Michel Bauwens

"I asked a member of the OWS Sustainability Working Group about the unique barter market that has sprung up on Liberty Plaza. Here's what she had to say:" - Michel Bauwens

"Rhinoceros (Rhino) is a stand-alone, commercial NURBS-based 3-D modeling tool, developed by Robert McNeel - Michel Bauwens

"A new type of political ecology may lend the Left a broad political platform. But we must first acknowledge wills that are not human. Jonathan Metzger explains why "more-than-humanism" calls for a complete rethink in policy, planning and the law." - Michel Bauwens

"in house occupations and anti-foreclosure actions, the movement began to deliver palpable results—putting real families in real homes, preventing evictions. And despite ample provocation by paramilitarized police, the movement occupied the moral high ground by staying almost wholly nonviolent. Now, ready or not, here comes the election cycle of 2012, putting pressure on the movement to keep up a vital tension between self-maintenance and growth, between challenging the whole plutocratic political economy and upping the odds of reforms that can arrest and reverse it." - Michel Bauwens

"Lauren Steiner, a committed and regular contributor to the SPWG at Occupy Venice, CA has sought to keep her fellow members grounded in the more reflective, big picture mode of thinking that strategy demands. In an ongoing discussion that featured several proposals for potential SPWG backing, Steiner replied:" - Michel Bauwens

"The biggest mistake we can make about WGs is to idealize them. There’s a great conversation going on about that in one of the forums of Occupy London." - Michel Bauwens

"This blog is dedicated to all Occupiers, who want to become wiser about “blocking” and how to relate to it." - Michel Bauwens

"All working groups are open to all. The inclusivity of this movement is intoxicating, it may bring problems but it is worth it 100 times. Press is like all other groups, they have open meetings and anyone can join. T" - Michel Bauwens

"They can be roughly broken into three categories: operational, sectorial, and strategy-focused. The first deals with everything needed to assure the viability of a given Occupation, including its finances, outreach, press relations, process, etc. The work of WGs in the second category is focused on such sectors of social life as education, health, economics, etc. In the strategy-focused WGs, members address issues of the emerging Occupy vision, strategic planning and navigation, and how the 99% can win." - Michel Bauwens

"Although the Occupy movement doesn’t have leaders, it still needs leadership skills, and these are buried in various places throughout the movement if you care to look for them. But many people don’t know the first thing about leadership and strategy, because it is something they are inherently against. This means we are in a movement that is more or less like herding cats most of the time, because of a simple lack of understanding about the basic principles that we really need.”" - Michel Bauwens

"Occupy Healthcare inspired the creation of a map which shows where health care working groups are active across the US and it encourages the recording of success stories. Healthcare providers can play just as important a role in prevention and promotion as they do in treatment, and places like the Codman Square Health Center make that crystal clear. A community health centre in one of the most impoverished areas of Boston, the Center provides a range of public health and community services ranging from computer classes and financial help to fitness opportunities and hands-on cooking classes, not to mention youth services, civic engagement initiatives, and a close linkage with the Codman Square Academy charter school." - Michel Bauwens

"When the General Assembly is at its best, it supports and holds the working groups accountable to their self-assigned remits and the needs of the community. A representative chronicles all activities and records them faithfully on the web, as with this one from Occupy Edmonton. Everyone can see what groups are active, should they seek to contribute or offer to form a group to serve a need currently unmet. When reviewing dozens of the working group listings visible on many of the Occupy website home pages, I was struck by the clear presentation of each list of initiatives, this exemplary one from Occupy Boston, for instance." - Michel Bauwens