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Melanie Bush: And we do have interpretation right now, so please, as you see in the chat.

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Melanie Bush: The session, will be interpreted, and you just go to the globe and select which language you would like to hear.

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Melanie Bush: So, we're gonna get moving because, and, look forward to the… the,

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Melanie Bush: look forward to the presentations and the sharing from Amira and Helvest.

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Melanie Bush: And some conversation later. And so, we're going to, as we get started, please do put in the chat your name, introduce yourself, and,

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Melanie Bush: Any words that come to mind about what does economy mean to you?

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Melanie Bush: So, just so you are familiar with what our plan is for our time, we will start with,

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Melanie Bush: I just will say a couple things, and then we'll move immediately over to Amira from Wellbeing Economy Alliance to talk both about well-being Economy and Reclaim the Economy Week.

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Melanie Bush: After that, Hao West will give a brief overview around Solidarity economy, and then we open with some questions for discussion. I will do my best to post the questions in English and Spanish in the chat, so that,

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Melanie Bush: We have the greatest opportunity for participation.

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Melanie Bush: So, as we gather here today, the music selected was both very somber, but also, knowing that our being together represents the very power that will bring the world we want and need to be.

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Melanie Bush: And, we want to acknowledge that, in so many regions around the world, there is, so much suffering and violence, but to uplift in this conversation many different examples of

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Melanie Bush: Actually building and living the world, as we know, it can be, deeply, embedded in love.

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Melanie Bush: And care, and comfort, for all beings.

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Melanie Bush: So, I am going to…

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Melanie Bush: just say, my name is Melanie Bush. The background for the Global Tapestry Alternative Solidarity Economy, Thematic Group, was founded at the last in-person, assembly in Kenya.

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Melanie Bush: And we've been meeting on and off. If you are not, engaged in our work, and you would like to participate, and our focus this year is on building collaborations, please, I'll put, Al West and my emails in the chat. Feel free to contact us. I also post,

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Melanie Bush: our WhatsApp group, And, ongoing notes, so you can see where we've…

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Melanie Bush: Entered this, where we've been traveling in the last couple years.

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Melanie Bush: And that said, I'm going to, because I'm excited to hear, both the presentations and the discussion, I'm going to pass to Amira, and if you can first introduce yourself briefly.

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Melanie Bush: So we're situated, and, I… and let me know when you would like me to post the,

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Melanie Bush: Slideshow.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Amazing. Thank you so much, Melanie. Hi, everyone. It's lovely to see some mainly new faces or names on the screen today, and so please do keep the engagement coming in the chat in terms of

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Aamirah -WEAll: what words come to mind when you think of economy. We'll kind of keep a lookout for those, as… as the session continues. So my name's Amira, I'm the Engagement Lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And I basically work on, accessibility, around how, different ideas around a new or a next economy, intersect with, kind of, lots of different, movements and themes. So, some of that is we… I run a health working group that

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Aamirah -WEAll: Really looks at the intersection of health and an economy, and what a thriving economy could look like, when… what health in a thriving, and different economic system could look like, as well as looking after, the…

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Aamirah -WEAll: regions that I,

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Aamirah -WEAll: that I am based in, so I'm based in Morocco, and I look after our Middle East and North Africa members, and kind of engagement, and also some of our Asia engagement, where we have hubs, so I'll get into a little bit more of, kind of, our structure a little bit later on in the presentation.

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Aamirah -WEAll: But, today we'll kind of go through a little bit around, like, you know, where does… what is well-being economy framing? What are well-being economies?

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Aamirah -WEAll: A couple of examples of really great, grassroots action that's been taking place in different parts of the world over January through, our first Reclaim the Economy week, which was an opportunity for lots of people to, start conversations or continue conversations about.

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Aamirah -WEAll: How, how we can reclaim the economy so that it is one that serves

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Aamirah -WEAll: people and planet, first and foremost, and social justice. So, Melanie, if you're happy to share the slides, we can, kick off now.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Thank you so much.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Okay, so when we're talking about, you know, an alternative economy and well-being economies, we're talking about an economy that's in service of life, right? So this is recognizing that the current economic system under capitalism, you know,

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Aamirah -WEAll: has meant that there are a lot of activities which are not only invisible, but are not accounted for. This can come from, you know, things like care for the environment, care for people, you know, things like labor and profit, visibility of private ownership, and,

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Aamirah -WEAll: the Welby Economy Alliance is… An alliance of movements, and,

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Aamirah -WEAll: and individuals working towards economic systems change. So, you know, it's quite broad, it's quite encompassing in the approach, and often we're talking about multiple approaches coming under the banner of, of well-being economies.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And so, as you can see in this diagram.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So many of the individuals that… and organizations that we work with come from completely different sectors, so we have those who are very much focused on, on, ecology, and as you know, there is an intrinsic link between ecology and economy, right? The root of the word economy does come from the Greek, word for,

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Aamirah -WEAll: for home, right? And so, in a lot of ways, we're talking about the home that we're living in, the home that, that we're responsible for creating. And often when we talk about the economic system.

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Aamirah -WEAll: because of the way the current economic system stands, you know, we often think we have no agency, or, you know… but I think, you know, for a lot of us now, it's integral that actually we do drive,

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Aamirah -WEAll: The way in which our home exists, and the way in which, the intersection of both planet and people come together in… in…

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Aamirah -WEAll: In the way that we live. And so…

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Aamirah -WEAll: When we're talking about wellbeing, we're not necessarily just talking about health and wellbeing, so you can see that kind of on the left side, we're talking about health and medical care and care work, but then also things like governance structures and transportation and, renewable energy and education, as well as, core principles.

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Aamirah -WEAll: around community ownership and social enterprises. So this is kind of the mix of individuals and organizations that are part of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and, you know, we'll often describe it as we are in service of the movement, as opposed to, kind of,

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Aamirah -WEAll: a… a…

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Aamirah -WEAll: the… a theory around how the economic system should change. It's more so that we're here to serve the movement, and the different types of, systems change that

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Aamirah -WEAll: is being advocated for in a lot of places around the world, many of which are new and a lot of which are not, right? When we talk about things, we're talking about Indigenous ways of being and doing, often, you know, being brought back to the front and center as well as, you know, what people often deem as new ways of engaging with, with nature and people.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Collectively.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, on to the next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: We can skip this one, Melanie, sorry, thank you.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, really, really integral, and I love this absolutely beautiful, image on the left-hand side. It often, you know, fills me with a lot of hope. But a wellbeing economy really is about delivering social justice on a healthy planet, and recognizing, you know.

