GREEN ECONOMY AND COMMONS

If we understand fresh air, water, grasslands, parks, music, and literature as common goods, what does this mean for the economy? Should all these “commons” be for free use of every individual, company, state? Imagine these “goods” are defined as commons, how can such an economy be organized? Where are the limits and preconditions? What is the role of the state, public authorities, private companies and individuals? On the micro level, the sharing of commons such as parks, music, literature seems to be easy. But on the country level or between countries the ideas of commons leads to many question marks.

An  epoch in modern history has ended. The growth imperative of capitalism is evidently endangering the ecosystem. There are problems of sharing and using the limited resources of the earth. The international rules which are regulating the use and sharing of these resources are either not efficient or not respected by all. The negotiation process to stop global climate change has many examples to refer to. Confidence in governments as reliable stewards of people’s interests has been shaken. Therefore the need for finding a new path for a solution is stronger than ever. Many  experts in the fields of economy and ecology  elieve this new path: The commons!

The notion of commons is about reclaiming, sharing and self-governing resources that belong to everyone. Can we build a new system for managing our resources – water, land, knowledge, seeds, genes, the atmosphere and the public spaces in urban areas – based on the principles of equity and sustainability? Can the idea of commons, commonpublic goods lead us towards a new economic system? Heinrich Böll Stiftung brings Green Economy and Commons issue up for discussion. We will start by trying to answer the question of “what the commons are” and search for the  solutions to the problem of sharing and governing our commons in all spheres; from cultural and environmental values to food, from water to air and knowledge.

We will discuss the role of commons in the Green Economy as well. We invite everybody who is interested in green economics and commons to join the Green Economics Conference and contribute in the discussions.

Heinrich Böll Stiftung Turkey Representation

More for Commons from HBS

Programme

4th Green Economy Conference - Green Economy and Commons
16-17 November 2013
Cezayir Assembly Hall, Hayriye Caddesi 12, Galatasaray, Beyoglu-Istanbul

16 November 2013, Saturday

09:00 Registiration
09:30 Opening Address
Ulrike Dufner - Heinrich Böll Stiftung Turkey Representation

SESSION 1 – What the commons are?

09:40 Key note speaker: David Bollier (video conference)
The Role of Commons in a New Economic System

10:10 Q&A
10:40 Break

11:00 Essential commons (Moderator: Nafiz Güder )
Global, Public and Private Goods
Bengi Akbulut
Market Pressure on Commons (Food, Water and Agriculture)
Stefo Benlisoy
Design of the commons, critical points and problems
Ali Kerem Saysel/Boğaziçi University, Institute of Environmental Sciences

12:00 Q&A
12:15 Break for lunch

13:30 New wave of commons (Moderator: Fikret Adaman)
Time sharing
Ayşegül Güzel/Zumbara
Open/Free Knowledge/Access: Participative Commons in Digital world
Serhat Koç, LL.M./Pirate Party Initiative
Amateur Theatre and Copyright
Elif Karaman/Boğaziçi University Players

14:30 Q&A
15:00 Break

SESSION 2 – Siege of the Commons and Resistance

15:15 Local problems, global pursuits (Moderator: Umud Dalgıç)
Reclaiming the Credit Commons
Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
Urban Commons
Asst. Prof. Begüm Özden Fırat/Mimar Sinan Fine Art University, Division of Sociology
'Greece 2013 | Commons-Ground Zero: An overview of the present and beyond'
Nicholas Anastasopoulos/National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture

16:45 Q&A
17:15 End of the first day

17 November 2013, Sunday

FORUM:
How to reclaim and protect our commons?

10:00 Registration
10:30 - 12:30

LCV: 14 November 2013
Contact person: Banu Yayla
info@tr.boell.org
Tel: 0212 249 15 54
Simultaneous translation in to Turkish and English will be provided during the first day of the conference.