The working groups are about 15-20 participants that meet on Saturday or Sunday afternoon of the conference to find key proposals and research questions related to degrowth. The groups report their findings to a general assembly that gives them feedback. Each working group deals with one important topic related to economic degrowth for ecological justice and social sustainability that implies a reduction of the capacity to produce and consume. See the section on the working groups process below.
Working groups differ from your typical conference sessions and workshops where presentations are made. These will be smaller in size and require the active participation of every group member. Participants will not be passive spectators but will seek to build and agree on a proposal.
STIRRING PAPERS ARE UPLOADED (click on each working group), in addition to english they are sometimes available in French, Spanish, Italian or Catalan.
Political (and research) proposals elaboration
1. Money and currencies
2. New financial institutions
3. Social economy, changing the corporation status
4. Property rights
5. Work-sharing
6. Moratoria on new infrastructures
7. How to deal with advertising
8. Reduction of natural resource exploitation
9. Zero-waste
10. Degrowth in water consumption
11. Reusing empty houses and co-housing
12. Basic income and income ceiling
13. New technologies
29. Education
Research (and political) proposals elaboration
14. Social metabolism and transitions
15. Cities and degrowth
16. Agro-ecology, food sovereignty and degrowth
17. Trade degrowth
18. Participative/direct democracy
19. Political strategies
20. Demography and degrowth
21. Demilitarisation and degrowth
22. Energy degrowth and the transition to renewable energies
23. Environmental justice, the environmentalism of the poor and degrowth
24. Social security and pensions
25. Human nature and degrowth
26. New (macro)economic models for degrowth
27. Indicators for degrowth
28. Economic degrowth and the Steady state
Groups formation
Participants sign for a particular working group before, but if these have more than 20 people, some of them move to less numerous groups.
Collaboration between different working groups is expected and important because of strong synergies and mutual-dependence between the proposals that may emerge as a result of the discussions.
Working groups session I (1h 20min)
As the goal of the working groups is to find key political proposals and research questions, the facilitator first present the proposals or research questions addressed in the stirring papers. The concerns of participants will be then collected. From here, participants develop one to three key proposals or research question(s). The group then decides on a formulation to present to the general assembly that everyone agrees on. In case of disagreement the reporters present diverging opinions. The group can think of concrete examples that illustrate the proposal. Before the end of the session the group chooses a reporter who reads the text to the assembly.
Parallel assemblies (40min)
Working group participants split intо two parallel assemblies and а reporter from each group presents the key proposals to one of the assemblies. Each reporter have 1-2 minutes to do so', followed by a minutes of silence during which the assembly writes down their responses, concerns or questions regarding the proposals. The written responses are put in working group 'mail-boxes'. After the end of the assembly, the group facilitator collects all concerns and 2-3 "post-people" arranges them for presenting in the next working group session.
Pause (15min)
For collection and sorting of assembly concerns
Working group session II (1h 30min)
A few participants can change groups if they are concerned with the position that another working group has taken and expressed at the assembly. It is however expected that participants do not change groups.
Preferably the groups divide in two. And the post-people present the grouped (written) assembly concerns. Afterwards participants address them together with internal concerns that may emerge. The next part of the session is spent on discussing, reformulating or changing the identified key proposals/research questions taking the feedback into consideration. A reformulation of the key proposals/research questions is sought for the conference declaration and for presentation at the end of the day. In this session there is a re-reading of the notes and agreement about what proposals and discussion points can be used for the conference proceedings, website and further research. A representative of the working group is chosen by the group to participate at the declaration meeting.
Steering proposals/research questions final presentation
The compiled results of each working group are presented on a flip chart to all participants in the patio of the UB. All working groups results have then been presented on the next day at the monday session. And the process for the finalisation of the conference declaration, and network process, and research plans have been discussed the same day with representatives from each working group.
Facilitator, reporter and minute-taker
Each working group will have a facilitator who makes sure that participants voice their concerns and that these are taken care of. At the start of the first working group session, facilitators present the key proposals and research questions identified in the stirring papers. Facilitators make sure that their position does not influence or dominate the discussion, and tries to follow the format and program of the working group process, previously decided.
The reporter's role is to read the key proposals or research questions (one to three). The reporter will be decided upon by the group.
With the help of the facilitator, the reporter writes down the key proposal/s and/or research questions making sure that the rest of the group agrees upon the formulation.
A minute-taker will take notes of the proposals made and concerns raised, stating clearly the points of agreement and disagreement. The facilitator and minute-taker organize the writing of the small paragraph for the conference website that summarizes the group proposals and discussion.