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Aamirah -WEAll: before the economic system that has been the dominant economic system, you know, for not more than really 200 years, existed, you know, core elements of, our home and understanding our home, has been, nature, Mother Nature, right? And so, on the left, you can see.

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Aamirah -WEAll: This beautiful image, but also this reminder that, you know, any economy that can serve, us as humans needs to also be in reciprocity with a healthy planet and ensuring that we're caring for the planet as well as people.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So one of the first things that, that took place when the Wellbeing Economy Alliance was formed about 5 years ago were workshops and consultations with members around 5 core goals or needs that, a wellbeing economy would be designed to deliver. So,

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Aamirah -WEAll: these are the five needs that, came up. So, dignity, as you can see on the bottom right. So, you know, the notion that everyone has enough to live in comfort, safety, and happiness. Nature, sort of restored and safe natural world for all life,

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Aamirah -WEAll: fairness, so justice in all its dimensions at the heart of economic systems, and also really the gap between the richest and the poorest, which is only growing in the world that we're living in. You know, they say, I think it's,

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Aamirah -WEAll: there's a large percentage of the world's wealth that kind of sits with five families, right? And so… so, you know, really addressing this gap between,

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Aamirah -WEAll: Those with a lot of wealth, those with… with not much wealth at all. Participation, so citizens being actively engaged, in their communities and locally rooted economies, and purpose. So,

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Aamirah -WEAll: For, everything to be designed to deliver, purpose, purpose-driven, action.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And one of the other core principles that, kind of underpins well-being economies.

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Aamirah -WEAll: thinking is, the notion of the four P's. So, what we refer to as, pre-distribution, purpose, prevention, and people powered. And so, this is very much,

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Aamirah -WEAll: connected to the kind of economy that we want to see, and in some ways, also, countering the dominant economic system as it stands, which does not, for example, pre-distribute power, wealth, time, and income, right? It's measured purely on,

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Aamirah -WEAll: on, GDP, which, you know, is becoming more and more clear that, this doesn't represent,

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Aamirah -WEAll: so many other aspects of… of what is needed for us and for, other forms of life to live, well. So,

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Aamirah -WEAll: The idea of the four P's is it's a framework to shift economics focus from mere growth to human and planetary flourishing. So,

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Aamirah -WEAll: pre-distribution, designing the system… designing fairness into the system to… from the very beginning. So, to prevent inequality, rather than relying solely on distribution… redistribution through taxes and benefits, which is the current way the economic system,

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Aamirah -WEAll: you know, regards pre-distribution and focusing on fair wages and community wealth building. So, really, you know, thinking of designing ways in which, you know, we can

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Aamirah -WEAll: Pre-distribute power, wealth, time, and income.

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Aamirah -WEAll: The second one is purpose, so next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, purpose is very much focused on reorienting the economy, and institutions to serve the common good and deliver collective well-being. So, moving away from this notion of, you know, the only purpose of the economy is to increase GDP on a national level,

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Aamirah -WEAll: You know, measuring in new ways, what collective well-being looks like, and what collective human and ecological well-being looks like.

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Aamirah -WEAll: The third P is prevention. And so this is very much to do with how, you know, we need to be tackling issues at their root causes, and taking an upstream approach to prevent social and environmental damage, rather than managing symptoms. So what we see with the current system as it stands is, you know, a lot of,

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Aamirah -WEAll: A lot of management and mitigation, you know, around, the damage that has been caused, as opposed to an acknowledgement that, you know, this needs to be looked at from its…

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Aamirah -WEAll: from the root. And in that, shifting the purpose of…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Of the economy to, prevention and more active ways of, tackling some of the issues that exist, including some of the massive climate risk that we're seeing, in the world today.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And then, next slide, please, Mindy.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Sorry, again, there we go, thank you. Finally, people-powered. So, placing people at the forefront of shaping economic systems, and what does this look like? So we're talking about so many different ways. There's democratic decision-making, as well as examples of citizens' assemblies, participatory budgeting in cases like Scotland we're seeing, and these are very much people-powered.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Decisions, that are being made around the economy, and really re-engaging communities and people to see themselves as in charge of making the decisions around what the economic system

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Aamirah -WEAll: That they live in looks like and feels like, and how it best serves them and the planet.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Okay, so, move on to the next slide, and I think this is a really important, point to make. So, as I said, we're not advocating for one particular strategy. We all emerged, in a way that,

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Aamirah -WEAll: A lot of the work and individuals that were very much connected to the movement at the beginning were decision makers, or policy makers, or those who were interested in policy and shifting policy, in the current economic system, as it stands. Now, over time, this has evolved, and it looks different, so we have, you know, lots of different, individuals and organisations who are part of the alliance.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Including those focused on, like, food and regeneration, that, you know, would be… would be advocating for regenerative economy in terms of, you know, focusing on an economy that, mimics nature by regenerating the social and ecological, assets needed for well-being, for example. You know, those who are advocating for a circular economy.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Or those who are focused on community wealth building. So, you know, really looking at the current economic institutions, that have strong links to local economy, and really advocating for, bottom-up approaches when it comes to, to changes in, in, in the way that we,

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Aamirah -WEAll: In the way that we exchange.

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Aamirah -WEAll: resources and managed resources, economic democracy, the common good economy, so, you know, those that are in alignment with values of dignity, social justice, environmental sustainability, and transparency. Obviously, as we're here today, the solidarity economy, so, I know many of you are already very well versed in

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Aamirah -WEAll: In the values that the solidarity economy is based around, including things like reciprocity, cooperation, and solidarity, as well as models like donor economics, for example, which, you know, are much more,

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Aamirah -WEAll: Much more around the design of economic systems, in kind of a very, yeah, a very clear, kind of…

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Aamirah -WEAll: structured way, I guess. Foundational economy and the core economy. These are just some, so, someone's put in the chat, gift economies, yes, definitely. It would also be something that would… gift economies would be something that people have been discussing within the wellbeing economies.

