The 8th Degrowth and Environmental Justice Summer School
June 21st – July 5th 2021
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Applications are closed
The Degrowth and Environmental Justice Summer School is back!
Programme can be found here
Aim and Topics
In this year’s edition of the summer school we aim to explore the topics of Degrowth and Environmental Justice with a decolonial and feminist emphasis. The Degrowth and Environmental Justice Summer School is made up of two sister-projects – the Summer School in Barcelona and in Can Decreix. The first part traditionally takes place in Barcelona, where students will explore, debate and collectively work on Degrowth and Environmental Justice approaches. For the second week, students relocate to Can Decreix in Cerbère, France, to fully experience what a Degrowth lifestyle proposal could look like in a rural area.
This year, the focus will be on alliances and global solidarity between different movements, collectives or groups that share the core values of Degrowth. In the first week, the program will cover two parts: First, we aim to deconstruct and critique inter-locking systems of oppression and narratives that are based on colonialism, modernity, the growth imperative and patriarchy; secondly, we aim to explore ways to create other systems, structures, cultural norms and narratives by building on existing knowledge from social and environmental justice movements, and creating bridges with those whom we share the struggle for the social-ecological change we hope to see in the world. To bring about change and alternative systems, networks and cross-pollination need to be created through conversations and finding common ground among ourselves.
The aim of the second week in Cerbère is to collectively work to construct alternative narratives. Decision making will be inspired by sociocracy/holocracy models and the so-called “Group Assembly Process”. Participants will work in groups on topics such as: degrowing patriarchal thought and dominance; degrowth of tourism and fast travel; degrowing and sharing work and workspaces to build a powerful and new narrative for that theme. The courses of the week in Cerbere will include a general theoretical introduction to narratives; a practical component of how stories are built, and an exploration of why narratives are key to reclaiming political spaces and to degrowth. We see the process of generating alternative narratives as a “guerilla of ideas” against the way in which growth narratives have colonized our landscape, crucial to re-imagining the world and an integral part of the process of transformation.
With this goal in mind, we see the feminist and decolonial emphasis as foundations for the kind of transformation we need globally, and as the necessary starting point for solidarity-building. Degrowth and Environmental Justice struggles can be powerful potential vehicles for these kinds of conversations, while recognizing that “Degrowth”, as a European concept, should be continually committed to interrogating the way in which it engages in the process of decolonisation.
A more complete program of the summer school will be released further ahead.
Where and When?
The school will take place in two different places:
The first week (21st – 27th June) in Barcelona.
The second week (28th June – 5th July) in Can Decreix, a home envisioned according to degrowth principles in Cerbére, at the French border with Spain.
Participation fees
The cost of attending the whole summer school is 350 euro. For only one of the two weeks, the cost is 200 euro.
We encourage participants with a regular income or university/institutional funding to pay a solidarity fee of 450 euro (if attending 2 weeks, or 300 euro if attending just a single module), which will enable us to provide a limited number of scholarships for participants who require them.
Logistics
Accommodation: Participants are required to take care of their accommodation for the first week (21st – 27th June) in Barcelona. We will do our best to assist participants in finding affordable accommodation. For the second week in Cerbére there will be the possibility for camping in Can Decreix or either staying at the Hotel Belvedere (not included in the fee).
Transportation: Local transport like metro or bus is not included in the summer school fee. Tickets from Barcelona to Cerbère are included for the participants attending two-weeks summer school. You will find more information soon in our FAQ.
Food: Dinner will be provided on the first day in Barcelona. On all other days of the first week, participants will have to arrange for their own food. In Can Decreix the local organic food costs 70 euros for the whole week.
Audience
Barcelona module: We aim to emphasize diversity in participation: seasoned and budding activists; individuals who identify with struggles for social and environmental justice, and lifelong learners. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we foresee that the logistics for attending in person will be more complex than usual for those planning to attend from outside of the EU/Europe and we want to support with whatever we can to make this process smoother for those who are interested in doing so.
Can Decreix module: Participants in the first week in Barcelona module; previous participants of summer school, master students, degrowth activists/researchers.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us
degrowthsummerschool@gmail.com