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GROWL – Learning more, growing less

“GROWL” project concerns the development of proposals and innovative solutions through the implementation of educational activities targeted to adults, with the aim to address the ecological and economic crisis with the participation of activists that work in the field of agro-ecology, as well as theorists of the concept of degrowth and civil society organisations (CSOs). The project is a partnership of ten non governmental organisations (NGOs) and academic and educational institutions from France, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Austria. GROWL calls upon to fill a knowledge gap through the development of training materials and the implementation of training seminars on various issues related to the radical transformation of the model of economic development, for the benefit of the economy, the society and the environment.

“GROWL – Learning more, growing less ”

 

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Project Summary

http://degrowth.co-munity.net/growl

http://co-munity.net/

“ANTIGONE-Information and Documentation Center on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non Violence” participates in the project “Learning more, growing less (GROWL)” along with nine other partners from 8 different countries. This project is funded by the European Commission and the Lifelong Learning Programme- Grundtvig partnerships.

Short description:

“GROWL” project concerns the development of proposals and innovative solutions through the implementation of educational activities targeted to adults, with the aim to address the ecological and economic crisis with the participation of activists that work in the field of agro-ecology, as well as theorists of the concept of degrowth and civil society organisations (CSOs). The project, which is a partnership of non governmental organisations (NGOs) and academic and educational institutions, calls upon to fill a knowledge gap through the development of training materials and the implementation of training seminars on various issues related to the radical transformation of the model of economic development, for the benefit of the economy, the society and the environment.

 

“GROWL”, through innovative educational approaches aa well as the use of an advanced information and communication platform will attempt to promote an exchange between theory and practice. The proposed methodology will focus on train-the-trainer approaches that will enable learning and skill sharing via collaborative learning processes. Furthermore, it will integrate practical approaches into everyday lives and promote active, participatory citizenship in local, national and European (economic) politics.

 

The training materials, the training seminars, and the social networking infrastructure that will be developed (webpage, social media, networking of stakeholders) will further promote the understanding of contemporary issues of sustainable degrowth and facilitate the strengthening of personal skills and competences for making a change in individual and collective level.

 

Specifically, the collaborative learning through training seminars in each country will allow “trainers” and “trainees” exchange roles, good practices, knowledge and experiences. The international exchange of information will facilitate the dissemination of best practices in many different countries. With this strategy, the multiplicable benefits of the project are expected to be more than significant. In 9 European countries dozens of young adults will be trained and create a “pool of trainers” for the change and the transition to a more sustainable society, while tens of young people will be encouraged to use transnational mobility in order to expand their international prospects.

Theoretical background:

The current model of production and consumption of the globalized economy market, the climate change, the depletion of fossil fuels and natural resources have resulted in a multilateral crisis making the future unsustainable for the majority of the world’s population. The hunt for the continuous growth has led to an unprecedented environmental disaster that can not be sustainable on a planet with finite resources.

 

There is an urgent need for everyday and practical solutions for all those who face the difficult reality of unemployment or underemployment, homelessness, poverty and cuts in social services. We must act quickly and decisively towards finding ways to make our way of living fully compatible with the planet’s capacity to sustain itself. The concept of socially sustainable degrowth offers a positive response and practical solutions to address the profound ecological, economic and social crisis, seeking of self-sufficiency, cooperation, solidarity and the creation of alternative forms of social self-organization.

“Degrowth does not mean a return to the past and life in caves, but return to the utopian future that we envision and anticipate, a society of equality, fairness, ecological wisdom and sharing. It is another creative way to change our lives for the better, to experience the reasons why anyone deserves to live freely and hope for a better future based on dignity.”

 

Partners:

Coordinator: Recherche et Décroissance (Quimper, France)

Partners: Transition Town Witzenhausen – Stadt im Wandel (Witzenhausen, Germany), Haute Ecole de Bruxelles (Brussels, Belgium), Fundacja “Kultury Swiata” (Warszawa, Poland), Trast pro ekonomiku a spolecnost (Brno, Czech Republic), Recerca & Decreixement (Barcelona, Spain), ISCTE (Lisboa, Portugal), Förderverein Wachstumswende e.V. (Berlin, Germany), ANTIGONE – Information & Documentation Centre on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non Violence (Thessaloniki, Greece), ATTAC – Netzwerk fuer eine demokratische Kontrolle der Finanzmaerkte (Wien, Austria)

Duration:

August 2013 – July 2015

Objectives:

GROWL has the following objectives:

  1. To provide tools for positive change in individual lives and overall society, as a response to the multidimensional crises (economic, social, ecological, human) that Europe is facing.
  2. To distribute and exchange these tools beyond the borders of particular locations and countries, and create a framework for their continuous and participatory improvement.
  3. To strengthen the existing organic or informal networks of people and communities across Europe that are looking for new and different ways of organizing their lives in the context of the crisis.

Target groups:

GROWL is targeted towards every adult who is eager to be trained and equipped with the necessary tools to apply degrowth strategies within its own local context, and especially towards traditionally underserved individuals (e.g. young people, the elderly, the unemployed, rural residents, ethnic minorities and migrants).

Activities:

One of the main activities of the project is the creation of educational materials on sustainable degrowth, which will include 10 modules and three intervention areas (theory, practice and policy), while it will incorporate and expand the existing scientific and educational programs and other good practical experiences. In order to achieve a good result with a multiple positive effect, a special module of “train the trainers” will also be generated.

 

The basic educational modules and the units of “training the trainers” will be presented and tested in a series of training seminars, one in each of the 9 participating countries (apart from Germany who will host two seminars). International meetings will involve all partners in planning and refining these modules for dissemination. Each partner institution will contribute with an additional module in its area of expertise or preference.

 

In addition, the partnership will be a triggering event that will enable many mobilities of trainees and trainers across the partners from the South, Central and Eastern Europe (a total of 10 partners from 9 countries, and at least one trainee from each partner). The trainers, both the existing and the future ones, will join a European-wide “pool of trainers” where civil society organizations, local initiatives and educational institutions will have access to well-qualified trainers that will meet the specific needs of each region or thematic intervention.

The role of ANTIGONE

“ANTIGONE-Information and Documentation Center on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non Violence” is responsible for the design of a training module on cooperative economy based on solidarity as well as for the organisation of the training seminars in Thessaloniki in September 2014 in collaboration with academics, activists and adult educators.

 

ANTIGONE will also participate in international meetings and other training sessions of the project, and is appointed to send at least 12 trainees from Greece to these international training seminars. For the successful dissemination of the results and the identification of the trainees and the trainers on sustainable degrowth, ANTIGONE will cooperate with existing networks and initiatives and collectives that deal with the issue of degrowth, such as the social and political ecology network.

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