In the past year, we have launched a survey worldwide for mapping degrowth realities in the world. 114 organisations answered to the call, with nearly 3,000 active people engaged, mostly located in Europe but also in North and South America, Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, etc. On August 20th 2018, some members from each of them met for the first time in Freetown Christiania (Copenhagen, Denmark). We exchanged good practices around ecological sustainability and social equity, discussed about the future of the planet, and initiated several international working groups (activists and practitioners; researchers; politics; artists; collective actions; communication; education; etc.) that later met throughout the 6th international degrowth conference, which took place in Malmo, Sweden (August 21-25). Since then, such groups have been working in order to provide opportunities for many people in the world to engage in the degrowth movement locally as well as to diffuse degrowth (theoretically and practically) in their own habitats. As an example, on the 1st June 2019 will be launched the “Global Degrowth Day - Good Life for All”, with multiple actions all over the world (further information will be available soon). Everyone is welcome to join and animate such groups (you can find attached the call for activism and research groups)! You can find the map of the first degrowth realities in the world here. In the future the map will be automated. Until then, if your organisation wants to be mapped, please fill the survey. At the same time, you can find an index to get in contact with the groups, as well as a set of tools for communication and collaboration on https://degrowth.net/. For further information about how to get involved, please visit https://degrowth.net/act or write to activism@groups.degrowth.net The Support Group of the international degrowth conferences (pro tempore facilitator of this process)
Degrowth addresses the negative consequences of consumerism (psychological stress, long working hours and positional competition) and discusses the benefits of frugal lifestyles. Henri Lefebvre, a French philosopher from the 20th century, argues that if ideas or values are not physically implemented in space, they become mere fantasies. As such, if degrowth wishes to prevail, it has to leave it...
Without trying to give definitions of growth or degrowth everybody knows anyway, I would like to emphasize that these phenomena were always subject to discussions. Even a non-economist knows that it is impossible to talk about growth without mentioning ideas like increases in production factors, industrialization or economic development. Any increase has to come to a [...]
By Ted Trainer The Transition Towns movement, and related initiatives such as Eco-village, Permaculture and Voluntary Simplicity movements, are taking the first steps that must be taken if we are to solve global sustainability and justice problems. But I want to argue that unless they (eventually) undertake significant change in their focus and goals they will [...]
