AJUDADA is an emerging movement, which will be launched, in an international and very innovative event, on 14,15 and 16 June 2013, in Portalegre, Portugal. AJUDADA is...
AJUDADA is an emerging movement, which will be launched, in an international and very innovative event, on 14,15 and 16 June 2013, in Portalegre, Portugal.
AJUDADA is inspired by the key concept of ‘gift economy’ –it aims to promote gift as a creative act based on cooperation, trust in others and valuing others. The expressions of that gift are as diverse as the people that belong to a given community.
As many other towns in Portugal and all over the world, Portalegre is facing a severe economic and social crisis. AJUDADA’s main aim is to foster the ‘real’ economy of Portalegre so that it may serve as an inspiration and a model to other local communities anywhere in the world. AJUDADA is not simply an event: it is a positive manifestation, an emerging movement anchored in a local community with an international reach, formed by all the people getting together to start taking the future in their own hands and making their community more resilient.
AJUDADA is not a conventional conference. It is a unique, innovative and experimental process.
Given the current global and structural crisis that challenges our traditional methods, our values and our world view, nothing less than a new vision and a fundamental change is required. We need everybody! Give your AJUDADA!
www.ajudada.org/en
Where will we use the 3000€:
- consumables for communication and implementation of AJUDADA locally
- travelling for Key participants that requered support
- implementation of the projects in the 3rd day
All expenses donde will be publically available at AJUDADA website. All extra money obtained from supporters will be used in projects designed during AJUDADA.
About the author
This idea was born when a group of people inspired by the concept of gift economy willing to organize an event that would respond adequately to the situation of deep crisis Portugal currently faces. Charles Eisenstein (USA), Álvaro Fonseca and Gil Penha-Lopes (Portugal) and Filipa Pimentel (Portuguese living in Belgium) were the initiators of this project.
Since de beginning of the design of this international event, Portalegre was suggested as the host location. The pioneering idea was to choose a location that, in terms of accessibility and convenience, would never have been selected. Setting AJUDADA in a region such as Portalegre, opens up the possibility of joining together perspectives that are rarely present in classical events: it encourages the participation of the whole community and creates the conditions for the development of local ideas and initiatives that are meant to continue after the event. The initiators of this project based their decisions on the fact that, on one hand, the true change and renewal must come from people within the community and, on the other, that if Portalegre can “be the change”, so it can happen anywhere else.
Having said this, a plan was developed taking in to account that it had to be focused in a change process anchored in the community of Portalegre, establishing strong bridges to a national an international community and being supported by people with an experience in various areas, including theory and techniques of change (social, c behaviour change, etc). One essential part of the strategy was to form and completely inclusive team of organisation as diverse and possible: there would be representation of several countries, from other parts of Portugal but, mainly, that would be diluted in the end to be totally overcome by the Portalegre community itself. Portalegre would be taking over the ownership of this event and of this movement.
From a initial team of 4 elements, more elements joined like in concentric circles:
In a early phase, Annelieke van der Sluijs, Rui Pulido Valente, Sónia Tavares, Juan del Rio e Gary Alexander joined the initiators, completing the first functional team of AJUDADA: Conception Team, considered to be the guardian of the “flame”. After that, more members joined, other functional groups formed, mainly responsible for the implementation in various areas of the organisation. At this moment is difficult to say exactly how many elements the AJUDADA team comprises – we know, for sure, that more than 100 people mainly from Portalegre have specific and identified tasks but that are many more that are somehow involved in the organization of the June event.
It is expected that the Movement AJUDADA spread out even more. It is an inclusive process that will absorb all participants and followers from Portalegre or from any other part of the World.
