Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EcoLabSS (Ecovillages as Laboratories of Sustainability and Social Change)
Période du rapport: 2018-09-10 au 2020-09-09
The urgent need to tackle human-induced climate change, massive pollution and unsustainable development has never before been such a prominent feature of contemporary political debate. The European Union (EU) is attempting to shift the way human development is conceived and practiced by subscribing to the seventeen goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and has stressed the necessity of a coalition of governments, supranational institutions, citizens and civil society actors engaged in grassroots-activities. These include producer and consumer cooperatives , participatory municipal budgeting , community and urban gardens , food sovereignty initiatives, Time Banks, Transition Towns and ecovillages. In an historical moment where citizens of the world are called to take action to face ‘multiple crises´, research into these initiatives is crucially important and timely. They constitute, in fact, ‘glocal’ laboratories, real utopias where citizens are engaging in prefiguring a more inclusive, just and fair society through the experimentation with new social practices, the enhancement of social power and the imagination of alternative futures.
‘Ecovillages as Laboratories of Sustainability and Social Change’ (EcoLabSS) is conceived as a project aiming at producing a theoretically and methodologically innovative study of one of these grassroots initiatives: the ecovillage movement. Theoretically, the goal of EcoLabSS is to develop an original analytical framework based on the conceptualization of ´community-based, prefigurative social movements´. Empirically, EcoLabSS is conceived a multi-level and mixed-method project combining the comparative study of two local ecovillages in Denmark and Italy with a systematic analysis of the actions and networks of the transnational organization Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). To date around 10,000 ecovillages have been documented in both the global North and South in many different spatial contexts, be it urban neighbourhoods, rural communities or traditional villages. The majority of ecovillages around the world belong to GEN. Founded in 1995, GEN supports the activities of ecovillages around the world and acts as an international spokesman reaching out to governments, NGOs, supranational organizations and broader society.
The first part of the research programme revolved around the systematic mapping of the existing literature on community-based, grassroots initiatives. This part was complemented by a preliminary exploration of the existing literature on the concept of prefigurative politics produced since the North-Atlantic financial recession of 2008-2009. The empirical part focused on three interrelated and mutually informing levels: the micro-individual level, the meso-community level, and the macro-societal level. To understand and conceptualize prefigurative movements and their potential to foster sustainability and social change, in fact, it is necessary to analyze how individual motivations, biographies and life trajectories shape prefigurative practices and visions at the collective level, and how the latter, in turn, are scaled-up and diffused into mainstream society. The review of the literature and the empirical work have been then deployed to develop the analytical framework centred on the path-breaking definition of ´community-based, prefigurative movements´.
‘Ecovillages as Laboratories of Sustainability and Social Change’ (EcoLabSS) is conceived as a project aiming at producing a theoretically and methodologically innovative study of one of these grassroots initiatives: the ecovillage movement. Theoretically, the goal of EcoLabSS is to develop an original analytical framework based on the conceptualization of ´community-based, prefigurative social movements´. Empirically, EcoLabSS is conceived a multi-level and mixed-method project combining the comparative study of two local ecovillages in Denmark and Italy with a systematic analysis of the actions and networks of the transnational organization Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). To date around 10,000 ecovillages have been documented in both the global North and South in many different spatial contexts, be it urban neighbourhoods, rural communities or traditional villages. The majority of ecovillages around the world belong to GEN. Founded in 1995, GEN supports the activities of ecovillages around the world and acts as an international spokesman reaching out to governments, NGOs, supranational organizations and broader society.
The first part of the research programme revolved around the systematic mapping of the existing literature on community-based, grassroots initiatives. This part was complemented by a preliminary exploration of the existing literature on the concept of prefigurative politics produced since the North-Atlantic financial recession of 2008-2009. The empirical part focused on three interrelated and mutually informing levels: the micro-individual level, the meso-community level, and the macro-societal level. To understand and conceptualize prefigurative movements and their potential to foster sustainability and social change, in fact, it is necessary to analyze how individual motivations, biographies and life trajectories shape prefigurative practices and visions at the collective level, and how the latter, in turn, are scaled-up and diffused into mainstream society. The review of the literature and the empirical work have been then deployed to develop the analytical framework centred on the path-breaking definition of ´community-based, prefigurative movements´.
