Oikos Congress on « Commons: Citizens, Law and Governments » –

Dit congres wordt simultaan vertaald in het Nederlands, Frans en Engels. 

All over the world communities organize themselves to ensure their future. Sometimes imbedded in ancient traditions, – think of the collective management of pastures or woods-, sometimes with entirely innovative types of common pool resources- such as Wikipedia or open source software. New forms of cooperation however often meet resistance: current legislation primarily favours private property, as governments do not want to loosen their bureaucratic control. Commons however offer unique opportunities for a sustainable society. Resources managed by local communities can provide a guarantee against overexploitation, cities can revitalize through urban commons initiatives. The challenge is to develop new partnerships between citizens and governments, with new laws and stimulating mechanisms for citizen engagement, and to anticipate on potential problems and new challenges this may lead to.

PROGRAM

9h : IntroductionDirk Holemans, coordinator ThinkTank Oikos

9h15 – 12h15 : Topic 1 – Our land: landgrabbing, resistance and alternatives

In the global South but also parts of Europe, farmers are losing the land they cultivated for generations. Such land grabbing by transnational corporations and investment funds, shows we need new types of regulation that safeguards collective forms of use and ownership of land, both in economically developing but also developed countries

9h15 The reality of land grabbing – Annelies Zoomers, University Utrecht
9h45 Analysing land use rights – building landed commons – Pieter Van de Broeck, KULeuven
10h15 Concrete actions – Community Land Trust Bruxelles / De Landgenoten Flanders
10h45 Coffee break
11h The Ecology of Law: Toward a Legal System in Tune with Nature and Community, Ugo Mattei
11h30 Panel discussion with the four speakers

12h15-13u15 : Lunch

13h15 – 15h15 : Topic 2 – New Partnerships between citizens and governments

In more and more cities and villages, citizens are taking initiatives to improve their lives, to get more control over their neighborhoods. In stead of trying to control these initiatives in a bureaucratic way, much can be gained if governments work in cooperation with citizens. From the perspective of a Partner State, new fruitful relations between communities and public authorities can foster an active citizenship.

13h15 Setting the stage: challenges and prospects Tine De Moor, University Utrecht
13h45 Governing the Urban Commons: Christian Iaione, Niccolò Cusano University of Rome
14h15 Actions concrètes : parents day care Louvain La Neuve (B) / Marcel Ham (NL): entrepreneurial citizen in the Netherlands
14h45: Discussion
15h15: Break

15h30 : Forum « How to become transformative ? »

In dialogue with Uggo Mattei, Tine de Moor, Tom Dedeurwaerdere and Christian Iaone

16h20 Conclusions

16h30 Drinks

The ‘Reclaim the Commons’ project of the Green European Foundation aims to revive the debate around the commons as a fundamental part of green thought. Five green foundations from Belgium, Poland, Croatia and France explore the transformative power of the commons in the transition towards a sustainable society. The event is organized by the green foundations Etopia & Oikos and content-wise coordinated by Dirk Holemans (coordinator Oikos), with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.