By Christopher Audain, Ambitio US Program Officer
The CCI — Ambitio US team went on a learning journey to learn about cooperative structures in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy and Basque Region of Spain from September 6–16. This intensive experience enabled us to meet with and learn about cultural and producer cooperatives, gaining firsthand knowledge of the historic cooperative systems abroad. Together with about a dozen of our movement leaders, we began to reimagine the economic systems in the U.S. Our learning journey culminated with many of us landing in Chicago for the Assembly of Black Possibilities (The Assembly) from September 18–20. Taking place every two years, The Assembly is a convening organized by Boston Ujima Project for solidarity economy practitioners and communities, bringing together working-class individuals, Black and Indigenous communities, people of color, and solidarity economy practitioners.
As the home of the first democratically governed investment fund in the U.S., Boston Ujima Project also serves as critical infrastructure and builds for the future through its translocal — interconnectedness and relationships across different local spaces or regional boundaries — approach. Recognizing the value of translocal practitioners meeting, continuing their education and professional development, and connecting with the broader field, the Boston Ujima Project established the Assembly of Black Possibilities, with its inaugural event held in Boston in 2023 . The three-day Assembly in Chicago was organized by Boston Ujima Project, Kensington Corridor Trust, and the Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and was a pivotal gathering for partners across the United States invested in exploring alternative forms of ownership and economies.
By harnessing the collective wisdom, expertise, and resources of diverse stakeholders, participants can identify common patterns, leverage shared insights, and develop more robust solutions that resonate across different contexts and communities. This collaborative approach enhances the effectiveness of individual organizations and strengthens the broader movement for economic justice and social transformation.
Ambitio US Program Director Cate Fox and myself (Program Officer) attended the convening along with learning journey participants Noni Sessions ( EB PREC ), Nia Evans (Boston Ujima), Renee Hatcher (UIC Law), Stacey Sutton (UIC) and Ebony Edwards ( neighborbuilt ). I had the privilege of moderating a panel, “ReIMAGINE Scale: Learning from Cooperative Movement in Spain and Italy” featuring Evans, Sutton, and Edwards. With the panel occurring not long after we returned from abroad, there was a fresh and somewhat raw perspective that came with the immediacy.
There are several key takeaways to highlight from The Assembly, and here are a few that stood out to me. The Assembly was an incredible space for people to connect, come together, and build relationships. There was also ample opportunity to learn from one another and engage in discussions about where we go from here in this particular political moment. During our panel debrief, it became clear that some of the cultural differences in Europe and the U.S. create challenges for growing a cooperative moment that is mutalistic in the U.S. There is a different level of time, space, and care that people have for one another that is not the dominant culture in the U.S. capitalistic system that often centers individualism.
As we strive to build new systems and shift the paradigm to an economic system where our economy leads to a thriving culture for all people, especially those who have been most harmed, we must remember that no system will be perfect. Cooperatives are just a tool or an instrument for an end goal, where the structures and systems we build tangibly improve people’s lives to a significantly better level than what we have had in the past and what we have today. Lastly, our ideas are not pipe dreams. The Assembly of Black Possibilities is a clear reminder of what is possible. In desperate, challenging, and overwhelming times, the need for change is imperative, and the possibilities are infinite.
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →