Elevate the Commons

"Elevate the Commons" was the title of the festival in 2008. Since then, the commons discourse has evolved rapidly. The idea has been taken up by an increasing number of people and social movements as a tool for self-empowerment that allowed them to express their rights, such as access to vital resources and social participation. The commons can be a conceptual model for a democratic, socially just and environmentally sustainable society in which people are in charge of their own affairs. But the commons can also be recognized by the state and capital as a universal remedy for various crises. Where this is not possible, the commons are threatened by enclosures and criminalization. In an interview, Silke Helfrich and Michel Bauwens will trace current developments and explain why all festival themes can be brought together under the term "commons".