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Aamirah -WEAll: network, and I'm sure we'll get into the solidarity economy a little bit more, in the second half of today's session as well. So, just to say, we often say it's a… it's, you know, when we're talking about Wellbeing Economy Alliance, often people think we're talking about one particular framework, when actually, you know, we're talking about many of these different approaches, the picnic blanket of approaches.

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Aamirah -WEAll: to, to seeing a new economic system. And… and in a lot of ways, some of our findings when we… when we brought together different facilitators around global, well-being economy, you know, really came back with.

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Aamirah -WEAll: we're talking about economies, right? We're talking about… if we're talking about a multitude of these approaches.

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Aamirah -WEAll: It's not one monolithic economy that we're, we're transitioning to, or we're beginning to shape, but rather, multiple economies,

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Aamirah -WEAll: Okay, next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, our theory of change, so we very much work around this tree, so, the tree… the, bottom… at the roots of the tree are knowledge and narrative, so promoting new and compelling narratives of what is possible, and also building accessible knowledge and evidence base around, like, what… what's working.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And then, obviously, we see the trunk of the tree as…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Our power bases, and our power bases are those who are working on, changing the way that things are happening and synthesizing some of this shift in narrative and shift in… and knowledge gathering up and out into… into the…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Type of system, economic system, they would like to see.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So those are our three pillars, knowledge, narrative, economic systems change. So what does this look like? So, we have about 18 hubs around the world that are kind of self-organizing, autonomous, often consisting of multiple organizations working together in their local context.

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Aamirah -WEAll: 583 organizational members. There was, a big piece of work on national governments a couple of years ago, which has kind of…

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Aamirah -WEAll: dwindled down, and it was, it was six national governments in an alliance called WEGO. So these are governments that were actively pursuing the wellbeing economy agenda in their current policy,

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Aamirah -WEAll: And interestingly enough, a lot of those leaders have now stepped down, and were women, actually, in the countries that, joined this alliance. We have a policymakers network, so that's those who are particularly interested in shifting policy.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And, writing new policy, and I'm gonna give a few examples of what that looks like in a moment, as well as our individual members and our ambassadors and spokespeople. So…

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Aamirah -WEAll: This is what the Alliance is kind of made up of when we're talking about the numbers and who we're referring to when we say the Wellbeing Economy Alliance. There's just a map on the next slide, which shows kind of where our hubs are located, and it's not up to date, because since then, we've had a hub emerge in Singapore and in India.

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Aamirah -WEAll: As well as a couple of other countries, so…

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Aamirah -WEAll: But this is kind of the geographical spread, and as you can see, there is quite a lot of concentration in Europe, which is something we're actively working on trying to, redress in terms of ensuring that

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Aamirah -WEAll: That perspectives from other parts of the world are more represented in the movement.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So… So, when we're looking at building power bases.

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Aamirah -WEAll: We're… and that trunk of the tree, that's when we're talking about membership, hubs, and movements. So, these different circles of influence that can drive economic…

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Aamirah -WEAll: that drive the economic transformation. So, you know, some of these are individuals, some of these are organizations, but it is kind of this reciprocity of this circle, on the… on the, slideshow that we're talking about when we're talking about these.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Three pillars of power bases.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, and, for a lot of individuals, they may not be…

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Aamirah -WEAll: a hub, or they may not be part of the membership, but they're still kind of engaged in receiving content or sharing ideas with others in the network around kind of what's working where they are. And a big part of Reclaim the Economy Week was also, an opportunity to engage people, who wouldn't normally think of associating or connecting themselves

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Aamirah -WEAll: with the economy,

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Aamirah -WEAll: Okay, next slide, please. So, I'm just going to give a few examples of, kind of, like, what does this look like in practice, right? It's all well and good, we've got all these wonderful ideas around what a different economy needs to look like, but how does this look in practice? And so, the first example, is,

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Aamirah -WEAll: this one. So, it's an open letter campaign that, that was run in November 2022, and it was very much focused on,

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Aamirah -WEAll: on an environment where, the First Minister in Scotland was, somebody that could, was willing to be engaged with in terms of shifting policy around, the economy. And so,

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Aamirah -WEAll: a big part of the Scottish Hub's emergence was very much to do with engaging with the political landscape at the time, and over 200 organizations signed it, holding the government to account on commitments. And as a result, we had Nicola Sturgeon be a part of that kind of, alliance of governments working on, on wellbeing economies and what that looks like, in…

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Aamirah -WEAll: in kind of coalition with one another. As well as, some very clear changes around the institution of somebody who… who works on wellbeing economies in the government, for example, a commissioner who… whose job it is to work on this,

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Aamirah -WEAll: As well as, engaging lots of citizens in an active way. Thank you.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next one, again, sorry.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Gonna skip ahead.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So these are some images from, the South Africa Hub, which is the African Liberation Hub.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And this was when they were initially, starting up, so they started out with some dinners. Most of the engagement has been in Johannesburg, and there's been some in Cape Town as well, with the members in Cape Town, but mainly in Joburg. And if you go to the next slide, so this particular hub began working with

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Aamirah -WEAll: There should be one before that, can I just check? Sorry.

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Aamirah -WEAll: No… okay, nevermind.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, yep, there we go. So, in 2024, so there was lots of, like, pre-gatherings and dinners, and a big part of the discussion around what a new economy and a different economy would look like in South Africa was very much rooted in, in particular

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Aamirah -WEAll: Sorry, thank you, right. So, was rooted in particular themes around land, liberation, and alternative economic paradigms, and a big part of that was, kind of.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Going back to…

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Aamirah -WEAll: to pre-colonization in South Africa. So, a big part of what the African Liberations Hub work has involved around… has involved, is around new mediums of expression, and re… and allowing space for some of the, kind of, Indigenous ways of… of being and doing that existed pre-colonization. And so.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So there was a big gathering that brought together lots of thinkers with music and visual arts, and kind of, like, a reconnection with… with poetry and drumming, that was very much rooted in reclaiming the economy. And so…

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Aamirah -WEAll: As you can see, dependent on where you are in the world, and what is relevant to where individuals are in the world, the type of work and focus has been different. Should we go to the next slide, please?

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Aamirah -WEAll: Another example that I wanted to give was of, the ecocentric urban design in Curidabad, in Costa Rica. So the Sweet City program, which was awarded,

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Aamirah -WEAll: which was awarded and recognized for its regenerative approach to urban planning. So this is an example of where we can see wellbeing economy policy in practice on a citywide level, and this was very much focused around designing

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Aamirah -WEAll: the city, in harmony with

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Aamirah -WEAll: lots of, natures, organisms, and other life. So, for example, the… the…

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Aamirah -WEAll: sorry, the bees, the butterflies, the hummingbirds, the pollinators, the plants, and the trees being effectively recognized as citizens, and nature being placed at the center of urban design. And the success has been in creating green corridors and more urban vegetation, as well as more community coming together to plant flowers and trees.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And, working on wetland creation and management of ecosystem, disasters and climate adaptation. So, again, another very focused…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Another focused example of a wellbeing economy in practice on a citywide level.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And then I'm going to skip ahead, because we're close to out of time. So, there's a few wellbeing measurement frameworks… sorry, just go back one more, Melanie.

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Aamirah -WEAll: There's a few well-being measurement frameworks from around the world that you can look into if you're… if you're kind of interested on the policy side of things. So we have Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Framework, New Zealand's Living Standards Framework, Korea's Quality of Life Indicators, and Barcelona's City Donut, and Mexico's Federal Wellbeing Indicators. So these are all ways in which policy has been kind of shifted

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Aamirah -WEAll: To reflect, a different economy, in…

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Aamirah -WEAll: governments that are kind of running at the moment. Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So I'm just going to finish on what happened in January, well, at the end of January this year, which was the first Global Week of Action for People on the planet called Reclaim the Economy. And there'll be an opportunity, we'll be running it annually, so I just wanted to show a little bit around, what took place. So there's some… next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, a big part of… of this was really to spark a week where all eyes are on redesigning our economies, right? So, what does this look like, starting this conversation, and, and…

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Aamirah -WEAll: starting to create, kind of, action, and the need for change across different places. Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Again, next slide, sorry.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Let's skip ahead. So, this is a map of…

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Aamirah -WEAll: back one, sorry. This is a map of, the different places around the world in which activities took place, so you can see, you know, there's different activities taking place with

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Aamirah -WEAll: particular hubs, or with individuals or organizations, and what did this look like? Next slide. So we had, like, film screenings, forum panel discussions.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Webinars and info sessions.

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Aamirah -WEAll: There was a singing event,

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Aamirah -WEAll: online campaign, we had seed swaps and a communal walk, so different activities around the world, as to what suited, kind of a discussion or revival around, reclaiming the economy. Next slide.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So there should be some photos now. So these are some photos from the forest in Singapore, and a big part of their reclaiming the economy discussion was held in rethinking relationship between nature communities and future generations.

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Aamirah -WEAll: by spending time, in a historic forest and mangrove swamp in Singapore.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: In France and Sweden, we saw, a panel discussion around… and this was kind of more around, like, citizen engagement, but around policy advocacy, data reliability, and approaches to democratic organising, which… which was a really successful event.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Next slide, please.

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Aamirah -WEAll: the African Liberation Hub, which I mentioned earlier, kind of gathered to reflect and align and plan their strategy for Southern Africa, and as you can see, there was, like, a meal with lots of local food, and lots of colourful brainstorming.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And then the last image should be… Can we skip ahead again? Sorry.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So this was the songs for reclaiming the economy. So there was a singing session, with songs relevant to the idea of reclaiming the economy.

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Aamirah -WEAll: In Scotland, as you can see in the image on the right, too. So, different activities, around starting these conversations, and,

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Aamirah -WEAll: Hopefully, we're looking…

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Aamirah -WEAll: to run it again next year with more partners involved and more individuals involved, so that's one of the big things that can be taken away from today as well, in terms of, you know, if you are interested in starting a conversation where you live, or joining a conversation where you live, it's a really great opportunity to kind of get involved.

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Aamirah -WEAll: That's it from me. I don't know if there's any other questions in the chat.

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Melanie Bush: There's a… I see, first of all, Amira, thank you so much.

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Melanie Bush: What a beautiful, beautiful presentation that…

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Melanie Bush: It really makes me think we need a second follow-up, because we're going to be shortchanged for the discussion part that we… what we really want and need to have. So stay tuned for that, perhaps in May, after the GTA in-person assembly in Bandung.

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Melanie Bush: Yes, please do put your questions… feel free, I will do my best, and I apologize for my back and forth with the slides a little bit, but I was trying to check the chat. I will include the questions that you post.

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Melanie Bush: In our final set of questions, after Havest gives us a very brief overview of Solidarity economy, so we can really get to some, interaction.

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Melanie Bush: And,

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Melanie Bush: I will, turn it over to you. Hawess, please give us a couple sentences to situate you, and, I will momentarily, pull, pull up your presentation as well.

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Halwest Karim: Okay, thank you so much, Milani, and thank you so much, Amira, for a very informative, presentation. Hello, everyone. It's really nice to be here with you today. My name is Hal West. I'm co-facilitator of

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Halwest Karim: Solidarity Economy Thematic Group.

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Halwest Karim: GTA.

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Halwest Karim: As Milani mentioned, I'm going to give a really brief, presentation about, solidarity economy.

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Halwest Karim: And then, two slides about the connection and the difference between the solidarity economy and well-being economy, in order to kindly invite you to be part of the discussion.

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Halwest Karim: Milani, if you can share the presentation?

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Halwest Karim: Yes, thank you so much.

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Halwest Karim: Yes.

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Halwest Karim: You can go to the next slide, please.

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Halwest Karim: Today we are living in… through multiple crises. At the same time, so…

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Halwest Karim: The economic inequality, climate, crisis and social injustice.

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Halwest Karim: The extreme, wealth concentrations show how the unequal how that… Inequal the system has become.

