The Degrowth Movement, which advocates for a radical transformation of society and consumption patterns for the sake of life, well-being and autonomy, met in a hybrid format for the fourth time on August 28th 2023, before the International Degrowth Conference of Zagreb, Croatia.
The 4th Assembly comes just months after the Beyond Growth 2023 Conference, which brought together over 1,000 people from 60 countries to the European Parliament to discuss how to move beyond the current economic model, which is based on endless growth.
Nearly 100 degrowth activists, academics, practitioners and artists came from around the world to discuss the future of the movement, its structure and its transparency, in order to enable better collaboration throughout the network and better democratic decision-making. The open collective Organising the Degrowth Network (ODN) has spent the last year working on an improved structure for the Degrowth Network. Its proposal was adopted by the Assembly, and dedicated circles were created to improve it within the next year.
The International Degrowth Network (IDN) has now officially launched, with over 25 organizations and groups as its founding members. The IDN is a sociocratic body in constant evolution, striving to catalyze a radical transformation around the world. Several Working Group Circles (WGCs) have been established, covering a range of topics such as activism and practice, research, communication, organization, and events. The IDN is open to new member organizations and individuals who share its vision of a more sustainable and just future.
For more information, please contact: odn.collective.contact[at]gmail.com
The open collection Organizing Degrowth Network
Access the full proposal here.
4th Assembly Programme here.
More on the ODN process here.
Looking back at the past year in degrowth, as told by our blog
The first International Degrowth Conference held in Paris in 2008 was followed by another ten other conferences, most of which took place in Europe. These conferences provided room for the Degrowth community to meet and exchange on latest research. In Christiania Town (Copenhagen) in 2018, just before the 6th International Degrowth Conference in Malmö, degrowthers met in a new format. Going beyond research-related conversations, they instead discussed the “how” of Degrowth and started to organise the movement.
After decades of research, the time has come: degrowth now has its own journal.
