The degrowth and food workshop is a two- to four-hour process where participants engage in open-minded and critical reflection regarding food systems and their relationship to the growth-based economy. The goal of the workshop is for participants to consider the links between the struggle for more just and ecologically viable food systems and the core ideas of a degrowth transformation and, through this, to think about strategies to overcome the obstacles to a food system transformation rooted in societies’ current pursuit of endless economic growth. The workshop integrates creative and interactive training methods to motivate reflections and discussions in different group settings with case presentations and interactive activities.

The ability of grassroots collectives and community initiatives to build diverse coalitions across divides is crucial to their transformative potential. Research indeed shows us that coalitions bringing together a heterogeneous set of grassroots organisations enable and strengthen transformative collective action. However, building and sustaining such diverse coalitions for long enough to achieve their declared objectives is usually challenging. This two- to four-hour workshop aims to provide the participants with some basic but useful knowledge about coalition building. It introduces three perspectives explaining how grassroots coalitions can be sustained over time and offers the participants the opportunity to critically discuss selected case studies, as well as their own existing or potential coalition-building efforts.   

This two- to four-hour workshop aims to familiarise the participants with post-growth economic models and how they are practiced. It introduces the participants to emerging economic models that aim to meet the challenge of supporting thriving human and more-than-human communities within ecological boundaries: the Doughnut Economics, Economy for the Common Good, Wellbeing Economy, and many more. These emerging models have in common share the aim to support the actual practice of an economy that does not grow perpetually to thrive, or merely survive. Thus, they are blueprints for a post-growth economy. The workshop includes a short talk followed by guided, interactive small-group discussions around a selection of alternative post-growth models.

How can members of grassroots collectives and community initiatives collectively negotiate and define a shared identity? Why does this matter? This two- to four-hour workshop aims to support the participants in reflecting about their grassroots collective’s identity and why and how it matters for strategic positioning vis-à-vis potential members and other societal organisations and institutional actors. The workshop introduces the idea that grassroots movements, community initiatives and their networks have boundaries defined by their own identity. The workshop supports the participants in reflecting, through interactive discussions, about how such boundaries can be created, maintained and enforced over time to position a grassroots collective or network strategically and to support its own internal development.

How are grassroots and community initiatives connected to and drive larger social, ecological, and economic transformations? This two-to-four-hour workshop aims to introduce key theoretical discussions about change strategies and provide a space for skill sharing. It explores the potential and limitations of working with (or without) institutions, the relationships with market actors, and how to work towards a desired future through day-to-day organisational practices. Through interactive methods, the workshop creates spaces for learning from each other and helps participants reflect on their own change strategy within the broader picture of collective efforts.

While various stakeholders engage with and benefit from grassroots and community initiatives, defining and demonstrating their social impact is daunting and challenging. While this is critical for the self-assessment of activities, it helps establish further legitimacy and contribute to the sustainability of the initiatives. The workshop aims to introduce key definitions and characteristics of social impact for civic initiatives and what forms it can take concerning social, economic and ecological transformation. This two-to-four-hour workshop provides a vocabulary and frameworks for participants to position themselves within the wider discussion of social impact and facilitate learning from each other’s good social impact practices.