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Halwest Karim: At the same time, many communities are already responding. So, what we are calling solidarity economy, is not something new. It comes from long.

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Halwest Karim: stories of survival, resistance, and care, especially from Indigenous and marginalized community. So, we want to say that

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Halwest Karim: This, approach is not something new, but we are just would like to remembering you.

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Halwest Karim: Can you go to the next slide, please?

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Halwest Karim: When we are saying economy, it means… this word, eco, means home, and the economy, it means managing our home.

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Halwest Karim: But today, economy is reduced to money, market, and growth. So, and this ignores many essential activities, including care work, community support, substance practices.

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Halwest Karim: And those are often then done by women and my generalized group.

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Halwest Karim: But it remained invisible.

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Halwest Karim: So, for this, we need to understand or expand our understanding to the world of economy.

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Halwest Karim: In terms of… solidarity economy, Largely refers to the movement that builds upon long-standing practices

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Halwest Karim: Engaged by marginalized and oppressed communities. That being utilizing collective means of meeting needs, solving problems, and distributing power.

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Halwest Karim: So, this is a systematic framework that holds principle of intercedence, radical democracy, and justice being in right relation with nature and collective liberation at its core.

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Halwest Karim: In the way… in this way, solidarity economy principle and practices recognize that our individual struggle and well-being are bounded together.

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Halwest Karim: Next slide, please.

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Halwest Karim: So, there are many principles of solidarity economy.

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Halwest Karim: So the core principle that guides solidarity economy is interpretence and cooperation, community, work together.

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Halwest Karim: sharing resources, Knowledge and responsibility.

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Halwest Karim: Another key principle is democracy and participation.

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Halwest Karim: Decisions are made qualitatively.

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Halwest Karim: And everyone affect has a voice.

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Halwest Karim: Justice and equality are also central. Resources and opportunities are distributed fairly.

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Halwest Karim: With attention to marginalized groups.

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Halwest Karim: Such as women, youth, or ethnic minorities.

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Halwest Karim: Finally, ecological stewardship remains us that the humans are part of ecosystem, not above them, and that our economic

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Halwest Karim: Activity must be respect nature.

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Halwest Karim: All those principles need to be…

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Halwest Karim: showing an action. So, because principle becomes meaningful when… Applied in practices.

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Halwest Karim: For example, if we are sharing examples.

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Halwest Karim: We would like to look at interpretence.

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Halwest Karim: We can be seen and shading food, labor, or tools within community projects.

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Halwest Karim: Democracy appears, and cooperative governors, Open meeting, or conscience-based decision-making. Justice is reflected in program.

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Halwest Karim: That empower marginalized groups or redistribute resources fairly.

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Halwest Karim: Ecological stewardship is visible, initiatives like urban gardens.

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Halwest Karim: or renewable energy cooperatives. So, these practices demonstrate that solidarity economy is about Both value and actions.

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Halwest Karim: It guides community to live collectively.

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Halwest Karim: Care of each other, and maintain a healthy relationship with the environment.

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Halwest Karim: So, we would like to say here that the principles provide a framework, and the practices bring them to life in tangible ways.

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Halwest Karim: Next slide, please.

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Halwest Karim: So,

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Halwest Karim: Amira, she discussed… she talked about the well-being economy, and I gave a brief about the solidarity of economy.

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Halwest Karim: Hey, we would like to start our discussion by, what is the connection and the differences between those two approaches?

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Halwest Karim: A well-being economy focuses on relationship, or reshaping policies and economic system.

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Halwest Karim: So that successes and measured by human and ecological well-being, rather than GDP, And often.

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Halwest Karim: Engage with governments and institutions.

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Halwest Karim: In contrast, the solidarity economy emerged from grassroots practices like cooperative, mutual aid, and community networks, emphasized collective ownership, democratic control, and everyday economic alternative.

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Halwest Karim: Next slide, please.

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Halwest Karim: So, it means that both challenge the dominant

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Halwest Karim: Proof… proof of driving model, and center people, care and ecology.

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Halwest Karim: Both those approaches aim for justice, sustainability, and dignity, and both seek to redefine what the economy is for, shifting from growth to well-being and collective flourishing.

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Halwest Karim: So the… floor is…

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Halwest Karim: opening for discussion, we would like to hear from you, your thoughts, and any questions that you have. Thank you so much.

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Melanie Bush: Thank you also, Harvest, for a very hard task, which is to summarize a lot of things in a very quick moment.

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Melanie Bush: We came up with some questions, and I added the one about gift economies. Thank you for that. So I am putting these questions in the chat, and the floor is…

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Melanie Bush: open. I want to confirm things are okay for interpretation. Maria Cruz, everything is fine?

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Melanie Bush: Just let…

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Melanie Bush: Okay, beautiful. Just let me know if you run into anything, and thank you all. So, the floor is now open, and

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Melanie Bush: Thoughts? Questions?

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Melanie Bush: Perhaps as people, consider what…

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Melanie Bush: They might like to comment. It's also okay to make a comment.

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Melanie Bush: I, I don't know, Amira, and Ha West, there is this question, would gift economies come under solidarity economy or well-being economy, or is it not a format, supported? So, thank you for that question.

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Melanie Bush: And I don't know, while people are thinking about what they might like to offer or ask.

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Melanie Bush: Amira, how vest, would you like to…

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Melanie Bush: Have a brief response to that.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Yeah, I can address that one. So, yes, definitely, I said with wellbeing economies.

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Aamirah -WEAll: gift economies would, would definitely, come under… come under that, as well. I think, as, how West indicated, a lot of…

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Aamirah -WEAll: the… Examples that we… Often showcasing or, allowing… Giving space to, You know, are either…

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Aamirah -WEAll: More top-down, or,

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Aamirah -WEAll: a combination of, kind of, bottom… bottom-up approaches, that are led by… by communities, but I think, yeah, that distinction, between

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Aamirah -WEAll: activities like, you know, the running of cooperatives, or, labour rights, or, or…

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Aamirah -WEAll: all gift economies on a local level, I think…

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Aamirah -WEAll: That a lot of the discussion that we've often had with members is that, local…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Local alternatives are a big part of building what, you know, what capitalism would be replaced by, but it would also need to be in,

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Aamirah -WEAll: In conjunction with shifts in governance and in policy, and in…

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Aamirah -WEAll: And in decision making, essentially, which may not always occur on a local level, right? In the structures that we live in, in the highly globalized world that we live in, you know, this could exist on a regional level, or, on also through global institutions as well. So, just to address that kind of differentiation, I think.

