The Art of Commoning: How do we understand the commons?

This fall, University of the Streets Café is excited to be hosting three public conversations about the commons. This series is organized in collaboration with the Art of Hosting Montreal, organizers of the Art of Commoning, November 6-8, 2014.

Part 1 of 3 – September 25, 2014

The Art of Commoning: How do we understand the commons?

How would you define the Commons in one sentence? When asked this seemingly simple question, most people are quick to respond.  It is as if everyone, regardless of their background, culture and level of expertise, has an intuitive understanding of this concept. Yet the responses, which tend to be as varied as the people responding, are almost always incomplete. Can these diverse definitions offer the building blocks towards a more inclusive understanding of the commons? In this public conversation we will consider the commons from an intercultural perspective.  What characteristics of the commons are universal? What challenges and obstacles make this concept so difficult to define? Together, we will focus on issues of access and participation as we seek to describe the commons in an open and dynamic way.

Guest

Designer and producer of intercultural projects, independent researcher, author and videographer, Alain Ambrosi is currently producing the remixthecommons project and working as an associate researcher at Communautique. His long involvement in improbable international collaborations has led him to aspire to the status of utopian's apprentice.

Moderator

Elizabeth Hunt is rooted at percolab, a Montreal-based social enterprise that accompanies organizations to step into their emerging future with courage, care, and consciousness. Elizabeth is dedicated to upheaving traditional notions of “expertise” and to creating spaces where all of our experience, knowledge, and ways of knowing are put front and centre.

When:   Thursday, September 25, 2014, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Where:  Plateau Mont-Royal Library, 465 Mont-Royal Ave. E