Common Ground: Building a Foundation for Homes of Commons co-creation lab

In the framework of the Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities (CCSC) project, Timelab and the University of Antwerp, in cooperation with European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and Trans Europe Halles (TEH), organise the hybrid co-creation lab Common Ground: Building a Foundation for Homes of Commons, taking place online and in Ghent, Belgium 28-29 October.

The event is free and will take place both physically in Ghent and digitally (livestream and interactive digital sessions). Registration is required - and closes on 25 October.

Background of the event
The event follows the previous co-creation lab that took place in June 2020, Common Sense: Let’s Build a Bottom-Up European Democracy. The central topic was how to build "Homes of Commons" as tools to bring Europe closer to citizens. A Home of Commons strives to be a hybrid—physical and digital— space of encounter between the European Union and the local level. Already existing cultural and creative spaces have the potential to be(come) Homes of Commons. One of the proposals that came out of the previous co-creation lab, was therefore to engage existing local facilitators as Homes of Commons, and to interconnect them in a network.

The School of Commons
In this spirit, we will explore the concept of a “School of Commons” in the upcoming co-creation lab as a tool to enable the transition of local cultural and creative spaces into Homes of Commons. Over the last 4 years, Timelab has developed a School of Commons in Ghent, based on a deep analysis of commons practices. A multidisciplinary team created an open set of seven patterns - Dream, Practice, Identity, Organise, Impact, Resources and Context - to exchange knowledge and expertise about commoning and to start the transition to make your organisation, project or process more commons-based.

About the co-creation lab
The overall objective of the co-creation lab is to prototype Homes of Commons through the framework of the School of Commons. The first day we will focus on the characteristics of Homes of Commons. The second day we will dive into broader questions such as the certification of Homes of Commons and how to implement and interconnect them in a network. These co-creation sessions will take place both physically and digitally.

Participants of the physical co-creation lab will also have the opportunity to participate in a tour of Timelab and to experience parts of the School of Commons game (see note below): a methodology with gaming elements. Participants can test and apply tools and methods for commoning, bring in their own tools and methods, and work on real cases. These sessions will be livestreamed.

The registration for the event is open to 25 October 2020.