Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2016 10:06:28 +0200 (CEST) From: Vesna Manojlovic To: uncivilization@lists.puscii.nl Subject: My submission for #IdeaCamp2017: "LikaCamp: re-populating re-wilded Lika" This is an application for ECF's third Idea Camp, that will take place in March 2017 in Spain. Entitled “Moving Communities”, the Idea Camp will focus on the current positive, radical resistance movements that are daring to counteract anti-democratic practices. For detailed information, visit ECF’s website: http://www.culturalfoundation.eu/idea-camp-2017 ==== IdeaCamp is looking for the idea that: • brings forward voices that are excluded from public debate and decision-making • has an open approach to the way people can learn, share and live together • applies a critical perspective to what could be a more accessible and inclusive society • strengthens the vision and practice of shared communities and coexistence • builds bridges across differing perspectives to help counter harmful public discourse • contributes to discussions about genuine integration opportunities and people’s rights and accountability. • fosters political imagination and promotes social justice, solidarity and equity among various social groups. ==== Name of your idea LikaCamp: re-populating re-wilded Lika • Summarise your idea and explain what do you want to achieve through it. (80 words) I have a dream: to live in a radically open community, connected with Nature. I want to create communal-living possibilities, where youth would want to live, together with: elders, children, hackers, peasants, refugees and - squirrels! In my texts, squirrel symbolises living in harmony with Nature: alongside the original wild life: forest, rivers, mountains, animals. The way to achieve this is to cross-connect extremes, bring them into balance, though personal connections, community building, outreach, and leading by example. • Which main societal area or issues does your idea touch upon? (select) * Accessibility / Inclusiveness Civic Empowerment Civil Rights Education * Environment Governing the Commons Health Housing Human Rights * Migration Open Source Participatory Governance Protecting the Commons Public Space Shared Economy Solidarity Social Justice Other • Describe your idea in more detail: how will it engage people in fostering a society with greater equality, solidarity and sustainability? What issue would you like to address with your idea? (300 words) Lika is an area (in Croatia) of deep contradictions: wounded in wars, yet traditionally resilient: with rich Nature that recovered after conflict finished and most people were gone. Now is the time to bring people back. I want to encourage and enable rural re-integration through: bringing people back to the villages, working on sustainable energy and food practices, fostering self-sufficiency, re-connection between local and international communities, while keeping the benefits of “rewilding” that happened because of the war and migration. Main issues I want to address are: - lack of opportunities for young people to find interesting activities and make a living - boredom and migration to cities of the locals - lack of connection between various groups Concrete ideas on how to improve the situation: - organise LikaCamp every two years - make / improve libraries: bring books, share digital media, provide mobile library - improve Internet connectivity: build Wireless Community Mesh Network - organise activities: festivals, trekking excursions, workshops, summer-un-schooling - create a museum (Alice in Wonderland), to attract tourists - document how the locals are traditionally governing commons - create a cultural centre - create a programme for “artist in residence” / “hacker in residence” Other steps are: explore the possibilities of buying existing houses, first by individuals, later by the collectives; restoring existing houses damaged by war; research local legal requirements for setting-up housing corporations, owned by the cooperative; register not-for-profit organisations for giving support to local economy in the alternative ways; learn the permaculture practices from the locals; organise workshops by foreign experts in suitable renewable energy possibilities; provide content for the locals (lectures, concerts, media exchange); establish cultural exchange - visits between various regions, to get to know each others way of life, both advantages and limitations. More ideas: https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/User:Becha/Lika_brainstorm_2016 • Describe the context of your idea (local, regional, digital etc.). Why is your idea important? What makes it urgent, innovative or groundbreaking? (300 words)* The mix of local and European context makes it interesting: the area will become vibrant and valuable again, while North-Europeans can explore spaces new to them. Enormous local potentials are currently unused, while many other groups are yearning for exactly those opportunities offered in Lika: unspoiled nature, freedom to develop sustainable housing, renewable energy solutions, experimental communities. What makes my idea different are 3 aspects, all of them focusing on different sides of Nature: 1) Considering squirrels - I have been enriching the idea of commons with the focus on the worth of the natural world by itself, not as a resource for humans. https://becha.home.xs4all.nl/Speaker_for_Squirrels-GogBot-2016.pdf 2) Rural community building, rather then movements that focus on the towns, or urban areas (e.g. urban gardening). 