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Global University for Sustainability

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https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Global_University_for_Sustainability

= The Global University for Sustainability (Global U) was officially launched at the World Social Forum, Tunis, 25 March 2015

URL = http://our-global-u.org

Source

[This proposal has taken into account contributions and revisions from five rounds of consultations since 2010. The consultations were coordinated by Lau Kin Chi, Laukc@Ln.edu.hk.]

Text of Proposal

Only parts of the draft proposal are reproduced here.

Introduction

In response to our crisis-ridden epoch, the initiative the Global University for Sustainability (Global U) supports the proliferation of autonomous, self-managing local bodies and their interdependent networking for ecological justice and socio-economic justice. The Global U will be an experimental forum for alternative practices in the production and use of knowledge, making possible different modes of relating to one another and to nature. The Global U hopes to bring together old and new generations of intellectuals and activists working for ecological justice and socio-economic justice to articulate knowledge produced by experiences in the field, common reflections, and wisdoms of communities defending their commons and rights. The Global U hopes to help cross-fertilize initiatives practiced by organizations and networks to experiment with creative and equitable forms of interacting and managing the commons. The Global U envisions a sustainable humanity on earth.

1. Rationale for the Project

Crisis implies a pending breaking point. However what we are witnessing now is not the emergency of a sudden complete breakdown, but rather a long process of the collapse of certain old institutions and ways of doing and thinking in the face of resistance, increasingly intensive and extensive, springing up against the violent and disruptive forces of global capitalist expansion led by its financial fraction.

In response to our crisis-ridden epoch, radical change is also high on the agenda of various capitalist regimes in order to maintain an edge in the competitive game of global capital. As a result, new institutions and ways of doing and thinking come into existence, opening-up spaces that are increasingly slipping out of the grasp of these ruling regimes.

In view of these conditions, the idea of the Global University for Sustainability (Global U), supporting the proliferation of autonomous and self-managing local units and their interdependent networking and relations of mutuality, is becoming a more urgent call. The Global U seeks to work with and for the emergence of forms of resistance that show us the hope and direction of a different future. To redeem ourselves from the troubled waters of our deepening crises, radical change must concern itself with what Felix Guattari calls the three ecologies: the ecology of the social, the ecology of nature, and the ecology of the self.

It is along these three dimensions that the Global U plans to conduct itself for working out and spreading fundamental changes. To achieve this, the Global U will constitute itself as an experimental forum for alternative practices in the production, dissemination and use of forms of knowledge making possible modes of relating to one another and to nature different from what the prevailing modern forms of knowledge are confined to. The Global U will seek to transcend the commodification of knowledge driven by capitalist mechanisms for the shaping of possessive individualistic selves.

2. Aims and objectives

While there may be many schools, training programmes, conferences, and workshops organized by social movements, and while there may be the World Social Forums and other regional or global platforms, the gravity and inter-connectedness of the crises threatening to destroy humanity and the earth demand an urgent response. What is needed is intensive and extensive global cross-fertilization of theories and practices to fundamentally challenge neo-liberalism and capital, promote viable forms of radical post-capitalist alternatives, and foster dynamic collaboration between and among movement activists and intellectuals. This will involve the commitment of a broad spectrum of actors including social movements, activists, organic intellectuals, academics, political parties, governments, and foundations, coming from multiple disciplines, sectors, and regions. A sustained effort is required to render viable and effective intellectual commons through review of our historical experiences and production of new imaginations, new languages, and new responses.

The Global U is proposed as one of the many initiatives in offering coordinated responses and radical alternatives. Recognizing and valuing the large pool of existing efforts, resources and convergences, the Global U aims to add to cross-border, multi-language exchanges, with the goal of bringing into existence new historical agents for revolutionary change. It hopes to bring together old and new generations of committed people and groups working for ecological justice and socio-economic justice to articulate knowledge produced by experiences in the field, common reflections, and new findings about the critical reality -- in particular, the wisdoms of the elders, women, and the communities that defend their commons. It hopes to help cross-fertilize initiatives practiced by organizations and networks, not to duplicate the efforts, but to foster further inter-connections. It hopes to experiment with creative and self-reliant forms of interacting, networking and managing resources.

3. Name and Nature

This project is named the “Global University for Sustainability ”.

As a university, the Global U will be a dynamic site for the production of knowledge from, and for, communities and movements, for articulating and interpreting the experiences of grassroots and local initiatives, and for fostering mutuality between and among “intellectuals” and “activists”. One objective is to de-centre from the academy in a complementary fashion. This however does not rule out the possibility of offering formal postgraduate, undergraduate or diploma programmes, or short courses on specific themes.

Being global, the Global U will help bring into connection, interaction, and interrogation various experiences and wisdoms from the South and the North, from diverse sectors (labour, peasant, landless, women, indigenous, minorities...), from multiple movements and networks (on peace, ecology, justice, economy, philosophy, culture, feminism, liberation theology…).

For sustainability, the Global U will promote and reflect on alternatives, document and foster a critical review of historical experiences, critical theories, alternative praxis, and current challenges of a multitude of movements for change and liberation. Sustainability refers to the fostering of both ecological justice and socio-economic justice, as well as the nurturing of new generations for movements and for future societies. It also demands of the operation of the Global U itself in experimenting with reduced dependence on funders.

4. Organization and Participation

The Global U will operate at various levels:

4.1 Two Institutes (and more as the need arises) will be formed under the Global U:

a. The Institute of Research for Sustainability, which will conceptualize and theorize alternatives, and work primarily with research institutes, academics, and movement schools;

b. The Institute of Activism for Sustainability, which will attend to praxis and activism in the articulation and promotion of alternatives, and work primarily with social movements, educators, and youth groups;

4.2 Founding Members, who are movement leaders and activist thinkers who support this project, give political and intellectual advice, share their thoughts and resource materials, and possibly involve their organizations or networks in the Global U;

4.3 Partner Institutions (universities, research institutes, journals, social movements, networks, foundations…), which will contribute to and participate in the exchange of intellectual resources, mentors, researchers, learners and volunteers;

4.4 An Executive Team, which will be responsible for the decision-making and operation of the Global U, management of the website, coordination of programmes, publications, reporting, finances, and fund-raising;

4.5 Fellows, who may include mentors and researchers, with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, faiths and expertise, that will find space in the Global U for articulation, debate, exchange, and challenge. The Fellows will be eligible to post materials, offer courses, and conduct research in partnership with, or in the name of, the Global U; they will be identified and endorsed by the Executive Team;

4.6 Learners and Volunteers: the Global U will offer, or co-offer with Partner Institutions, various programmes in various locations with a focus on nurturing new generations of activists. To facilitate exchanges, a large number of volunteers will be required, ranging from interpreting and translating to hosting visitors and offering logistics and support.