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This week we’re talking about a short film revealing the layers of NYC’s expanding participatory budgeting, an artist housing-advocate turned city council candidate, and the establishment of a new Fair Trade Charter!
PS: NEC just launched our grassroots fundraising campaign, #MakingWaves, because we believe that a people's economy will be funded by the people! If you've enjoyed the New Economy Roundup help us reach our goal by making a contribution!
Stories From the Field
The People’s Budget: NEC member organization, Participatory Budgeting Project, continues to grow the visibility of democracy in our communities! A new PBS documentary, Public Money, follows participatory budgeting in New York City for a year, asking what happens when community members make development decisions for their neighborhoods. See democracy in action – watch the film.
12 Years to Mitigate Climate Change: Time is ticking for us to reframe humanity’s relationship with the earth and with each other. Democracy Now spoke with Professor Kevin Anderson about the need to shift our economy’s productive capacity to develop low-carbon infrastructure for all of us instead of carbon-intensive luxuries for the wealthy. Find the interview transcript here and check out NEC member organization, 350.org’s response, People’s Dossier on 1.5C.
The Hidden Message of Amazon’s $15 Wage: ‘You Don’t Need a Union’: Better does not necessarily mean good. More does not necessarily mean fair. The wage hike is a step in the right direction, but using it as a tool to dissuade workers from organizing still leaves Amazon management in control and workers with little recourse if things change. Learn more here.
What if Artists Ran City Council?: Is government-led community problem solving only reserved for developers and business people? For visionaries like Giovanni Valderas, the answer is no. Propelled by his public street artistry, he’s running for City Council. Read Next City’s piece asking that very question.
Solidarity Economies Abroad
Budapest, Hungary: Cargo-Bikes Reduce Transport Emissions, Build Alternative Economy: Since 2015, Budapest-based Cargonomia has acted as a sustainable urban transport centre and local organic food distribution point through its cargo-bike messenger service, bicycle-building cooperative, family-scale organic vegetable farm, organic bakery, wine distributor and network of citizen volunteers. Learn more about its impacts
Cooperative Movement Supports International Fair Trade Charter: The International Co-operative Alliance is among the more than 250 organizations around the world uniting to launch an International Fair Trade Charter. “Putting fairness and equality first, cooperatives around the world are allowing people to create sustainable enterprises that generate long-term jobs and prosperity.” Learn more about ICA and the Charter Here.
How Sydney’s car sharing policy is decreasing vehicle dependency: Sydney’s City Government now has 26,000 participants for the city’s new car share which is generating positive environmental and economic impacts – another example of the paradigm shift to institutionalized and truly sharing economies. Read Shareable’s Briefing here.
Climate Victory Gardens
Watch NEC member organization Green America's new video. Planting a garden has the power to change the world. Regenerative gardens can help reverse climate change by restoring soil health. We're bringing victory gardens back. This time, it's for the climate. Rosario Dawson and Ron Finley walk you through how to plant your very own Climate Victory Garden!
Democratic Economy Glossary Series
Looking for a toolkit to rethink the economic relationships in your community? NEC member organization, The Next System Project is releasing ‘Elements of the Democratic Economy,’ a set of two-page guides explaining the emerging mosaic of institutions and approaches – from The Commons, to Community Land Trusts, to Resident Owned Communities, and many more – that, taken together, suggest the contours of a next system beyond corporate capitalism. Learn more here.
Movement News
The Next Economy: Worker-Led, For the Public Interest
Shavaun Evans, NEC Interim Co-Director, On Podcast “Solidarity House”
Highlander Center & SEAD Receive $400,000 for Southern Connected Communities Network
Taking Steps Toward a Community-Controlled Economy in Boston
Is the Only Way to Make Housing Affordable By De-Commodifying It?
Energy Conservation Jobs Come to Coal Country
What Mapping Hate Groups Reveals
How Canceling Student Debt Would Stimulate the Economy
The Urgency of Climate Change Has Never Been Clearer
Veteran-Run Coop Builds Wealth in Detroit
Increasing the Minimum Wage Could Keep People Out of Prison
Cooperative Agriculture is Saving America’s Small Farms
A Basic Income Approach to Housing Assistance
Fossil Fuels Are A Threat to Civilization, UN Reports
7 Resistance-Themed Board Games To Strengthen Your Injustice-Fighting Skills
Towering Excess: The Perils of the Luxury Real Estate Boom for Bostonians
Why the Cooperative Model Needs To Be at the Heart of Our New Economy
LA Voters to Consider Creating Nation’s First Municipal Public Bank
Financialisation: A Primer
NEC on The Gram
Follow NEC on Instagram – @NewEconomyCoalition – where we’re uplifting the work of NEC’s 200+ member organizations for our #MakingWaves fundraising campaign, like Resource Generation’s upcoming conference, “Make Money Make Change” in Minneapolis, MN. Artwork by Ashley Lukashevsky!
Administrative Associate, Transform Finance
Program Manager for Community Wealth Building Initiatives, Washington Area Community Investment Fund
Project Coordinator, Participatory Budgeting Project
Office Manager/Deputy Bookkeeper, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Inc.
