The Commons Strategies Group (CSG) is a partnership to help advance the commons as a paradigm in diverse settings -- both in theory and practice. Working on four continents, we catalyze and assist commons-based projects, activism, research and public education with a great variety of partners.
Our primary purpose is to help consolidate and extend the many existing commons initiatives around the world. We do this through our partnerships with diverse organizations, research and writing about contemporary commons developments, and public speaking and education. The CSG’s networks of influence reach across Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America.
Michel Bauwens, based in Chang Mai, Thailand, is familiar with Asian projects and initiatives and travels frequently to Europe and North America.
David Bollier, based in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, is a veteran of American commons work and Washington, D.C. policy activism, and has extensive ties to Europe.
Beatriz Busaniche, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a Board Member of Vía Libre Foundation and a leading free software/free culture activist in Latin America.
And Silke Helfrich, based in Jena, Germany, headed the regional office of the Heinrich Boll Foundation for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean from 1999 to 2007, and speaks frequently in Europe and Latin America.
We believe that commons offers great hope for the future because it provides practical, effective forms of governance and resource management that can address the growing failures of centralized, hierarchical institutions and the market fundamentalist order.
