Meeting for a Sustainable ECA
(Last updated August 15): Call for participants: Meeting for a Sustainable ECA
Nine months have passed since our First Meeting in Brussels in November 2016, and we are 15 months on from the initial gathering of commoners in Villarceaux, France that began this project of the European Commons Assembly.
In 2017, different projects are active, particularly on commons politics at the municipal scale (Fearless Cities, ECA Madrid) and around the economy of the commons in relation to the Social and Solidarity Economy in Europe.
To be able to develop and diversify its actions and activities into the future, ECA needs to clarify a plan for the management of ECA resources and financing, one that is rooted in the values of the commons and that reflects the practices we defend.
That is why we propose to again meet in Villarceaux, with the objective to draw up a proposal and prototype a system for managing our resources for 2018 and beyond that can then evolve and adapt over time. It should include:
• a fund-raising plan taking into account foundations that have in 2016 and 2017 provided funding (and in some cases propose to continue), as well as possibilities for other sources of funding.
• a mechanism that allows consideration of individual contributions and those of organizations to ECA
• a formal collective organization in charge of the management of ECA resources, corresponding to commoning values and practices.
• the basis of a charter of principles applicable within ECA for the management of its resources
We hope it will consider:
• The balance of power in ECA between European geographical areas, particularly East / West.
• Diversification of activities promoted within ECA (such as exchanges between members in the form of travel and residences, or co-productions of content and initiatives)
• The relationship between ECA and other assemblies of the commons in Europe and other continents
• Development and pooling of shared knowledge and communication infrastructures for the commons movement in Europe
• Cultural and linguistic diversity in ECA
The program of this meeting is open and will have to be discussed within ECA through the specified loomio channel below. It will be limited to 16 participants (gender-balanced) to promote productive work.
How to participate
If you would like to come to Villarceaux and take part in the meeting, please nominate yourself by declaring your interest and full name in the loomio thread (link below) in the ECA Governance Subgroup (you may need to request to join this subgroup if you are not already in it). Be sure to take into account the following timeline and conditions:
- This meeting will take place from the afternoon 2 October to the morning of 5 October in Villarceaux, France (near Paris).
- Accommodation, food, activities, and travel will be fully supported, but there will not be additional funding for this work.
- You will be an active participant and stakeholder in the process, and the production of the result afterwards.
Loomio thread “Meeting for a Sustainable ECA”: https://www.loomio.org/d/lXqS3xaf
You will have until August 25 to nominate yourself. The list of participants will be finalized by September 3. If necessary to apply the voting system and/or resolve gender discrepancies (see the attachment for more info), it will happen between August 25 and Sept 3.
The loomio thread is now and will continue to be open to carry on the conversation for the content and organization of logistics of this meeting. Frédéric Sultan and Nicole Leonard agree to synthesize the loomio conversation periodically, every 10 days. For more detailed information, you can review the attached document.
We look forward to hearing from you and collaborating on this important project. We especially encourage people who have been involved in coordinating ECA activities and from countries in the east of Europe to take part.
Sincerely
Frédéric Sultan - Remix the Commons
Nicole Leonard
Nicole Leonard Fri 25 Aug 2017 5:41PM
you're good!
Amanda Jansen Fri 25 Aug 2017 8:39PM
Hey guys.. Do I miss a form or a Google spreadsheet to see openly who has nominated his or herself and how the total is developing? Also do I miss an estimation of time minimally needed per person to be able to produce results afterwards? And something like a procedure or overview of what to expect? I am interested.. to nominate myself.
Nonty Charity Sabic Sun 27 Aug 2017 12:00PM
I am also keen but have the same questions as Amanda Jansen.
Nicole Leonard Mon 28 Aug 2017 7:12AM
This email was sent out by @fredericsultan on Friday. Also, I'm adding a paper with the instructions (similar to what was posted above).
Dear all,
We are very close to the deadline set in the proposal of a Meeting for a Sustainable ECA launched mid-August (see following message and on Loomio thread: https://www.loomio.org/d/lXqS3xaf/meeting-for-a-sustainable-eca).