Program and Communications Associate, NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives
Deputy Director, Business Development and New Economy Initiatives for the City of New York
Multiple positions, Corporate Accountability
Campaign Coordinator, Fair World Project
Program Associate – Clean Vehicle Assistance Program, Beneficial State Foundation
Director of Movement Support and Innovation, Rhize
Midwest Chapter Organizer, Resource Generation
Program Manager, Buffalo Purchasing Initiative
Program Manager, Grassroots Fund
Manager of Donor Stewardship, YES! Media
Roddenberry Fellows, Roddenberry Foundation
Operations Manager, Movement Media
Upcoming Events
Bioneers Conference
The Bioneers Conference is a leading-edge national forum where you can see tomorrow today: a future environment of hope. In particular, check out "How To Build An Alternative To Our Current System" featuring Democracy Collaborative's Gar Alperovitz, Rco Tire's Niki Okuk, Public Banking Institute's Ellen Brown, Coop Jackson's Kali Akuno, UJIMA Boston's Aaron Tanaka on October 20th. This year’s conference theme is “Pathways Forward.” (October 18-22 – San Rafael, CA)
Ujima's #BlackTrust With Jessica Gordon Nembhard and Charlotte Brathwaite
Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College, will share about her work researching and bringing light to a heavily erased yet vitally important history: the deep roots of Cooperative Economics in Black Liberation struggles, from slavery until today. The event is free and open to the community. Light food provided. (October 19 – Boston, MA)
V Co-operative Summit of the Americas
Co-operatives of the Americas and the Co-operative Confederation of the Argentine Republic (Cooperar), together with the member organizations of the International Co-operative Alliance in Argentina, invite you to take part in the V Co-operative Summit of the Americas, "Co-operatives at a time of global challenges." (October 23-26 – Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Community Benefits Agreements and Organizing for Equitable Development
Community benefits agreements (CBAs) provide a legal framework for community coalitions to organize and negotiate with developers around job access, wages, training, community oversight and other benefits a proposed development might bring to the surrounding neighborhood or city. As binding contracts that clarify and align the expectations of developers, community coalitions, and public officials, CBAs crafted with the core principles of just and fair inclusion can be powerful tools for spurring equitable, sustainable development in cities. Featured Speakers: Julian Gross, PolicyLink and Jennifer Martinez, PICO Bay Area. (October 24 – Online)
Climapalooza: A Concert For Climate Change
The recent IPCC report was a real Debbie Downer! NEC member organization, Climable.org chooses to focus on the positive, actionable things they can do to turn this ship around! Join them at CLIMAPALOOZA, Climable's outdoor fundraiser concert, as they propagate good vibes with great live music! Bring your friends, family, and anyone else you know to take advantage of the New England fall weather while listening to some great jams. Admission is free, but donations are welcome to continue their nonprofit work on climate science and clean tech. (October 26 – Cambridge, MA)
Towards a New Reconstruction: Land, Racism, and Economic Emancipation – 38th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures
Leah Penniman and Ed Whitfield will deliver the 38th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of W. E. B. Du Bois. Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, is working to end racism in the food system. The title of Penniman’s talk is “Farming While Black: A Legacy of Innovation and Resistance.” Whitfield, co-founder and co-managing director of the Fund for Democratic Communities, has written and spoken extensively on non-extractive finance, reparations, and building investment structures that support community self-determination. (October 27 – Great Barrington, MA)
Transition US National Online Summit
Transition US is hosting their first-ever national online summit, bringing together Transition US community members and organizers from across the country for a day of education, inspiration, and celebration. Both groups and individuals are invited to join in the fun!
(October 27 – Online)
Culture/SHIFT 2018
NEC member organization, US Department of Arts & Culture's CULTURE/SHIFT 2018, will include 2.5 days of participatory workshops, performances, talks, interactive art-making and more. More than forty-five workshops and sessions will touch on timely and resonant regional and national themes: immigration, indigenous cultural rights, climate justice, public memory, cultural resilience, ethics of community-based arts, community development/displacement, and more. (November 1-3 – Albuquerque, NM)
NASCO Conference: A Legacy of Cooperation
Since 1978, NASCO's Cooperative Education & Training Institute has been widely recognized as one of the most important training and networking opportunities available to members, directors, staff, and managers of group-equity cooperatives. Attend this one-of-a-kind opportunity to network with hundreds of cooperative leaders and employers, to caucus about pressing issues, and to work on building an inclusive and accessible cooperative movement. (November 2-4 – Ann Arbor, MI)
Incubating Cooperatives Webinar
In the fifth and final act of the five-part Asian American Solidarity Economies Webinar Series, speakers will share cooperative planning and startup experiences as nonprofit organizations with an organizing focus. (November 5 – Webinar)
Together 2018 Symposium
Building on the foundation of partnership, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration, Together 2018 calls on delegates to explore their role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Canada and around the world. This symposium will examine Canada's progress on achieving the SDGs, acknowledge new leaders who have joined the movement, and identify innovative ways to tackle the 2030 agenda. (November 5-6 – Edmonton, Canada)
OUR CITY Buffalo 2nd Anti-Gentrification Summit
Join OUR CITY Buffalo for a conversation around: affordable housing, community policing, immigration, public education, transportation, frontline arts, food and health equity, energy democracy, and cooperative ownership and community control of resources. (November 17 – Buffalo, NY)
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