons is about reclaiming, sharing and self-governing resources that belong to everyone. As a form of governance it is defending traditional or building new social and institutional systems for managing our resources – water and land, knowledge and seeds, genes and the atmosphere – based on the principles of equity and sustainability. The commons is a practical means for re-inventing society in ways that markets and governments are unable or unwilling to entertain.
Commons does not mean resources alone are centre stage, of higher importance are the relationships among us, the commoners, our ways of commoning!

The commons:

• challenge classical economic patterns & thinking
• recover the autonomy and primacy of commoners
• seek a new relationship between market, state and society
• are based on abundance, not scarcity
• have their own generative and productive logic

In short: The commons allow for a template for our future and a new narrativ of the 21st century!

THE CONFERENCE
Seizing the moment of opportunity – after the financial crisis of 2008 – our proposal is to move towards the CONSTRUCTION OF A COMMONS-BASED POLICY PLATFORM. Conference organizers are quick to note that the commons are not a ready-made blueprint for action or an ideology, but a call for participation in the process of building new governance mechanisms, new social norms and innovative practices: diverse forms of commoning.

The multidisciplinary International Commons Conference (ICC) brought together about 180 leading figures in commons-based studies and activism, to

• share their understanding of commons
• explore the range of commons-based policy and social approaches
• forge a new network of commoners who will collaborate on commons-based initiatives
• incubate new ideas and (communication) strategies, prototype commons, funding models & research needs
• draw the attention of media and the blogosphere to the issue.

Our questions are:

• What is the very essence of the commons as transformative and generative paradigm?
• What are the fundamentals of a policy framework that supports the commons?
• How does a commons based policy platform look like?
• What are the conditions for the emerging (global) commons?
• How to design open and transparent institutions that systemically trigger and reward cooperation?
• Which kind of infrastructure do we need to do so?
• Is there an international commons movement? And if so, where does it currently stand?

Find more at http://p2pfoundation.net/Berlin_Commons_Conference