Session 1 : Community governance and participatory democracy : The Rojava revolution : co-operation, environmentalism, and feminism in the North Syria Democratic Federation

On Day 3 (15 June 2018), in the session of “Community Governance and Participatory Democracy”, John RESTAKIS (Community Evolution Foundation, Canada) delivered a lecture on The Rojava Revolution: Co-operation, Environmentalism, and Feminism in the North Syria Democratic Federation. The video is produced by Global University for Sustainability, 2018

ICT, open government and civil society

Abstract This paper explores the rise of ICTs as instruments of government reform and the implication of their use from the vantage point of the relations between democratic governance, the aims of Buen Vivir, and the role of civil society. We discuss some of the contradictions inherent in the nature and organisation of ICTs, particularly in connection to such e-government projects as “smart cities” and participatory budgeting, and focus on the centrality of social relationships, political agency and the operations of social capital as elements that determine the success of these initiatives in the promotion of democratic practice. We also examine the relevance of social capital and user control to organisational structure and the ways in which structure relates to social innovation and the access, transfer and diffusion of knowledge as a common good. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significance of ICTs as instruments of civil empowerment and introduces the notion of “generative democracy” as a means of re-imagining and realigning the role and powers of the state and civil society for the social production of goods and services

Co-operative Development, Policy, and Power in a Period of Contested Neoliberalism: The Case of Evergreen Co-operative Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio

After the financial crisis in 2008 and amid growing concerns about climate change, interest in systemic alternatives to neoliberal capitalism is growing. This cultural shift helps explain the enthusiasm from political elites, media, and academics that greeted the launch of Evergreen Co-operative Corporation in 2009. Based in Cleveland Ohio, Evergreen is a network of worker-owned co-operatives with scalability and replicability woven into its design. But how warranted is the broad-based enthusiasm around Evergreen? Is this a model that can be replicated across North America as its founders suggest? Based on site visits and stakeholder interviews, we argue that there are important limits on desires to reproduce the “Cleveland Model.”  However, its ambitions for scalability and replicability position it to contribute to the important project of movement building that can facilitate the policy change needed to scale up the co-operative alternative

Establishing a Co-op Development System in BC & Alberta

This presentation to the 2009 symposium of the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) reports on the results of two BALTA research projects (C2 and C7) examining the existing co-operative development system in Nova Scotia (C2) and exploring how to strengthen co-operative development systems in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; British Columbia Co-operative Association (BCCA) ; Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA

BALTA Project A2 Update - Co-operative Models of Social Care

This project is examining the role that co-operatives are playing in the provision of health and social services in Canada and internationally, and the impact of government policy, legislation, and operating procedure on the ability of co-operative models to provide these services. Two aspects of the project have specifically explored co-op elder care in Canada and enabling policy for health and social co-ops in British Columbia, Canada. This update specifies research plans for the 2008-2009 year.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA

C7 Project Follow Up (Part 1) and Social Co-ops & Social Care

This presentation to the 2009 symposium of the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) reports on the results of two BALTA research projects (C7 and A2) exploring how to strengthen co-operative development systems in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and epxloring the increasing role of co-ops in social care.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; British Columbia Co-operative Association (BCCA) ; Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA

Northern and Eastern Syria : stateless democracy in a critical time

Moderator: John RESTAKIS (Synergia Institute, Canada) Speakers: Leman HASENO (Civil Diplomacy Center, the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria) Muhammad HASSAN (Department of Foreign Affairs, the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria

The Kurdish freedom movement and hope in times of global Capitalism

Moderator: John RESTAKIS (Synergia Institute, Canada) Speaker (60-90 mins): Havin GÜNEŞER (Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan—Peace in Kurdistan) Discussant (10 mins): Fouâd OVEISY (University of California, Irvine, USA