A Movement for Sustainable Community Prosperity

9.30am (doors); 10am (start) - 5.30pm Friday, 9th February 2024

The Bristol Commons is a growing movement centred on Community Power, Land Justice & Systemic Change to support communities and community hubs across Bristol. Many vital spaces and places - as well as organisations and services - are under threat. Recently All Hallows Hall and Unit 15 have been evicted, Kuumba is struggling to find a way forward, and many other spaces and organisations are in a perilous position. This network of people, infrastructure, knowledge and expertise is essential for individuals and communities to thrive.

~ Purpose ~
We are co-creating a strategy to:
>> Share resources and nurture a culture of collaboration, not competition - a network of reciprocity based on commoning;
>>Bring vital infrastructure into community ownership to build community wealth and enhance community health - to Rebuild the Commons!;
>> Generate a surplus to reinvest in vital projects that support marginalised groups and safeguard future generations;
>> Collectively lobby the council and national government for increased community power;
>> Create systemic change so that developers and private landlords are no longer the key beneficiaries - extracting value and equity from our communities - by facilitating communities to protect and nurture our shared assets to maximise public benefit.

~Aims~

The focus of this gathering will be on collectively constructing a citywide strategy for change through commoning and community empowerment.

~ Programme ~
A full programme is available here:
https://www.coexistuk.org/_files/ugd/16a61d_548e724ed49d48c8be58ecf17f2ef6a3.pdf

The day will include talks, workshops, an 'open space' session for people to hold their own conversations on different aspects of commons, facilitated arts workshops, a ‘pay what you can’ community lunch, and lots lots more...

~ Values ~
We value everybody. That includes ourselves, each other, our city, our natural world, our relationships, our communities, our planet. This may sound silly or obvious, but we want to be explicit.

This event and this movement is rooted in social and ecological justice. We want to co-create fairer, more engaging, more creative, more effective ways to look after the spaces, places and shared resources that we all need to thrive.

We are a mixed-race, multi-faith, LGBQTI+ friendly movement, and we work in solidarity with people who are marginalised by our society. We practise tolerance, but stand opposed to discrimination of any kind. We strive to create safe and brave spaces where we can express our authentic opinions and concerns respectfully - so that we are careful not to harm or negatively impact others.

We take collective responsibility for this, and Coexist and the volunteer team will be on hand to help hold the space in a caring and proactive way.

~ Accessibility ~
We want to make sure that this event and movement is accessible and inclusive as possible. It is being hosted at SPARKS which is an accessible venue. For more details please visit: https://sparksbristol.co.uk/about/

There are bursaries for those who need childcare support (such as after-school pickup) and pet-care for vehicle dwellers.

We want to emphasise that children and babies are absolutely welcome and we hope to have a specific space curated for children. Please contact us if this is something that would make a difference for you, or if you can contribute to making this a reality! contact us: [email protected]

~ Cost ~
As well as physical accessibility, we wanted to make certain that no-one would be financially excluded from the event. We have therefore decided to host on a donation basis - with a suggested donation rate for individuals (£5) and those coming on behalf of organisations (£10). No-one will be excluded due to lack of finance. The lunchtime meal will also be by donation - ensuring everyone has something warm and tasty for their bellies!

~ Background ~
This project has been initiated and supported by Coexist. Since the eviction from our flagship project Hamilton House in 2018, Coexist has been reimagining its purpose. In this transitory phase we opted to take a supportive role in nurturing community spaces as opposed to offering front-line services involved in running a community hub. This included assisting the set-up and running of the mutual-aid network that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as re-launching the Coexist Community Kitchen in Easton. In addition, over the last few years Coexist has supported various community organisations including: Bricks (St. Anne’s House), PRSC, Docklands, St. Pauls Learning Centre and All Hallows Hall with resources, mentoring and advice.

This work has informed a new strategy - to protect, champion and nurture Bristol’s cultural and community assets. This involves safeguarding vital spaces and places - as well as organisations and community projects - from the multiple crises we currently face. Austerity, rising energy costs, the cost-of-living crisis, climate change, community trauma, poor mental health, staff burn-out, the education crisis, lack of youth services, the housing crisis - the list of pressures is a seemingly endless and painful reality to many people and organisations in our community.

Neither Bristol City Council or the government has been able to mitigate these issues. They are systemic, endemic and intersectional: Many converge and affect the most marginalised people in our city. We need a new, strategic, dynamic and collaborative movement to solve these problems. We need people and organisations working together - not competing with each other - to create a culture and build a movement for change. Most of all, we need the space and resources to be able to create a bright future - and to do this we must Rebuild The Commons!

Entry requirements: no age restrictions — Read more — Read less