”Social movements are not only public actions; they are massive educational spaces. Political education helps us unlearn toxic ideas about human nature and rediscover ourselves as collective beings capable of struggle, solidarity and transformation.”

Judith Pape, doctoral researcher at ICTA-UAB, BarcelonaWithin the REAL project, she focuses on political transformations through and with social movements

”If we want a degrowth transition, everyone has to become involved in food systems. Food sovereignty is not isolationist — it is based on autonomy, solidarity and the defence of small and medium-scale farmers against agribusiness.”

Jean Matthieu Thévenot, French farmer from the Basque CountryMember of the international peasant movement La Via Campesina, a representative on climate issues for European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC)

”Degrowth is not about misery or sacrifice. With proper redistribution, there is enough for everyone to live a good life within planetary boundaries — but this requires public luxuries, decommodification, meaningful work and democratic participation.”

Dr. Alexandra Köves, professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest and director of the Ecological Economics Research CentreVice-President of the European Society of Ecological Economics, a member of the Degrowth Support Group, and a host of the podcast Economics for Rebels

”Yugoslavia offers important lessons for degrowth because it forces us to ask who decides what society needs, how collective goals are set, and how a transition can be democratically financed.”

Boriša Mraović, Independent researcherAssociation for Culture and Art Crvena, Sarajevo

”Degrowth needs political power, repoliticised civil society and international coordination. Climate policy must never be separated from social policy — the green transition has to be a social transition too.”

Sophie Bloemen, director of Commons Network, AmsterdamA collaborative think thank for new economy and just transition

”We need to ask whether we know how to speak to regular people. The audience is not stupid; we are simply not always communicating in the right way.”

Diana Filimon, Ashoka Fellow and president of Forum Apulum Association, RomaniaFocusing on getting young people to be informed and civically engaged

”Industrial heritage is not only about factories and archives. It is about people, their experiences, and the political meaning of remembering forms of work, solidarity and community that shaped everyday life.”

Luka Knežević Strika, photographer, visual artist and cultural worker, BelgradeCofounder of an artistic research collective “Jednostavno rečeno” (Simply put) exploring the industrial heritage of Yugoslavia

”Yugoslavia reminds us that degrowth requires planning, self-management and a long-term view of environmental balance. Its history offers valuable lessons for thinking beyond short-term growth, technocratic environmentalism and the false opposition between social development and ecological limits.”

Dr. Mladen Domazet, Institute for Political Ecology, and Institute of Philosophy, ZagrebHis research focuses on degrowth-compatible common senses and social attitudes among contemporary populations