>>> CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF PROJECT: Despite significant efforts by policymakers on a European and national level, there is still a significant gap in reaching the targets in CO2 reduction and other key fields of the European 2020 Strategy. An acceleration of these legislative changes seems to be essential. Sociocratic Neighbourhood Circles could play a vital role in promoting European values as well as facilitating the necessary adjustments for addressing the climate crisis, and reaching the policy targets of the Europe 2020 strategy with respect to “Energy and climate”. These circles could enhance behavioural change by sharing knowledge, information, as well as providing a supportive network for their members. For this, it is essential, that the group norm and functioning of these neighbourhood circles fulfil a set of basic principles in line with European values, e.g. tolerance, mutual respect and non-discrimination, solidarity, gender equality, and that they function in a pleasant and efficient way. In order to achieve this, we propose to build up social communities and give them the responsibility and the power to succeed. >>> OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT: Main Objective of the project is the exchange of good practice. It implies the exchange of possibilities, challenges, obstacles and best practice of Sociocratic Neighbourhood Circles SONEC, in order to promote European Values as well as the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Other objectives of our strategic partnership are: > All participants develop together a concept for Sociocratic Neighbourhood Circles SONEC, through which the European Values as well as the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the European Green Deal are promoted. > The participants make the SONEC-concept and its potential for social and ecological development known in all partner countries and beyond, through a manual. > During the 17 month of this exchange-project the participants become experts for SONEC. >>> NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS: The partnership includes 9 partner organisations. It ensures a diversity in geographical coverage (6 countries include Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands), as well as in profile. Local government (the city of Augsburg), existing neighbourhood and citizen participation initiatives with a longer or shorter history, scientific platforms, different education institutions (further education and sociocracy training centre) are also included. This enables a mutually enriching exchange between partners, as well as general implications for other stakeholders on a European level. >>> DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES: The TPM (Transnational Project Meeting)-Circle with 2 participants from each partner starts with two online-meetings before project start (1st September 2020). The TPM-Circle sets up the working structure through the first physical TPM in November 2020. There the Project-Circles will be created and start at the First LTTA (Learning, Teaching, Training Activities), 9th to 13th November 2020 with 49 participants. Until and after the second physical meetings of TPM and LTTA, in July 2021, all Project-Circles and the TPM-Circle meet bi-monthly to work out the results in mixed groups of participants. >>> METHODOLOGY TO BE USE IN CARRYING OUT THE PROJECT The methodology is built on the Sociocratic Circle Method SCM, also called “Sociocracy”. It is based on circle structures as an organizational principle to strengthen the responsibility of the individual. It spread from 1970 from The Netherlands all over the world and also appeared in the neighbourhood movement in India nearly 10 years ago. Today, around half of the vast and growing network of Neighbourhood Parliaments and Children's Parliaments (reaching the number 400.000) in India decided to replace majority-voting with sociocracy. Sociocracy has played a key role in the success of co-housing projects in Vienna and its surroundings since 2010. >>> SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULTS AND IMPACT ENVISAGED The expected results of the project: Out of the exchange of good practise and exploring the respective fields, we develop a concept for SONEC, the important parts of which we incorporate together with all other achievements in a short manual of max. 20-40 pages. Through this manual in our dissemination activities, we reach a large number of people, politicians in local governments and their citizens and stakeholders in all partner countries and beyond. We use the knowledge for the next step: Innovation partnership for developing a curriculum for SONEC-Facilitators. >>> POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITS SONEC is the answer of democracy-crises and climate-crises. If municipalities and citizens discover the potential in SONEC, the face of the world will change.
We wanted to develop out of the Neighborocracy- and the Sociocracy basics, a suitable way of using Sociocratic Neighborhood Circles - SoNeC for the European Environment and make this approach known to European municipalities and citizens. Sociocratic Neighborhood Circles (SoNeCs) are the structure to create Common Values in a neighbourhood, where people are not used to knowing each other in the past. We create through SoNeCs, if implemented, Civic Engagement because people in the neighbourhood get to know each other, what automatically creates relationships and strengthens the mood to support each other. Common aims, community projects, and individual needs of neighbours are all starting points of civic engagement. Participation is needed to stop the feeling of helplessness when realising problems in the neighbourhood, in the environment and in the world. SoNeC creates a space for action where all citizens are involved in the process of solving problems that affect them as neighbours. They learn to decide together with an inclusive method, where no one is left out. Experience has shown that only those who can have a say in decision-making will also assume responsibility. The activities and projects of a SoNeC are connected to a larger SoNeC-network and create an impact to the Environment. This also includes better solutions for Climate Change.
The Sociocracy Center Austria carries the Sociocratic Circle organisation Method – SCM into society because the method has the potential to involve all people who are affected by the problem in a decision. The SCM is also working in large organisations around the world with very positive results and has also been applied in the Neigborocracy movement in India. We wanted to explore the potential of Sociocratic Neighborhood Circles for European environments to solve the problems that require the entire population, such as climate change, demographics (elderly care), integration and other societal and political needs. Although there are many initiatives at the local community level, they have not yet reached the scale necessary to respond effectively to the crises. They often lack a stable and facile organisation of collaboration and a clearly structured process of joint decision making. Local governments are also very aware of these problems. In order to start a change process the engagement of (all) citizens is needed. For citizens, neighbourhoods are the place to live. This is the level at which they get to know each other, build relationships and take action to achieve political and socio-ecological change.