What is CommonBound?

On June 22-24, 2018, over 700 people across the new economy movement will come together in St. Louis, MO for CommonBound 2018 to connect with one another, share our resources, and demonstrate our power in creating systems that truly meet the needs of our communities.

In past years, CommonBound has answered the questions of what is a new economy, why do we need one, and who is it building it. Next June, CommonBound will connect these threads and focus on another question: How do we build a new economy?

CommonBound will bring together movement leaders, activists, and organizations from across North America to create a space for planning, strategizing, and movement building. The conference will feature a combination of network gatherings, closed and open work/strategy sessions, trainings, listening sessions, workshops, debates, and other formats exploring a range of topics through thematic tracks.

We’ve learned and built on CommonBound 2016’s decentralized planning model (inspired by the Allied Media Conference). This year, NEC staff will work with our 200 member groups and allies to curate tracks so that the conference programming is shaped and reflects the communities and thought leaders building the new economy movement.

CommonBound is taking place in St. Louis, Missouri, a city where local organizing is creating a vibrant and burgeoning new economy. NEC is thrilled to partner with Solidarity Economy St. Louis, a network of St. Louis organizations and individuals, to plan CommonBound 2018 and ensure it both adds fuel to local organizers’ efforts and grounds visitors in the critical work happening there.

We already know that our current economy is built on theft, exploitation and oppression. Every day, our communities are faced with an onslaught of violence and repression. But we also know that we are brilliant and capable of shaping a different world, that we can come together to create, resist, and transform ourselves and our realities.

Join us in 2018 in St. Louis. Together, we can make CommonBound a conference that propels our movements forward.