We have now 8 people that have nominate themselves (for 16 places) : Nicole Leonard, Frederic Sultan, Ann Marie Urtel, Ana Margarida Esteves, Ismael Sene, Thomas de Groot, Timothy Flitcroft and Gaelle Krikorian, with the gender balance 4/4.
We also have 2 people that expressed that they would like to participate but are not sure yet. So we propose to postpone the deadline for these two people to decide by a few days, until August 28, as it will not affect the process of preparation of the meeting.
The objective is to finalize the list of participants before September 3, to enable us 1) to finance travel at a reasonable and acceptable cost, and 2) to respect the principles of gender balance defined in the proposal.
Of course, we know that the deadline was short and that the period of August is not the best one to circulate this type of proposal, so please let us know by responding on the list of discussion or on the Loomio thread if you have any question or comment about the process.
Sincerely
Frédéric Sultan - Remix the Commons
Nicole Leonard
cristina fiordimela Mon 28 Aug 2017 10:25AM
Dear all,
I nominate myself to take part in the meeting in Villarceaux for a sostainable ECA. II see the need for a plan for the management of ECA resources and financing and the importance that it is rooted in the values of the commons and that it reflects the practices we defend.
Amanda Jansen Mon 28 Aug 2017 10:56AM
I think we need more men.. in the team! Looking over the work package.
Margarita Mon 28 Aug 2017 6:12PM
Hi, I will not be able to go to France in September, I am sorry!
Frédéric Sultan Fri 1 Sep 2017 4:09PM
Hi,
Finally, list of self nominated people for the meeting For A Sustainable ECA is the following :
* Nicole Leonard,
* Frederic Sultan,
* Ann Marie Urtel,
* Ana Margarida Esteves,
* Ismael Sene,
* Thomas de Groot,
* Timothy Flitcroft
* Gaelle Krikorian,
* Ivor Stodolsky
* David Hammerstein
* Cristina fiordimela
* Nonty Charity Sabic
The next steps will be to co-organize the logistic ( travel and accomodation) and define the workplan and methodology for the meeting itself. I will share more information and proposal at the beginning of next week.
Best
Nonty Charity Sabic Sun 3 Sep 2017 9:42AM
Hi, could I have more information of what will be required after the meeting, e.g how much time?
Nicole Leonard Mon 4 Sep 2017 1:39PM
Hi Nonty, I think it's hard to give an exact answer on that since it depends what we come up with at the meeting! But there are no hard or fixed limits, it will be up to individuals to take on what works for them as follow-up. In general though, you would continue to participate in our conversation and work. At a minimum, this might mean participating in a follow up phone call, sending some emails, collaborating with another person to write something to send to the larger group.... In terms of time, I guess an hour or so a week for a couple weeks? What do you think @fredericsultan
Frédéric Sultan Tue 5 Sep 2017 10:24AM
Hi Nonty, yes, I agree with Nicole. It is hard to evaluate now. The idea is to be able to share the discussion and the results after the meeting at Villarceaux with the other people. So we have to define the method, tool and agenda, so as people can endorse commitments.
Frédéric Sultan Thu 7 Sep 2017 9:30AM
Hi @amandajansen
Discussing with @nicoleleonard , I realize that we have made a mistake in the list of nominees! we forgot to include you in the list when you had declared your interest the 25 of August on loomio. I am sorry for this mistake. Are you always interested and available to participate? Can we include you in the meeting ?
Again, sorry for that !!
Ana Margarida Esteves Thu 7 Sep 2017 11:36AM
Dear all, how will we organize transportation from the places where we currently are based to Villarceaux?
Frédéric Sultan Thu 7 Sep 2017 11:52AM
Hi Ana, the idea is to arrive for the lunch time at villarceaux. For that, people have to travel to Paris (airports or train station) in the morning and go to the station Cergy by RER (local train) in the north of suburb of Paris. Then, a shuttle will be organized. The return will be during the afternoon 5 of Oct.
Ana Margarida Esteves Thu 7 Sep 2017 11:59AM
Thanks, Frederic. Who will be responsible for booking the flights/trains? In case it will be the responsibility of each participants, will there be support to cover that expense?
