chrome://flags/, in your URL bar, and enable “Experimental Web Platform features”about:config, in your URL bar, and enable “media.track.enabled”Participants: Franco,Ana, Alex, MK, Mauricio, Ashish, Juan Silvano, Jose Luis, Itzel, Marina, Melanie, Friede, Belen, Steve, Matt, Felipe
Madhuresh opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, noting it had been 2–3 months since the last assembly meeting. Mentioned GTA completed 6 years on 19 May 2025 – acknowledged this as a significant milestone and moment to celebrate, especially in the current political climate. Recognised the work done in those years: building people’s power, networks, alternatives. Mentioned a poem by Liepollo was to be read later. Original plan was to split into groups for check-in, but as fewer people were present, decided to do introductions in the main room. Noted interpretation was available in English and Spanish.
Participants went around introducing themselves briefly and sharing a short reflection:
Madhuresh – joining from Paris (35°C that day), preparing to move to Jakarta next month. Itzel – happy to see everyone and listen again. Melanie – joining from Brooklyn, New York; holding both the violence of the moment and the fierceness of the resistance; echoed the emotional weight. Ryan – joining from the Philippines; weaver with MASA. Mauricio – greeting from Mexico; passed to Profe Juan. Prof Juan – joined from Chiapas, spoke about the current situation of megaprojects, especially the highway. Felipe – based in Argentina; noted both challenges and reasons to remain optimistic. Ashish – based in India, amidst monsoons; part of GTA facilitation team. Carlos – from Mexico City, getting ready to travel to Europe to meet GTA comrades. Marina – in New York State, spoke about the difficulty of holding multiple emotions; grateful for the space. Friede – from Germany; network for economic transformation; had technical issues joining. Belén – in Oaxaca, Mexico; rains beginning, fields blooming; expressed hope and warmth. Matt – from Vermont, USA; part of Leadership for the Gazog; involved in degrowth organising locally. Alex – still waking up but happy to be present; feeling the difficulty of the current global context but finds hope in GTA space. José Luis and Steve – also introduced themselves. Madhuresh acknowledged time zones, diversity in geography, and thanked everyone who joined. Emphasised the importance of these assemblies for endorsers and weavers to engage directly.
Mauricio (Mexico):
Shared about the upcoming Encuentro de Intertejedoras (Gathering of Interweavers) in Chiapas, being organised with different organisations and collectives. Event centres on community, defence of life, land, maize, and water. Being co-organised with Gobierno Comunitario del Centro Chich and other collectives. Mentioned companions from Colombia will also participate. Handed over to Prof Juan for context.
Prof Juan (Chiapas):
The meeting will take place in their community – Centro Chich, Chiapas. Community is very excited and honoured to host the gathering. Meeting theme is very relevant and important to the local context in Chiapas and Mexico more broadly. They are actively preparing for it and extended a warm welcome to others interested in joining.
Si quieres más información sobre el “ENCUENTRO INTERNACIONAL EN DEFENSA DE LA VIDA: EL MAIZ, EL AGUA, EL TERRITORIO Y LA MADRE TIERRA” en Chiapas nos puedes mandar un correo a la siguiente dirección: contactocrianzamutua@gmail.com
Ashish VS national network weaver in India (10 years +) followup are events taking place / A Sangam on Alternative credit and economy systems in various parts of India just concluded. Gearing up for 3 more Sangams - NE, Deccan (southern) part of India, and Arts. Gearing up to expand to South Asia. Hoping to have a confluence in the next year, around the time of GTA Assembly in Nepal. https://vikalpsangam.org
An 18 minute film on Vikalp Sangam recently released: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miBOtccdR0g&t=1s
Ryan Shared updates from MASA. ASEAN recently released its Vision 2045 document – MASA is currently studying and discussing it internally. MASA will host a Southeast Asia civil society gathering in November 11-13 2025 in Cambodia, led by Gender and Development Cambodia. Ryan extended an invitation to GTA members to attend, observe, and participate. Shared that MASA opened its space last year for GTA participation and will do so again this year. Will circulate a survey form for those interested in joining https://forms.gle/LJmh6LYfFXfF7Vr59
This page has all the details of this working group : https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:radasd:index
Here is the Declaration on Radical Demoracy that took place : https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:radasd:declaration and the
An online follow-up gathering of all participants was held on 12 May. The declaration was launched on 10 June alongside a press release; shared in Spanish, English, and French. Everyone was encouraged to circulate it widely and gather endorsements. Ashish mentioned a smaller gathering on “earthy governance and radical democracy” currently happening in Sydney as part of planning for a larger event in 2026. There’s an emerging conversation on creating a global alliance for radical democracy, autonomy, and self-determination. Upcoming online solidarity sessions are planned — e.g. on Panama and Kurdistan (21 June) following recent political developments. Interpretation is always made available in meetings. Anyone interested in joining the group can write to Ashish.