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Melanie Bush: Thank you, Amira, and I see, Ashish and Steve, and,

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Melanie Bush: I would just say, one of the things that came up, and thank you so much, Isabel, for your questions.

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Melanie Bush: In our preparation was, thinking that the solidarity economy is more explicitly, oriented to challenging, capitalism, and, more anti-capitalist, post-capitalist, explicit.

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Melanie Bush: And more… a little bit more, in that sense, political.

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Melanie Bush: So, this is something we can tease out, and Amira made the point that, that's within the frame of, we all.

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Melanie Bush: It includes other traditions and frameworks. Ashish, Steve, go right ahead.

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Ashish Kothari: Thanks. Steve, were you before me?

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Steven Klees: I thought I'd wait and hear what you had to say before I talked.

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Ashish Kothari: Thank you, that's very kind of you, thanks. Thanks, Amira and, Always for those really, really great presentations.

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Ashish Kothari: I, certainly learned a lot from both of them. Amira, my question to you, and I think this also relates to what Melanie just said, two questions, actually.

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Ashish Kothari: One is that, you know, the whole gamut of approaches that come within well-being economy, do they all share this principle of being anti-capitalist or not? I just want to know what the Wellbeing Economy Alliance feels about that.

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Ashish Kothari: The reason I'm asking is because things like circular economy are very easily co-opted by the… by capitalists, as they have, in fact, it has happened already.

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Ashish Kothari: And then the parallel to that is, are they also anti-statist?

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Ashish Kothari: Now, in GTA, and I think also in the solidarity economy thing, we actually say that radical democracy is a very essential principle. Now, if you take Bhutan's cross-national happiness with all its fantastic elements, it nevertheless was very heavily centered on a king.

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Ashish Kothari: and or the Prime Minister who was being supported by the king until it happened, until there was a support, and then now that's kind of withdrawn, so it's become extremely weak.

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Ashish Kothari: And it's collapsing, but also when it was strong, It was not completely non-discriminatory.

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Ashish Kothari: Nepalis were kicked out. There was a lot of issues. Dams, big dam construction, supported by India was accepted as part of a gross national happiness, which I simply did not understand.

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Ashish Kothari: So, I think the principles of radical economic democracy that is controlled by communities and workers and so on, and radical political democracy in which communities have, you know, full decision-making powers.

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Ashish Kothari: Are those central to the well-being economy, or not? Because if they are, then I think one would have to question

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Ashish Kothari: Some of the approaches that seem to be within the purview of well-being economy.

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Ashish Kothari: So, yeah, thanks.

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Melanie Bush: So, why don't we see what other questions there are, and then perhaps do a… just a round of closeout. Our time goes very fast, and I think we will talk about a future conversation, including the collaboration for next year. I see Steve, and is there anyone else who wants to put a comment or question?

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Melanie Bush: And thank you, Ashish, that's a critical and essential…

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Melanie Bush: Conversation about these different frameworks and models.

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Melanie Bush: So I'll let Steve go right ahead, and then I'll ask one more time to see if there's other people who would like to put questions or comments on to the…

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Melanie Bush: Steve?

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Melanie Bush: Go ahead, Steve.

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Steven Klees: Thank you very much for this session. I was… I have been looking forward to it. I'm very much, involved with the Solidary Economy thematic group.

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Steven Klees: With Global Tapestry of Alternatives. I work with a group called the Alternatives Project. I've been…

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Steven Klees: associated with We All for many years now.

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Steven Klees: And the connections between the two, I think…

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Steven Klees: Need to be talked about a lot more.

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Steven Klees: I tried to put this in the chat, I mean.

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Steven Klees: At Global Tapestry of Alternatives, we've been talking about solidarity economies and radical democracy, which overlap considerably in many ways, and both are local.

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Steven Klees: Both depend on local human relations.

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Steven Klees: And we all has been working at a large scale.

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Steven Klees: Cities, states, countries… And as we've been talking about.

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Steven Klees: solidarity economies and radical democracy. The question for me has always been… a question for me has always been.

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Steven Klees: How do we work at larger scale levels?

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Steven Klees: what does solidarity economy mean at a city, state, or regional level? I mean, I know there's participatory budgeting, but that's a…

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Steven Klees: One intervention.

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Steven Klees: How do we make… Collective decisions on a larger scale.

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Steven Klees: And let me leave it at that, I know we don't have a lot of time. And I'm very interested in the answer to Ashish's question, too. I've probed we all over the years about its stance on capitalism.

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Steven Klees: And I've gotten different responses depending on who I talk to.

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Steven Klees: So thank you all.

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Melanie Bush: Thank you, Steve, for adding this question of

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Melanie Bush: hyperlocal, local, global, and how that plays into all of this. I see Portia, would you like to, say out loud your question and qualify, or clarify, or add anything? Or I can just read it?

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Melanie Bush: It's an invitation.

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Portia Allen-Kyle: Yes, sure. Yeah, I just would, like to hear more about, you know, thoughts on…

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Portia Allen-Kyle: While building alternative, you know, economies, like, there… there is that point in which, you know, transitioning and opting out of, what is happening on the day-to-day, and so wondering, in that transition work, you know, in that building, if, you can share more about what that has looked like, for folks in different places across the globe.

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Melanie Bush: Thank you, and I know that… I know most of the folks who are here are deeply immersed in some form of building work, so if you haven't had a chance to…

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Melanie Bush: Share something, feel free in the chat, or this is the last call before we

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Melanie Bush: here, a minute or so from each, Amira Haweste, and then I'll do the closeout.

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Melanie Bush: And again, please do look forward to a continuation. So we have three, I think three key questions on the table.