Frédéric Sultan Thu 7 Sep 2017 1:43PM
Yes, the expenses will be covered and we have the choice for booking.
I take the opportunity of your question to share the last information on the organization we, Nicole and me, wanted to send here tonight or tomorrow :
As you can see in the initial proposal, a demand of financial supports was made at the end of July to the Fondation Terre Solidaire. The answer was at the beginning of August : yes in the principle, but because it is a very new fondation (less than 1 year), there is a process of validation by the council in September. I had a call yesterday with the fondation to know how it will work. The results are :
*The date of the council is the 22 of September.
*I have to send today an update of the initial demand in French and with more information on ECA.
*I have offered that Gazibo (the Coop and formal organization for Remix the commons) will bear the operation in the name of ECA and it is ok - and I hope it is also ok for all of us.
*The foundation will ask for a short report (activitiy/results/perspectives)
So, if we agree with this process, we will be able to book the tickets from the 22/09. It can be done by each participant or we can take that in charge. Meanwhile, we have to prepare the program of the meeting and share some information with the place (the Farm of Villarceaux) like diets or individual special requests.
I hope it helps to have a clearer view !
Nicole Leonard Thu 7 Sep 2017 4:08PM
Yes, so to follow up on @fredericsultan 's comments, I have some things to add:
- We have started a folder here with some background info that is accessible to you on the ECA: http://laferme.wiki/stockage/index.php/s/bNBVS5BxDSqs1ax?path=%2FSustainable_ECA%2FResources_folder
You don't have to read everything, but it will help give a clearer idea especially to those newer to ECA. There is a full report on the first meeting of the ECA in Villarceaux in May 2016 and one after the Brussels meeting in 2017 (to skim, they are quite long). There is also the pdf of the Work Package document (unfinished). This was an attempt to consider a longer term vision for financing the ECA. It's also quite long, and we haven't edited it since June. There is also the ECA website europeancommonsassembly.eu where you can see our Call, working principles, and more content.
I have offered to write up a personal "Diagnostic Note" of what I see to be the currrent state of ECA governance and finance. It will be from my personal perspective so will not reflect any organization's views or that of the "ECA". I hope this note will be easy to digest for our purposes in Villarceaux in October.
I invite others who feel inspired to do the same, and will ask others who have been active in the ECA to do so if they wish.
We also need to consider together a process of work from now until Oct. 2, to define our program at Villarceaux. After a conversation tomorrow afternoon with Frederic, I'll come back with a proposal for this here.
Nicole Leonard Wed 13 Sep 2017 8:24AM
Dietary restrictions:
Please, if you have dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten free, etc.) can you please announce them here? The food at Villarceaux is typically vegetarian by default. Thank you.
Frédéric Sultan Mon 25 Sep 2017 3:03PM
Dear all,
The support of the Foundation Terre Solidaire for the meeting Sustainable ECA is just confirmed.
Dear @nicoleleonard @annmarie @anamargaridaesteve @ismaelsene @thomasdegroot2 @timothyflitcroft @gaelle11 @ivorstodolsky @davidhammerstein @cristinafiordimela @nontycharitysabic @amandajansen, I invite you to confirme your availability and book your travel to Paris. You can buy your ticket immediately in the limit of 300 €. If the price is more, please join us, Nicole or me to make the decision.
More details for your travel are in the document attached. Please do not hésitate to ask for any questions regarding the travel and the meeting.
Thanks a lot for your commitment.
Fred
Timothy Flitcroft Tue 26 Sep 2017 4:39PM
Hi Frederic
I have a couple of questions.
After the meeting is over what time can we expect to be back in Paris so we can book the return journey from there?
Do we take the train from Gare du Nord to Cergy as mentioned earlier in the thread or to Pontoise? Will there be a shuttle from there to Ferme de la Bergerie and also for the return journey?
Many Thanks
Tim Flitcroft
Frédéric Sultan Tue 26 Sep 2017 5:58PM
Hi Timothy
After the meeting is over what time can we expect to be back in Paris so we can book the return journey from there?
