• Date: 27/02/2025
• Time: 1pm GMT
• Duration: 2 hours

• Note: to be able to switch the audio interpretation channel:
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  • In Firefox: go to about:config, in your URL bar, and enable “media.track.enabled”

• Welcome and introductions
• Update on the Radical Democracy meeting in South Africa

• 3 Year Plan for GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives

• Update on GTA activities and upcoming spaces of convergence

• Working and Thematic Groups
  • Dictionary of Pluriversal AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them. Working group
  • Toolkit for weaving Working Group (recent gathering in Indonesia)
  • Learning and Education Thematic group
  • Solidarity Economy Thematic Group
  • Proposal: Alternative Energy thematic group

• Proposal: Internal Seminars

• Updates from GTA and all Assembly members

• Closing & Gratitude and Planning for the Next Meeting

• Facilitator: Carlos, Raquel, Mauricio
• Note-taker: Mugdha
• Participants: Carlos, Raquel, Mauricio, Vasna, Ana C, Franco, Mugdha, Vera, Jose, Vincent, Ashish, Melanie, Deissy, Marco, Hugu, Alex, Steven, Regina, Matt, Wangui, Hemrin, Marta,

First Assembly of this year!

Talking about the meaning of having an Assembly: what does this mean for us? Listening and learning with each other, which is a very important starting point.

Breakout rooms divided.

Some reflections emerging: friendship and conviviality, learning, democracy and power struggles, participatory processes, rootedness and bioregions.

Ashish:

The origins of this gathering came from the failures of neolib and electoral democracy, as well as authoritarianism. Not just failures of this process but inherently flawed. But also many communities on the ground who are practicing democracy and asserting their ecological wisdom and their rights. Creating a platform for people to exchange with each other, learnings shared.

Principles of Radical DEmocracy: challenging traditional gender norms, challenging and negotiating with the state,

Outcomes: A common declaration asserting RD, global alliance for RD (an idea), cross-recognition of each other's communities, people's knowledges and academies, exchange visits, mapping all these initiatives.

Franco:

• Started an internal processs within the FT to collect different ideas emerging from the WGs and the TGs, as well as ideas from the Assembly in Kenya as well. Perhaps we can discuss these in smaller meetings as well.
• The Radical Democracy WG had one such meeting in South Africa. We need to also think about each WG and TG, and see how much resources each group will need. They also need to work together, and interlink; each group is in different stages.
• The Dictionary of Pluriversal Alternatives is another, having received funds to continue developing a platform, over this and the next year.
• Also to start a dialogue for the other WGs and TGs, and the FT integrating all the different actions being carried out. This year will have 3 more assemblies online, as well as a physical assembly in 2026.
• This is the draft of the 3-year plan/vision: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s_Vm26QCrQkp0-oMgI6H8OPU0f6WWAno/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105541690693066841279&rtpof=true&sd=true

Melanie: Distinction between an Assembly and a RADASD gathering: specifically on autonomy. Questions being engaged with in webinars, and interlinkages: for instance, SE includes RD as a central component. Sharing lessons that came out of the convergence.

Ashish: Presentations, video outputs, webinars, a small report. Connections for alt security, exchanges, as well.

Ana C: it sounds that this potential global network of radical democracy is the same -or at least very similar to what the GTA is doing with the process of weaving alternatives. What is the difference? Will we have two processes of mapping and weaving?

Ashish: This needs discussion, but it is heavily focused on radical democracy/autonomy, not on the full range of things that GTA does; and hopefully it is something that is centred around communities - hopefully increasingly run by them. Other aspects of GTA - Learning, Solidarity Economy, Energy, etc - have their own focus, though of course there is significant overlap. This is one of GTA’s several focus areas, no? This is why GTA initiated the gathering. Similarly the initiation of the project on alternative security will run its own course … or the one on a Dictionary of terms … and we have to see what the overlaps/synergies could be. Anyway, needs further discussion.

Vasna: During the Kenya Assembly, the Assembly put forward a number of thematic and working groups. Everyone from the Assembly is invited to join. The radical democracy gathering was one event of the thematic group. They are all interlinked to support life in how we want to work https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l6U6pKDTj6qT_mXQ1ANnvA3YA3Hlc4GkQvA2qn_N3Nw/edit?gid=0#gid=0 We need to make sure we sure and integrate across all thematic and working groups as Melanie is saying

Carlos:

Identifying concepts that further some familiar ideas. A first selection of 23 concepts, 18 of them are 'new' and the rest have some definitions, but could be debated and actualised. 5 from each region of the world. Also have different categories; some are ideas, some are worldviews, some are praxis. Guidelines for contributions are created, but some have multiple interpretations as well. Going beyond just text-based entries.