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Melanie Bush: The issue of we all, and anti-capitalism, and anti-statism, radical democracy, about scale, and, which…

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Melanie Bush: which framework is particularly, applicable in more local versus more global, and how to navigate that. And this question, of, building

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Melanie Bush: in new models.

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Melanie Bush: So… Either of you, go right ahead.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Okay, how worse do you… are you happy for me to kick off?

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Halwest Karim: Okay, thank you so much. I think you, asked, many, important questions. Actually, as, Milani mentioned.

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Halwest Karim: The solidarity economy, this approach is anti-capitalist, anti-colonial.

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Halwest Karim: approach, and… and I think, solidarity, economy, scaling,

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Halwest Karim: Radical democracy challenges, to balance local community, with border coordination, and also at the larger level, within city, state, or, global.

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Halwest Karim: And, it may not be about centralizing decision, but about creating networks for local communities.

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Halwest Karim: That remain rooted in, community, human relationships, while collaborating across scales. So,

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Halwest Karim: The key for solidarity economy, could be building participatory and decentralized it.

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Halwest Karim: a structure that still allow collective decision-making without losing the local and rational sense of, well-being. So, I think all those,

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Halwest Karim: approach, is very important that… how we are, thinking about from which perspective. So, I didn't have,

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Halwest Karim: enough time to discuss more about… and sharing more information about the, solidarity economy, but I think, it's building from, community, it's grassroots movement, and it is anti-capital.

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Halwest Karim: And, colonial, system.

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Halwest Karim: I hope that… I, answered your question. Thank you. Over to you, Amira.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Yeah, so I think, the questions that were asked kind of all intersect with each other, and I think, Ashish, you brought up a really good point, which is often a point of division, not only within, the core team, of which we're only kind of 10 individuals, and, and the movement itself. So, you know, some would very clearly identify as anti-capitalists, and some would probably be a bit more reluctant and on the side

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Aamirah -WEAll: a bit more of still being engaged with current models, and I think a big part of when we emerged, the work was also in challenging those who are very embedded in the dominant and current economic paradigm.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And in… by default, I think in trying to shift policy in places where, you know, we're talking about systems of governments that are still made up of individuals, that, that, you know, you do have well-meaning, or, you know, those…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Who… who agree with a lot of principles, but are still embedded in the current governance systems.

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Aamirah -WEAll: That are in place, that prop up the capitalist system that we live in, right? So, and I think that has always been… that has continued to be a tension, and is even more of a tension now, given the state of the world and the state of the collapse of, you know, so much of the world order, which, you know, a lot of us would agree

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Aamirah -WEAll: M… is…

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Aamirah -WEAll: is needed, you know, for real dramatic shifts to take place. And I think touching on that, the question of, kind of, the global and the local, I think that's often, at least for me personally, I can't speak for everybody, because again, we're, you know, an alliance of movements and individuals.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And, you know, every person you speak to will have different ideas around this, but, you know, one of the biggest struggles I've often found is there's often these great local examples, but then how do we make those relatable, kind of, on a regional level, or make them more dominant and,

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Aamirah -WEAll: Even if… even if they, you know, the very…

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Aamirah -WEAll: the very creation of them in a particularly, free, anti-capitalist way means that, you know, they will never exist on an international or on a national scale, but how do we… how does that scaling up or that learning between communities expand, right? Because there's often such strong examples of

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Aamirah -WEAll: of local, you know, whether that's participatory governance, or cooperatives, or, you know… I'm often amazed by some of the examples that exist there, but kind of bridging that gap.

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Aamirah -WEAll: Between, between those examples that exist in particular places.

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Aamirah -WEAll: And how, you know, some of those

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Aamirah -WEAll: could be reflected more in, you know, in regional… on a regional level, or on… or across bioregions, for example, and seeing that shift. So, you know, I think there's… that's probably something even to explore a little bit more the next time we convene again, I hope, before, the end of the year, as both movements. But, yeah, I think there is a strong need

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Aamirah -WEAll: coming back to Portia's question, for both those who are advocating for the radical alternatives and those who may still be embedded in the current system, shifting their ways of doing and being. And for me personally, businesses, you know, big global businesses is not, you know… you know, I worked with big businesses for about

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Aamirah -WEAll: three years on this, and I was like, the shift isn't happening, and I don't believe it can happen, but I do think there are still, you know, a lot of very active people in our network are working directly on policy in their national context, and that would be where they see levers of change being possible for a new alternative.

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Aamirah -WEAll: So, not, not,

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Aamirah -WEAll: not a… not nearly a thorough enough answer, but I hope I've touched on some of…

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Aamirah -WEAll: Kind of those tensions that have emerged in the questions today.

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Melanie Bush: Thank you so much, both to Amira and to Heleste, and to each person who's offered a thought or a question. I do think that there are many possibilities for our next conversation.

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Melanie Bush: Helvest and I sat this year as one of building collaboration, and it's very exciting to be in this conversation with Amira and we all.

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Melanie Bush: And many people probably saw DiPolo, who was very much part of the core team of GTA in some of the photos.

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Melanie Bush: So, it, strikes me, we're now at the point of closing, and it strikes me that, the…

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Melanie Bush: point that… and I'm trying to find it in the chat, I was trying to put the links before we left, but it strikes me that, Portia's question

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Melanie Bush: about those opting out, each of us, I think, are in some ways involved in our regional spaces in that kind of process. And I invite any of you who would like to share about how you, in your work.

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Melanie Bush: are opting out of current models and building new ones, as part of our GTA SC series,

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Melanie Bush: do let Halvest and I know, because, it would be… we've done that in the past, we had, from the Philippines, we had from, Rojava, we had from India.

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Melanie Bush: And we would love to continue that, kind of presentation, and sharing, because we can learn so much and also draw inspiration.

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Melanie Bush: I also want to acknowledge that, there's a very interesting exchange taking place in the chat, and I think we will consider whether or not this actually is also another topic for us to explore together in the future.

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Melanie Bush: So, as you see,

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Melanie Bush: I think, I'm gonna ask, Amir just to say, is the best thing to stay tuned around reclaiming the economy, and, that we will continue our, exchanges in our future meetings.