The project analyzed different sets of qualitative empirical materials ranging from scientific publications, reports by NGO and policy-oriented/activistic advocacy groups, to materials collected during meetings and gatherings of the ecovillage movement in Europe and visits to Italian and Danish ecovillages. The methods applied were participant observation, semi-structured qualitative interviews, documental analysis.
A main result of the project is the development of the concept of ‘community-based prefigurative social movement’ in relation to the ecovillage movement. The concept of prefigurative politics has gained popularity among scholarship in the social sciences within the last few years, and EcoLabSS – its dissemination activities within and outside academia, and its resulting publications – have contributed to this popularization of the concept and its application not only to the case of ecovillages, but also many other civil society initiatives such as transition towns, farmers markets, workers’ coops.
The research output produced includes several articles, an edited volume on prefigurative politics, and a range of dissemination activities within and outside the academy. In fact, I have been invited to act as keynote/distinguished speaker at numerous prestigious conferences held by professional organizations and institutions. The dissemination activities outside academia include lectures for the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), a one day-long seminar on ecovillages for the vocational master ‘Saperi in Transizione’, and a wide range of invited talks for other civil society organizations in Denmark and abroad.
A main result of the project is the development of the concept of ‘community-based prefigurative social movement’ in relation to the ecovillage movement. The concept of prefigurative politics has gained popularity among scholarship in the social sciences within the last few years, and EcoLabSS – its dissemination activities within and outside academia, and its resulting publications – have contributed to this popularization of the concept and its application not only to the case of ecovillages, but also many other civil society initiatives such as transition towns, farmers markets, workers’ coops.
The research output produced includes several articles, an edited volume on prefigurative politics, and a range of dissemination activities within and outside the academy. In fact, I have been invited to act as keynote/distinguished speaker at numerous prestigious conferences held by professional organizations and institutions. The dissemination activities outside academia include lectures for the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), a one day-long seminar on ecovillages for the vocational master ‘Saperi in Transizione’, and a wide range of invited talks for other civil society organizations in Denmark and abroad.
My fellowship and the scientific outputs of EcoLabSS contributed to the broader debate on the need to transform our everyday lives and transition to more sustainable and just futures. These alternative ways of living are experimented with in a series of grassroots organisations and initiatives such as ecovillages, transition towns, and other bottom-up, community-based initiatives. As described in the DoA, the definition of ‘prefigurative politics’ seems the one able to best capture the common trait underlying these various initiatives. The term indicates, in fact, how civil society and social movements embody their ultimate goals within their ongoing social practices, social relations, decision-making processes and culture. These processes, unfolding over time, involve collective experimentation, production and circulation of new meanings and future-oriented social norms, and their consolidation and diffusion into mainstream society.
The research conducted for EcoLabSS provided a valuable contribution both theoretically and empirically to ongoing academic debates within the field of sociology, social theory, social innovation studies, and social movement studies. Theoretically, I came forth with the definition of ‘prefigurative movement’ and I have applied it, for the first time, to the case of ecovillages. The ecovillage movement represents, in fact, an extremely interesting case of prefigurative movement since it aims at radically transforming and rethinking all the aspects of everyday life, inspired by the concept of ‘holistic sustainability’. I also contributed to create and consolidate a vibrant community of interdisciplinary researchers working on prefigurative politics through my edited volume 'The Future is Now. An Introduction to Prefigurative Politics' and through my leadership role at the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). Empirically, I have gathered a remarkable amount of data (interviews, field notes, documents, reports, secondary literature) and I am in the process of preparing an academic article where I outline and discuss the existing literature on prefigurative politics and community-based social movements.
The research conducted for EcoLabSS provided a valuable contribution both theoretically and empirically to ongoing academic debates within the field of sociology, social theory, social innovation studies, and social movement studies. Theoretically, I came forth with the definition of ‘prefigurative movement’ and I have applied it, for the first time, to the case of ecovillages. The ecovillage movement represents, in fact, an extremely interesting case of prefigurative movement since it aims at radically transforming and rethinking all the aspects of everyday life, inspired by the concept of ‘holistic sustainability’. I also contributed to create and consolidate a vibrant community of interdisciplinary researchers working on prefigurative politics through my edited volume 'The Future is Now. An Introduction to Prefigurative Politics' and through my leadership role at the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). Empirically, I have gathered a remarkable amount of data (interviews, field notes, documents, reports, secondary literature) and I am in the process of preparing an academic article where I outline and discuss the existing literature on prefigurative politics and community-based social movements.