Vasna: A dictionary as a tool that allows us to learn from our different vocabularies and worldviews. So we can start to understand where we each come from and how we use words - from our own languages, traditions and cultures as well as reclaiming terms - in dialogue with each other across the pluriverse we are building.

Contributions from this whole Assembly space are very very welcome! Please contact Carlos.

Ryan:

Met in 2024, in Indonesia; reflecting an evolving process. A political statement of how we see this toolkit: potential weavers benefiting from the WeaversThey are local, regional, or national networks or organizations that connects or consists of multiple Alternatives on different themes/spheres, in an inter-sectorial way. A global network cannot be a Waever, neither a thematic one. It should be a collective process of some kind, rather than only a single individual or single organization. By being a "weaver", they are committed to participate in the GTA, developing ways of dialogue, interconnection, collaboration and solidarity with other Weavers. GTA promotes the interconnection of the Weavers, identifying [[:weavers:criteria|a series common criteria for the weaving of Alternatives]]. Examples: Vikalp Sangam and Crianza Mutua., but this toolkit is not limited to GTA space alone, but also to those who can engage in process of weaving. Also creating a Glossary of how Weavers are articulating each of these processes; intersecting with the Dictionary project. A space for Tools of Reflection, depending on which stage the potential weaver is at. http://weaving.tools

Vasna: Toolkit for weaving because so many people have asked for guidance on how to start and support continued weaving of radical alternatives - in deep and meaningful ways. And to share the methods and tools that are already being used in weaving in an easy interactive way.

Raquel: Interweaving is also an important tool to have!

Marco

Our process has taken some months because we needed to calibrate our scope; really hard for us to concieve of learning as a separate entity. We had a very broad process in the beginning, but we have now narrowed it down to specifics: several WGs and TGs were focussed on actions, and us as Learning could propose reflections, with just being. A balance between building trust and amplifying different learning spaces. Weaving intergenerational wisdom; reflecting upon this in the upcoming month. Committed to fostering a deep friendship and deep trust.

Also having a physical meeting in July, in India!

Melanie:

We have a meeting tomorrow, a practitioner joining from the Philippines; also have a reading. Thinking about te principles and the practices. Meeting the last friday of each month, building connections between groups and weavers.

Ashish:

Local Futures meeting in September, and also connecting with other EndorsersThey are organizations, collectives or thematic networks that publicly expresses its support to the GTA process and it's approved by it. Examples: [[endorsements:index|Full list of current Endorsers]] who are focussed on Solidarity Economies

Carlos:

Energy structured into our everyday lives, a good moment to bring this conversation in as using energy is extremely important for communities' autonomy. Resistance around colonial energy, and relating energy through relationality. Reconceptualising energy. Creating space to have dialogues, as well as conceptualising alternative futures, geopolitics of energy and coloniality. Workshops and debates, both internal and external, mapping a strand around energies and personal autonomy.

Sending out the invitation to all Assembly members, and see who can join as well.

A focus on how we can understand radical transformations, and how we can connect in the near future. Exploring ideas, have a series of questions and also some readings.

• Distinction between transformation and revolution still useful?
• Who or what are the actors of social change? etc

Sending out the invitation to all Assembly members, and see who can join as well.

Mauricio commits to starting the group again, many people interested in joining and we should start with seed protection, and food health.

Making the Alternative Education proect as earthy as possible, with communities in Indonesia who are giving us 50 hectares, and how to go about our alternative education. We are now hoping to focus on non-formal education at the university level. Interweaving with other spaces within the GTA, welcome all inputs. Hoping by 2026 to start this, completely free for the villages who have reclaimed the land, and committed to being anti-capitalist.

GTA may organise something, if any of the Endorsers are that would be amazing; please get in touch with Ashish. Deissy in brazil,

We participated in the important Radical Democratic Gathering in South Africa online through a video
https://youtu.be/qWowvrHHevM?si=AJng-Zxc7RbBDqRS