Upcoming event on 27 June on Kurdish women in ecological and industrial agriculture https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:2025_rooted_resistance. Group has hosted multiple presentations by practitioners and is working to globally connect solidarity economy initiatives. Exploring possibilities for Vikalp Sangam members to join future sessions. Ryan is leading the next GTA periodical on solidarity economies. A draft concept note is in the works and 10 contributors have been identified. The group sees strong overlap with radical democracy and is excited about joint learning and recognition of interconnected alternatives.
Group was held until recently by Marco and Hajar. They’ve stepped down, and Franco and Vasna are now facilitating. Previous work included internal discussions and a few webinars. They’re now planning next steps: identifying focus areas and the pace/form of learning/sharing. Looking for someone from the network to help convene and hold the space going forward. A meeting is planned for July (exact date TBC). Group includes people from the Assembly and also those from the Pedagogo process. An email will be sent inviting new participants to join.
Group has moved from internal discussions to public-facing work with a webinar series on the geopolitics of green colonialism and sacrifice zones https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:geof:index. Past sessions covered general green colonialism. Next one (19 June) focuses on cold regions (Arctic, Ladakh); another will focus on Africa. Series aims to unpack how extractivism and transitions impact local communities. Internal discussions are also ongoing, including reflections on readings (e.g. Ivan Illich). Open invitation to all GTA participants to join both public webinars and internal reflections. Preparing Periodical #17, a follow-up to #15 (which focused on energy and extractivism). The next issue will explore radical energy alternatives from below. Vasna added that the group is shifting focus from critique to amplifying actual alternatives. Contributions and links to grounded energy work are welcome.
Suggestions by Ashish
Proposed a joint meeting of all four active thematic groups to explore overlaps and potential for collaboration. Emphasised groups will remain autonomous but could benefit from collective strategising and synergy-building. Suggested a timeline between July and September for such a meeting.
Mauricio shared that the proposal emerged post-Kenya Assembly where food and agriculture came up frequently. Food is seen as fundamental to territorial defence, autonomy, seed sovereignty, local economies, and breaking dependence on markets/state. The group plans a first meeting in late June and will begin with: Mapping territorial challenges and food-related struggles Connecting these to global conversations and alternative systems The aim is not just a webinar or online session, but eventually an in-person exchange. Alex reinforced the cross-cutting nature of food—it ties all the thematic groups together. Group will begin building a mailing list and outreach.
– Madhuresh highlighted Vikalp Sangam’s extensive work on seed sovereignty and food systems in India. – Ashish added this thematic focus exists strongly across several weavers, including in the early Cross-WeaverA local, regional, or national network or organization 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. Dialogue with Crianza Mutua (Mexico) and Vikalp Sangam (India), where food and agriculture were key topics. – It was confirmed that food and agriculture will be a thematic group, not just a working group, given its cross-cutting and ongoing nature. – Mauricio and Alex will coordinate the first group meeting by end-June and will share contact details.
– Carlos shared that 30 concepts have been selected and invitations for contributions have already gone out. – Concepts include shared terms across contexts (e.g. tekyo, autogestión) and entries span global South and “South in the North” contributors. – Carlos and Franco are working on the website design. The platform will allow multiple entries per concept to reflect diverse understandings. – Target: all entries completed by end of July, website launch in September hosted on the GTA site. – There will be a launch event, and the dictionary will be open for future submissions. – Melanie noted a relevant resource library being compiled through Next Systems, which might be linked to the dictionary. Carlos confirmed space for such linked resources will be integrated.
