On 2 December 2020, the Transformative Cities Initiative will announce which four initiatives received the most popular support and are thus the recipients of the Transformative Cities 2020 People’s Choice Award. Join us for this unique global celebration of transformative practices!
The Cloughjordan Ecovillage models the transition to a low-carbon society and shares its learning through various educational activities. With 55 low-carbon homes, a carbon-neutral district heating system, a community farm, green enterprise centre, a planned reed-bed treatment plant and Ireland’s lowest ecological footprint, the ecovillage is demonstrating different ways to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability.
Ten proposals could raise $9.4 trillion a year – enough to pay for the pandemic, the Sustainable Development Goals, a just climate transition and reparations for slavery.
Finding the political power to pursue a more just and sustainable economy is the hard part, but the tools to effectively execute such an economy are developing quickly.
This framing paper details the international legal framework that underpins the establishment of a state of emergency and uses France as a case study to show how a state of emergency was introduced and repeatedly extended before eventually becoming permanent.
An outcry from city governments has helped shelve the European Commission’s power grab over services. The Commission has failed to install a Services Notification Procedure, which would have given it advance veto power over new laws by regional and local governments, and could have further limited local democratic initiatives in areas as varied as affordable housing, energy supply and waste management. The Commission should learn its lesson and support municipalities to enact social and environmental measures, respect their democratic right to regulate, and roll back obstacles that prioritise corporate interests over local residents.
A week after the US elections, TNI and the Institute for Policy Studies will host a conversation with US and global scholars and activists to analyse the election outcome and look at the global consequences of these unprecedented elections.
Catalan Network for Energy Sovereignty (Xse), Transnational Institute (TNI)
29 October 2020
Paper
This is the Municipalist Manifesto for building energy democracy and energy sovereignty locally, presented to you by the Catalan Network for Energy Sovereignty (Xse) and the Transnational Institute. The Municipalist Manifesto aims to be a tool that can be used as a guide by (municipalist) citizens platform, municipal councils and opposition parties, organisations and collectives, and any person who wishes to take action.
The Position Paper "For inclusive business models, well designed laws and fair(er) trade options for small-scale traditional cannabis farmers” produced by The Fair(er) Trade Cannabis Working Group aims to contribute to the debate on finding sustainable and realistic solutions to the challenges posed by the developing cannabis industry, with a special focus on traditional and small scale farmers.
TNI is excited to announce that the People's Vote for the Transformative Cities Award 2020 is now open! Vote for you favourite initiatives in the following categories: food, water, housing, and energy. You can cast your vote until 16 November, by doing so you help to promote transformative practices around the world that deserve more global attention. You will help to highlight the interventions that show us how access to basic rights can be guaranteed even during the times of COVID-19.
On 8 November 2020, Myanmar is scheduled to go to the polls for only the second time since a process of political liberalisation was initiated in 2011, a critical moment in Myanmar’s transition from half a century under military rule.
This report from the Institute for Policy Studies, The Transnational Institute, and Focus on the Global South brings together experts from the frontlines of global policy to tackle the implications of Covid-19.
Myanmar cross-border migrant workers overwhelmingly come from and are rooted in rural areas of the country; an estimated 5 million of them working mostly in Thailand, China and Malaysia, and have an estimated combined income remittance of up to US$8 Billion per year.
2020 has seen antiracism movements gain momentum and push back against institutionalised racism. However, despite the progress made, individualism and fragmentation continue to undermine solidarity and to depoliticise antiracism struggles. This paper explores how we can move towards an antiracist horizon.
We, the undersigned, express our strong support for the report on “The Privatisation of Water and Sanitation Services” of the United Nations (U.N.) Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Mr. Léo Heller. He will present the report to the U.N. General Assembly today. We also express deep concern about the attempts by a group of private water operators to undermine the independence of the Special Rapporteur and his work.
Join Statewatch and TNI with guests on Monday 26 October to explore the role of databases used for migration and border control in ongoing efforts to step up deportations.
Tune in for TNI and CLACSO's webinar The New Radicals on Tuesday, October 27th, at 6pm CET. We will bring together a unique panel of young activists from across Latin America to talk about their struggles and proposals. What are their priorities? What is their message? What lessons can we learn from them? (Held in Spanish, live interpretation into English and Portuguese)
Municipalize Europe! is a unique opportunity to learn about the efforts of transformative cities during the COVID-19 crisis and the solutions that they are putting on the agenda for the social and economic recovery. This one day online event on 5 November is split into four sessions, please register below for each session you wish to attend. There will be simultaneous translation available in English, French and Spanish.
The way that ownership and control of land and resources is managed and understood is changing globally, even as changes in financial markets and the climate catastrophe are putting increasing pressure on land and land-based resources. The changes taking place can appear progressive and positive - for example, more and more governments and other actors now recognize collective ownership of land. But the way change is taking place is less transformative than it looks and is in fact creating new opportunities for corporations to profit from land and natural resources, to the detriment of local communities. Our latest report explores how and why this change is taking place, what actors are helping to shape our understanding and management of land and natural resources, and who stands to benefit and to lose from these changes.