3) Critical look at the technologies: not aiming for the most innovative, most hyped-up new platforms or gadgets, but exploring traditional ways that locals have developed over the centuries, suitable for the local conditions, in harmony with Nature - - and preserving that knowledge in the practices of newcomers. Focusing on maintenance and care, rather then on consumption/production of technology; focusing on human interaction and connection with Nature, rather then on more exploitation of Nature by the use of tools or techniques. Using Hackers Ethics, Permaculture and Yoga as 3 philosophical balancing points. (corresponds with 2 out of 3 areas: Environment and Inclusiveness) References: https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/Hackers_tribes#No_Techno_Fix https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/Hackers_tribes#Commons https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/Hackers_tribes#Cooperation Timeline: - Since 2012, I am maintaining wiki about Hackers Tribes https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/Hackers_tribes - In 2014, we visited Lika, connection with locals: https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/User:Becha/Lika#2014 - In 2016, larger community made a successful LikaCamp2016: three-week long festival, practicing distributed decision making processes in diverse international environment https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/LikaCamp2016 - 2018: LikaCamp2018 - 2020: spend half time in Lika, half time in Amsterdam - 2024: move to Lika permanently • Describe the involved target groups that will be most impacted by and how you will involve them in the development of your idea. (200 words) 1) Local wild-life: considering the squirrels and not harming them Connect with nature-conservation organisations to increase awareness and take protective measures in all the other steps 2) Local population - neighbours: they will benefit from new people who want to move to their area, first as source of income (tourism, subsidies), and later from living together and helping each other in day-to-day life They will also be involved in providing local knowledge to the newcomers, guiding them while they are settling. I will foster existing contact that I have, and get to know more local people as the project progresses. 3) Relocated and refugees (from Yugoslav & other wars) 4) Eco-villagers, disillusioned techno-optimists recovering from dependencies on “civilisation”, rural-hackers, ex-hipsters: people who want to “go back to the land”, escape from the industrial ways of life, get away from individualism - they will be the most active force in making this dream come true. I already have a good connection with many existing alternative communities, and with the people who are interested in starting new ones. Our main communication channel is mailing list Uncivlization, active since January 2014, with 100+ people, 1500+ messages and several real-life meetups http://www.Unciv.nl • What makes your idea exemplary and relevant on a European scale? (200 words) On a European scale, there are several polarising mechanisms that I would like to address with this project: 1) duality between cities VS rural areas 2) rich North VS poor South 3) young people who are unemployed and mostly urban VS older people who are over-worked in order to make a living and need help 4) “settled” societies VS migrants/refugees 5) culture of individualism VS cultures of collectivism and communal living and thinking 6) technology-oriented approach (hackers) VS connection with Nature and consideration of Nature This project can be an example to be replicated in other areas in Europe, by connecting across the “borders” between all this categories, making them live and work with each other, learn from each other and create new practices that can be useful to other communities. I am fortunate enough to be in a position between multiple of these categories, and therefore have experience and understanding for the unique challenges when dealing with the cross-cultural communication: - I have been born in one type of society (collective, rural, nature-loving) and live in another (individualistic, urban, techno-focused) - I have been traveling extensively throughout Europe and have visited other cultures - I speak both local languages in Lika (Serbian and Croatia), as well as Dutch & English • Describe your (potential) local/international partners. Which sectors/professional fields do they represent and how will they be important to your idea development? (100 words) Internationally: - makerspaces/hackerspaces in Amsterdam: Technologia Incognita and LAG: technical expertise, building Internet connectivity, repairing electronic devices, designing renewable energy appliances, software development. - Resilience Community Space Hoofdorp, Holland: education in sustainability, childcare, local knowledge - UnCivilization community : http://www.unciv.nl Serbia: - relocated people from ex-Yugoslavian wars Croatia: - peasants living in the villages in Lika (Gubavcevo Pole, Deringaj, Lovinac): local knowledge - Kruno Jost, MMK : organiser, artist, activist, self-sufficiency expert, hacker, father (Lovinac) - Nikolina Manojlovic-Vracar: artist, media activist, permaculture practitioner, mother (Zagreb) Potential: - local municipalities of Gracac and Lovinac - refugees / migrants • What skills and/or experiences do you have to deliver your idea (for example, work experience/volunteering work, previous projects) (100 words) Mother, Nature lover, “Community Builder”, engineer, immigrant, hacker, teacher, facilitator, yogi, mountaineer, cook, traveler, dancer. My parents are from Croatia, my children from Holland, I’m from Yugoslavia, with a Serbian passport. I’ve been volunteering at 10 large hackers camps bi-annually since 1997 (in Holland and Germany), and I helped organise many smaller events. I have a BS in Computer Science. I’m working for the European Regional Internet Registry (RIPE NCC), as a trainer, Community Builder, projects manager, hackathons organiser; speaking world-wide on: IPv6, DNS, BGP, routing security, Internet Governance. https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/User:Becha I organised https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/LikaCamp2016 • What do you hope to gain from participation in the Idea Camp? (100 words) IdeaCamp is one possible next step is to develop LikaCamp further and to gain wider support. I hope to connect with other enthusiastic, motivated, crazy people who want to change the world ; have a discussion with others who have had experiences with communal living, rebuilding, and transitioning; learn from others, and teach in areas where my skills are needed. I am specially looking forward to meet “Culture 2 Commons”! I hope to develop my idea into more detailed plan, and bring the realisation of my dream one step closer to reality. -- community, cooperation, commons, squirrels // http://becha.home.xs4all.nl nature, anarchy, utopia, anthropocene, collapse // https://lists.puscii.nl/wws/arc/uncivilization