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Melanie Bush: building the collaboration between GTA and We All, or, Amira, perhaps you can just put that in the chat.

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Melanie Bush: And, I just wonder, in our last several minutes, two things. Well, a couple things. One thing is, at the link that you signed up for the Zoom link.

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Melanie Bush: That webpage will have this recording and, I believe some version, if not the exact version, of the slides that you saw, plus hopefully transcript and chat, so that you can go back and reflect. I always find I need to think

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Melanie Bush: When, there's so much, information shared. Also, if, you are part of another formation.

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Melanie Bush: outside of GTA, GTA has extraordinary examples of, building the new world, and I, I think Ashish, put, a little bit in the chat. I'm going through quickly. But,

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Melanie Bush: I look forward to hearing more.

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Melanie Bush: Secondly, I wonder if… and this… Ashish, this is usually your, your, ask?

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Melanie Bush: But if people are able to put their cameras on and we get a print screen of the beautiful faces that have been together during this time, I feel like moments are sacred and you can't get time back, and it's been a very rich and thoughtful question, time.

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Melanie Bush: And, I wonder if we could just do one quick go-round as we live in these complex times, of what is one thing that… what is one wish that you have?

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Melanie Bush: And so, if… has everyone who is able to put their camera on… put their camera on?

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Melanie Bush: I'll take that. Thank you. Okay,

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Melanie Bush: Okay, I got it. And, anyone want to start? A wish for all of us in this moment as we think about economy and home?

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Melanie Bush: And love, and peace.

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Melanie Bush: Anyone have an offering?

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Melanie Bush: Did us call it out?

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Melanie Bush: Allison.

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Melanie Bush: May I invite you?

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Melanie Bush: What's a wish.

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Alison Chopel: All of us.

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Melanie Bush: Until we meet again.

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Alison Chopel: Yeah, I just put peace, because I'm… whenever I think about the economy right now, it's really hard to think about the damage that all these

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Alison Chopel: wars are doing to us and our Earth and everything the economy's built on. So, my wishes for peace.

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Melanie Bush: Do you want a popcorn to someone?

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Alison Chopel: Oh, sure. I see in my, Diana Rincon Valguena, if maybe she's not able to speak.

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Melanie Bush: Oh, go ahead, Dad.

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Alison Chopel: Oh, God.

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: Hello! Okay, I'm going to speak in English. I don't know my camera, I think it's not working, so sorry for that. I don't know what happened. I think it's here, perhaps, no. Yes!

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: Hello!

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: Thank you. I think the reflections are very nice. I am studying my PhD focusing… trying to understand the social cause of the low-carbon production we need for this.

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: green transition, and basically, you know, it's a big dilemma between the economy, as well the impacts of the extraction, intensive extraction, especially in the Global South.

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: So, basically, for me, I think we are in a green capitalism, or a green transition, like, very materialistic.

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: So, basically, try to link in with the conference and the previous presentations. I think we need to rethink our economy. Basically, we need to avoid the quantity of materialistic

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: oppression by the Global North to the Global South. This inequality, I think it is important to reflect about this subject seriously, and also put pressure for rethink

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: More, for more use transition in this process. So, thank you.

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Melanie Bush: Would you like to call someone? Invite someone?

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: Oh my god, I want to check the list. Perhaps Natalie? Natalie.

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Nathalie Al-Zyoud, South Africa: Alzheut. What was the question?

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Melanie Bush: What's a wish that you have for us?

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Melanie Bush: Until we meet again.

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Nathalie Al-Zyoud, South Africa: Oh, I wish multiple connection, relationships, and fruitful discussion that lead to, collective change.

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Nathalie Al-Zyoud, South Africa: And I shall pick, Portia.

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Portia Allen-Kyle: Yes, I, put in the chat, but a wish for collective rest and ease.

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Portia Allen-Kyle: And I will pick, isabelle, did you go already?

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Isabel D'Mello: I just put it in the chat, and I actually have to drop off, but, I just put ongoing dialogue. I think it's been really rich and interesting to, hear from everybody's experiences, and points of view, so…

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Isabel D'Mello: And long may that continue.

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Melanie Bush: Would you like to call on someone?

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Melanie Bush: And vice versa.

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Isabel D'Mello: Someone? I will invite…

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Isabel D'Mello: Frederick?

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Friederike Habermann_((any))(NOW NET): Okay, thank you. Well, there would be so many, it's hard to choose, but since, without peace.

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Friederike Habermann_((any))(NOW NET): everything's nothing, I choose peace.

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Friederike Habermann_((any))(NOW NET): And I would like to invite… Karim?

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Friederike Habermann_((any))(NOW NET): A harvest?

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Halwest Karim: Yes.

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Halwest Karim: Thank you. Also, I hope for love and peace.

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Halwest Karim: Thank you.

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Halwest Karim: And I will invite…

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Halwest Karim: P-Persia?

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Halwest Karim: Sorry if I called your name wrong.

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Melanie Bush: I think, we have Ashish and Amira, Maria Cruz, and myself.

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Melanie Bush: Why don't we just go right ahead?

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Ashish Kothari: Thanks a lot. I think for me, the hope is that we keep hope alive.

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Ashish Kothari: And one way I do it is to pay attention to all the nature that's fruiting and flowering around me, and we're just getting into the mango season. That always keeps my hope alive.

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Ashish Kothari: Okay, Amita.

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Ashish Kothari: Huh? Nope.

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Melanie Bush: I think she had to leave. Maria Cruz, thank you so much for your hard work, and is there a hope that you would like… a wish that you would like to…

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Melanie Bush: Share with us?

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Melanie Bush: Beautiful. And my wish is that each of you know how important you are, and that in this moment of great transition and great tumult, like the flowers blooming, so are we, and that it is in community like this that, we… we will… we will see… see this time through.

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Melanie Bush: So thank you so much for joining us. We feel very grateful that you took time out of the many things you could have been doing, and stay tuned for more in the future. And thank you so much, Amira and our West.

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Melanie Bush: Actually, everyone, thank you. Bye-bye!

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Halwest Karim: Thank you so much.

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Diana Rincon Valbuena: Hi, thank you!

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Melanie Bush: Bye, Diana!