Calling out to all those who are challenging our economic system in big or small ways. Whether you’ve been doing this work collectively, or just been having a think about where we are going and what lies ahead, this invite is open to you.  

Come along and join us on the 31st March 2022, from 12pm (until 4pm), in the McCune Smith Room in Merchants House, where we are hosting a space of rest, sharing and discussion for us to come together. 

As we live through accelerating crises, deepening need and some existential dread, the work of fighting for and building a better world has never felt more urgent. Yet we and, maybe you, are tired, overwhelmed and rarely getting time to reflect. Recognising this, the Scottish Degrowth Network are hosting space for gathering and sharing for all. 

To help with planning, we’d be grateful if you could confirm your place via this form by March 21st. 

What?

We are hosting space to slow down, to conspire and to connect. We believe that:

  • To pause and slow down are intentional acts of refusal and rejection of an extractive system. Slowness and care are needed to offset the urgency of crisis which often replicates the system we are trying to change.
  • That building and strengthening relationships between those who share common cause, is vital work in building the infrastructure we need to respond to crisis and challenge the inevitability of what we are facing. 

This is an invitation to gather and be together. Our focus will be on relationships, reciprocity, care and creativity. We know the need to justify time spent in meetings as productive, yet we are choosing to challenge this and convene for a different reason – to know that relationship is the revolution.

This is an invitation to slowness and not needing to be anywhere specific by the end. To build and deepen the relationships between and across those who are trying to do differently, who are the seeds, the disruption and who are likely tired and probably frustrated by the enormity of it all. 

We will:

  • Practice being together in embodied and creative ways
  • Experience a way of building relationships by offering what we have and asking for what we need (as individuals or groups) through an Offers and Needs Market
  • Share food together
  • Use ‘Open Space’ format to let you connect over the topics and issues that matter most to you, connecting with others you might not normally. 

Who?

Organised by Scottish Degrowth Network, this gathering is open to anyone who is challenged by or challenging the capitalist economy. The Network is a theory of change that says systems change when new networks replace the old and building connection between similar and different people who share a common cause is critical. 

Open to those who are familiar with the idea of degrowth and those who are interested and curious or simply wanting to find a common cause and are seeking a place of slowness and connection.

(If you are interested in this type of gathering but can’t make this, please be in touch so we can find the best ways of doing this)

Degrowth in Scotland Podcast
If you want to learn more about degrowth in Scotland, check out our brand new podcast series here.

Accessibility

We want to make this as accessible as possible for anyone interested. It would be helpful for us to know if there is anything specific we can do to support your participation in this event. We can provide a small fund towards costs such as childcare, carer or support workers and travel. You will need to confirm these costs with us in advance. Please let us know by 21st March 2022 (either on the registration form or by email) to give us enough time to make sure any necessary supports are in place and make arrangements for the same.

Location

Merchants House is at 7 West George St, Glasgow G2 1BA (directly opposite Queen Street train Station). It is wheelchair accessible.

We have chosen this location both due to its central location and in recognition of the complex history of Glasgow and Scotland in making the world so many of us are trying to remake.

The room we will be gathering in has recently been renamed, to recognise and remember, James McCune Smith, who graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1837 and became the first African American to receive a medical degree. As well as being a successful physician, he was a great abolitionist, educator and writer, who was one of the foremost intellectuals in 19th century America.

Merchants House took the decision to rename the room, as a way of acknowledging the role of merchants in the transatlantic slave trade.