World Day of Commons on October 15, 2010.

Based on the Manifesto Reclaim the Commons crafted in Belem during the WSF 2009, we suggest to organize a World Commons Day on October 15, 2010.

The idea was born in follow-up meetings to the Manifesto, which took place in France. Our discussions revealed the urgent need for more appropriation of both the commons concept and its strategic value, which will only be possible if we nurture collective reflection within social movements and organizations at different scales (from local initiatives focussed on a certain issue to global and interdisciplinary networks). Many organizations announced their openness for cooperation and their willingness to contribute.

If the Commons Day turns out to be a World Commons Day, strongly depends on the relevance of our idea for other cultural, social and political contexts.

The World Commons Day is thought to expand our insights on the commons. Everywhere.

Here is a short presentation of the World Commons Day:

The World Commons Day will be a day of public real or virtual actions, presentations, debates, workshops, shows and meetings taking place around the world to share the visions and the practices of the Commons.

The World Commons Day aims to be a complement to and a mirror of thousands of initiatives worldwide, initiatives who defend our right to public services like water supply and health or the right to share knowledge and education. The World Commons Day will focus on the creativity of people in protecting their environment and the cornucopia of bio-diversity, in securing their food-souvereigniy and promoting radical decentralized energy production based on renewables.

The World Commons Day will make clear, that talking about the commons is talking about our quality of life. It’s about the freedom to take our lives in our own hands and to reproduce our livelyhoods in a self-determined way.

The World Day of Commons will strengthen the diversity and the wisdom of traditional knowledge systems, it will show peoples needs for shared public space and urban commons, it will show the numerous initiatives for making the commons work for people if people work in common.

Why a World Commons Day?

An important number of organizations, coalitions, unions, social and citizen movements nourish and implement this idea. Reclaiming Commons is an enormous challenge we can only bear if the core ideas of the Commons are appropriated and shared by many.

The goal of the World Commons Day is to make people aware of the importance of Commons for the preservation of the planet Earth and for the present and the future of mankind.

What is the World Day of Commons ?

It is an auto-managed and decentralized initiative. Each person, organization, social or citizen movements can organize something and link its activity to the World Commons Day. All suggestions and activities scheduled for that day will be announced on the website of the Manifesto Reclaim the Commons. All initiatives can use the Manifesto logo. The website will help to link initiatives with each-other and to encourage more initiatives to take part.

Who organizes the World Commons Day?

It is organized by each of the organizations or groups working on the Commons or on a special commons issue. The Manifesto facilitation-group will set up a secretariat to prepare the World Commons Day. The secretariat is open to all organizations and social and citizen movements who signed the Manifesto Reclaim the Commons.

How to participate in the organization of the World Commons Day?

Let the secretariat know you will participate in the World Commons Day by sending a message to or by posting on the Manifesto blog

Please share this information with your contacts and network

What next?

The World Commons Day on October 15, 2010 is one more step towards the appropriation of the core ideas of the Commons. After that first World Commons Day, everyone will draw it’s own conclusions and decide for the next steps. The 2011 World Social Forum in Dakar will be an opportunity to share these conclusions at an international level.

We hope you will be part of the World Commons Day!

2 Responses to “World Day of Commons on October 15, 2010.”

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  2. [...] World Day of Commons on October 15, 2010. Based on the Manifesto Reclaim the Commons crafted in Belem during the WSF 2009, we suggest to organize a World Commons Day on October 15, 2010. [...]

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