15/16:00
In case you need to be t Paris before, let us know.
Do we take the train from Gare du Nord to Cergy as mentioned earlier in the thread or to Pontoise?
Cergy-Pontoise is one station. You have to take the train station Gare du Nord (ligne H) to the terminus.
Will there be a shuttle from there to Ferme de la Bergerie and also for the return journey?
Yes, a shuttle will be organised depending at what time you will arrive.
Nicole Leonard Wed 27 Sep 2017 11:11AM
Hi all, here is a document I wrote with my personal perspective on ECA governance funding and activities. It is just a starting base and the ideas need to be discussed and developed more. It would be good to hear feedback and start discussing here.
Frederic and I will also be meeting tomorrow and Paris and will come back with ideas of the program of the meeting. Looking forward to it.
Frédéric Sultan Sat 30 Sep 2017 7:36AM
Dear friends,
@nicoleleonard , @annmarie @ivorstodolsky @timothyflitcroft @anamargaridaesteve @amandajansen @ismaelsene @thomasdegroot1 @thomasdegroot2 @gaelle11 @davidhammerstein @cristinafiordimela @nontycharitysabic
With Nicole, we have prepared a proposal of programme for the meeting. It is mainly built on 2 times : one for opening the questions at stake such as : actions, infrastructures and principles we consider important for the future of the dynamic, and the second, for designing the scenario we will propose to the assembly to develop. For each slot of time, we will propose a facilitation adapted to the nature and size of thz group.
Some points to be considered :
* one of the challenges of the meeting is to elaborate a realistic and feasible proposal
* we want to produce and finalized the proposal mainly on the place
* we offer the possibility of a call for those who will not be there but want to contribute
* this moment is self-organized and self-facilitated, so we have to share the roles.
The proposal is accessible as attached document and at : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cJggJj8g4-lhRpAk_gOo6p5ISYWlP_2ddlJStjjeJoc/edit?usp=sharing
Please comment and improve !
Reminder : If you have not already sent the information for your travel, please do it asap. We need it to organze the shuttles from Pontoise to Villarceaux.
Many thanks in advance
ann marie Sat 30 Sep 2017 7:31PM
Hi all, I'm having a look at the agenda and it looks well considered and thorough, thank you for your work. I would like to add one note of caution, though, that the length of the day, especially the first day, seems too long, at least for my own endurance. I'll be traveling since 5AM the morning of Monday the second (actually, traveling from the night before with just 5 hours sleep in Madrid). If it seems to anyone else that having scheduled time until 10PM may be too much, I'd suggest we try to address topics in an efficient way so we can be freer to discuss, get to know one another better and (unavoidably) work on our own projects in the after dinner hours.
I also have to say that much of my work is not covered by anyone, and by volunteering my time here I do not have the ability to put all of my own deadlines aside. Someday that would be wonderful, LOL! I hope this comment resonates with others because I think time for rest can't be forgotten, even in a tight schedule. Thanks!
P.S., the schedule doc is presently set to "view only", not set to edit
Nicole Leonard Tue 3 Oct 2017 7:39AM
Ivor Stodolsky Wed 4 Oct 2017 10:20AM
Amanda Jansen Wed 4 Oct 2017 10:27AM
Hi Nicole,
Could you resend the cryptpad link? This one seems not working.. I am in Cryptpad now by making an account, but cannot access your link.
Amanda Jansen
https://about.me/amanda_jansen ( https://about.me/amanda_jansen?promo=email_sig&utm_source=product&utm_medium=email_sig&utm_campaign=gmail_api )
ann marie Thu 12 Oct 2017 11:38AM
Hello everyone a brief note to augment my G-doc invitation to edit a doc of meeting notes from this event last week. If you could give any input by next Tuesday the 17th it would be helpful. Any questions please let me know. Thank you all.
Frédéric Sultan Thu 12 Oct 2017 11:41AM
Thank you very much Ann-Marie. It's a great job.
Ana Margarida Esteves · Fri 25 Aug 2017 5:34PM
Dear all, I guess I was the first to nominate myself (via email) but wonder if I still need to confirm my nomination here on Loomio ;) ...