Theme Day: ACT!

The second theme day of the Elevate Festival is dedicated to exploring practical ways to take action and to convey knowledge and practical methods to bring about the necessary social and ecological change. Here the fundamentals for the fulfillment of basic human needs are in the foreground: energy, food and housing. Currently these are being supplied by the market, where it is not about facilitating a high quality of life for all but a way to make profit. Moreover, at present prevalent practices behind their supply are unsustainable and contribute significantly to the destruction of our natural resources and necessities of life.

However, there are already a growing number of grassroots initiatives that focus on the fulfillment of basic needs, opportunities of participation for all, and on a sustainable use of resources. Due to the crisis of the mainstream economy, they are gaining increasing importance. While the market system systematically generates scarcity, alternative modes of production and distribution make a good life possible for all without destroying the natural environment. This is not, as is often claimed, just a matter of new technology but rather a question of democracy and control: It is essential that people take the fulfillment of their needs into their own hands instead of complacently taking on the role of a consumer. Various tangible forward-looking ways to become active together are being presented on this theme day.