– Madhuresh shared that the working group met in-person last year; members include Carlos, Franco, Matt, Brian, and others. – The toolkit remains in development without a fixed timeline, but the team aims to have a prototype ready for the Nepal Assembly in 2026. – Franco emphasised that many working groups face low participation; few individuals are active across many fronts, which is unsustainable. – Reiterated that thematic and working groups are open to all Assembly members, and encouraged greater engagement. – Franco suggested using the Assembly mailing list more proactively for updates and invitations.
– Internal seminars aim to theoretically reflect on GTA’s praxis, affirming that theory is a moment of action. – The first seminar (25 April) focused on GTA’s theory of change. Notes have been summarised and are available. – Discussion included critiques of terms like “transition”, “global/local”, and “change”. – Proposal: next seminar in August, focusing on “The Global and the Local” – challenging nation-state-defined categories, especially relevant for weaving. – Ana proposed circulating a short reading ahead of time to initiate conversation. – Madhuresh suggested circulating early reflections via Assembly mailing list to build collective contributions before the August discussion.
– Madhuresh confirmed the next GTA Assembly will be held in April 2026 in Nepal, near Kathmandu. – Two possible weeks are under consideration; final dates and details to be announced soon.
– Madhuresh invited Liepollo to share a closing reflection with her poem Still We Weave, acknowledging six years of GTA’s journey. – Participants were encouraged to turn on their cameras for a group photo during the reading. – Despite being at an airport, Liepollo delivered a powerful poetic offering honouring collective memory, resistance, weaving solidarity, and the slow, grounded building of alternatives. The poem deeply resonated with participants and was received with heartfelt appreciation.
– Madhuresh opened the floor for reflections, updates, and announcements from Assembly members and endorsers.
Melanie (US) – Shared developments from the US Solidarity Economy Network, with over 300 participants recently gathering to discuss analysis, movement-building, and narrative work. – Mentioned another cross-formation space focused on collaboration across strategies and ideologies, noting the shift away from sectarianism in US movements.
Friede (Germany) – Shared about the rise of collapse awareness movements in Germany and their efforts to embed Commons-based logics. – Mentioned attending an upcoming gathering in Chiapas focused on post-collapse practices and solidarity, hoping to connect with others from GTA there.
Madhuresh – Shared updates on the People’s Platform in Europe, initiated by the Academy of Democratic Modernity. – Mentioned a major gathering in Vienna and the upcoming People’s Assembly working group meeting in Geneva (7 July). – Announced a 10-day program near Vienna (5–15 July) on Democratic Federalism hosted by the Academy.
Marina (Kurdistan/Global) – Highlighted a university collaboration initiative with Rojava and Kobane Universities, involving global faculty partnerships, course-sharing, and academic solidarity. – Invited Assembly members affiliated with universities to connect and join the initiative. – Ashish suggested Marina to circulate the Kurdish academic project on the Pedagog list and mentioned a related national-level alternative higher education network in India.
Liepollo (South Africa) – Shared that she and Carlos would be attending the Degrowth Conference in Oslo. – Planning a webinar in response to the US-South Africa refugee deportations, calling for a critical rethinking of refugee rights, racialised identities, and global surveillance. – The event is supported by Trade Collective, South Feminist Futures, and others. Vasna suggested GTA support it as a co-convener, with follow-up to be shared over email.
Ashish (India) – Shared updates from the COP30 Working Group:
GTA is organising a half or full-day event on Radical Democracy and Climate Justice (12 November). Accommodation is a major challenge; coordination ongoing. Anyone attending COP30 is encouraged to join the planning group.
Ana Cecilia (UK) – Hosting a hybrid screening of “Radical Love”, a documentary on Satish Kumar, at the University of Bath (24 June). – Will also teach four seminars (one on GTA) at the Summer School in South La, with efforts to bring Spanish-speaking participants.
– Madhuresh reminded everyone that GTA is seeking to recruit two new team members to support weaver and endorser coordination. – Positions are paid, with one ideally bilingual (Spanish-English). The call had already been shared within the FT and will now be sent to the broader Assembly. – Ashish clarified both positions are modestly paid and crucial to GTA’s operations.
Final Words – Abha joined briefly, explaining she had missed the session due to an electricity cut. – Ana jokingly commented on the rare sunny weather in the UK, lightening the closing tone. – Madhuresh closed the meeting with thanks, appreciation for everyone’s contributions, and wishes for safe travels to those on the move.