“Make everything heavy local, make everything light global”. Here’s the launch discussion on the Cosmolocal Reader
In a follow-up to our announcement of the Cosmolocal Reader last week, here’s the launch video of the event - featuring Michel Bauwens, Helena Norbert Hodge and others. Below are a few notes taken from the discussion (more on the Cosmolocal Reader here).
Jose Ramos: this is about planetary potential - we can all help each other
Kathy Peach: it’s about merging collective tech intelligence with human intelligence. We sometimes live in times when it all happens… We need faster, smarter and more locally appropriate organisation. We. must invest more in how to build collective intelligence on the ground. People lack the tools and skills for coding and citizen science - thus so many worthy projects struggle. AI can be used to enable smarter matching of skills and interests. optimising coordination of tasks.
Our business models are reliant on crowd funding. But for so many. digital infrastructure are the critical public goods for the 21 century. Too many donors pay attention to scaling, but we need to think more about infrastructure. We need to also think of the importance of diversity in these structures - 97% of contributions are men.
Michel Bauwens: The current crisis is not as new is often suggested. Human history shows great waves - there are extractive periods, spiritual reactions and then regeneration in many eras.
What is new is our global overreach. Only a commons approach can respond to this. We need a transnational, translocal architecture. And we need a magisterium of the commons. A place where everything heavy is local, everything light is global.
We should be looking at co-cities in Italy, comprising 1 million commoners. The local city in the coordinator of many economies with social and ecological goals. We are learning eight times as fast as 20 years ago…
There is some support from public authorities and cities. France already has five framework regulations to support commons transitions, per domain, at the regional level, with the support of the national bank for regions; and has a policy to use makerspaces as cosmo-local and physical centers for regional development
Sharon Ede: In community based circular economies, the citizens are leading. They do repair cafes—while we talk about it
James Gien Wong: Look at StopResetGo and Tipping Point Festivals. These are awakening the sleeping giant of citizens contribution.
Helena Norbert Hodge: let’s not forget the centrality of experiential knowledge, to be in the moment, with self, others and nature
Abril Chimal: This knowledge has been available for hundreds of years—but how we are sharing it now!
Ron Eglash: if you want to see how to move from extraction to sharing. Check the fractal structures in Africa
Mel Fuller: we’re doing maker spaces in Australia for disabled. Enough yoga heads! We’re getting on with solving problems. Always starts with the process of asking ‘what do you need’. People themselves don’t want to be given products - they want to be part of designing what’s needed.