Commons

Introducing Fairbnb.coop – Q&A with Damiano Avellino

The main challenge we need to solve in the platform co-op community is how to reach critical mass… and how to pass users from one platform to another. Fairbnb.coop is a platform co-op whose name precedes it. Everyone’s heard of the venture-capital-backed alternative that’s putting hotels and traditional B&Bs out of business, and Fairbnb.coop is …

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Introducing The Democracy Collaborative – Q&A with Sarah McKinley

I see a real need for “scaled connectivity” to advance our work as part of a viable ecosystem. In the run up to OPEN 2020 in London in June, we interviewed Sarah, Mckinley, Director for European Programs for The Democracy Collaborative and the European Representative for the Next System Project. OSB: What is The Democracy …

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Kate Raworth – A healthy economy should be designed to thrive not grow

What would a sustainable, universally beneficial economy look like? “Like a doughnut,” says Oxford economist Kate Raworth. In this eye-opening talk, she explains how we can move countries out of the hole, where people are falling short on life’s essentials, and create regenerative, distributive economies that work within the planet’s ecological limits. Join Kate at …

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Making groups work

There is a growing consensus that enabling groups, and networks of groups, to work together, is essential to delivering exponential impact in collaboration and solving humanities multiple challenges. The Magical Number Seven, ideas about committees, decision making, teams and productivity all suggest that small groups are the most effective… whilst Hagel suggests that “achieving the …

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Mutual credit – an alternative to the extractive economy

One of our key projects at The Open Co-op is The Open Credit Network, which evolved out of OPEN 2018 and our previous work on ideas for a co-op coin. Having tested a proof-of-concept and visited Sardex, a successful mutual credit network in Sardinia, we have now developed a bespoke directory and accounting system to …

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Defining a shared purpose for the progressive movement

*In this article I use the term ‘progressive movement’ to mean all the people and organisations that are working, or would like to work, on creating a world in which people and planet come before profit. If the term does not sit comfortably with you please substitute ‘solidarity economy’ or whatever term you prefer that …

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OPEN 2019 joins IWGB boycott of University of London in solidarity with workers

The exploitation of temporary, freelance and out-sourced workers is a serious issue. As companies get bigger and more powerful, and operate through platforms which distance them from their stakeholders it is getting easier for them to abuse their workers. This abuse manifests in a number of ways but one which is very close to our …

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OPEN 2018 – Preview

OPEN 2018 is not just about showcasing platform co-ops. It’s about the ownership revolution and forging a path to a collaborative, sustainable economy. It’s about creating new organisations which are member owned and democratically governed so that we, the people, have control over the institutions we rely on. Our vision is of a world in …

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