Date/dates: 14/11/2015 - 15/11/2015
Time: All Day


Dangerous Ideas: Re-Imagining the Commons in the 21st century


Re-Imagining the Commons in the 21st Century

What’s so dangerous about ideas?

Ideas change the world. They have the capacity to end oppression, challenge government policies and create new paradigms. Dangerous Ideas is a festival combining music, art, and critical conversation which challenges our underlying assumptions and invites us to shift our thinking so we can shift our world. This year, we will talk about place and property, and explore the relationship between the Commons and the State. Last year we kicked off our event series with a focus on “Food For Thought” featuring keynote Vandana Shiva and a full roster of incredible speakers who challenged us to consider the Commons. We hope you will join us this year so we can explore “the commons” together.

Why a conversation on “the Commons”?

“…Everything these days seems to be proclaimed a ‘commons’ (that is, something to which everyone, or everyone in a certain context, has right of access): water, air, seeds, even food, health and education. It’s a very popular notion, at least in the anglophone part of the world. Part of the trend towards ‘reclaiming the commons’ is an effort to fight against privatization. And that is good. But if the movement to recognize and build old or new commons does not handle the concept carefully, it could actually facilitate privatization. It is especially crucial to distinguish ‘commons’ from ‘public’ and to remember that ‘commons’ are supposed to be about communities.” – Brewster Kneen, Clamouring For Commons, 2006

This framing from Keynote Brewster Kneen sets the tone for our panels:

  • Re-Thinking the Role Between Commons and State
  • Movements for Transformation: Our Changing Relationship to Property and Place
  • Considering Utopia

KEYNOTE PANEL: Considering Utopia featuring author, activist, and ass-kicker Brewster Kneen, joined by Mohawk traditional person Dan Longboat and Harsha Walia of No One Is Illegal

This year, we will talk about place and property, and explore more deeply the relationship between the Commons and the State.

PANEL: Re-thinking the Role Between the Commons and the State with Desmond Cole, Harsha Walia, and Davin Charney

PANEL: Movements for Transformation – our changing relationship to property and place with D’Bi young Anitafrika, Kieth Stewart

Webpage with more details: http://dangerousideas.ca/
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1632555673698940/

Organiser Name: Dangerous Ideas Festival
Organiser email: http://dangerousideas.ca/about/
Organiser Website: http://dangerousideas.ca/
Organiser Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dangerousideas.ca/
Organiser Twitter url: https://twitter.com/_dangerousideas