Hello everyone,
My name is Siophan (she/her), and I recently started working as a communications officer at Commons Network. As a young adult woman, I worry every day about our economy and society. Because let’s be honest: we’re confronted daily with the consequences of an exhausting market-driven system. That’s why I see the community economy as a solution. It gives me energy and hope that organisations and initiatives are increasingly working together toward the transition to a democratic and fair economy that doesn’t just work for the wealthy.
That conviction also translates into my own work and life. Over the past year, I helped with a campaign by FNV Young & United that addressed both the housing crisis and low wages. We tackled two issues that affect just about everyone and showed that young adults and first-time renters have virtually no chance on the housing market due to exorbitant rents, low wages, and slumlords. For a long time, I thought the housing crisis didn’t “affect” me. I have a roof over my head, a relatively low rent, and I share the apartment with my best friends. But when I told someone that the four of us live in a 60-square-meter apartment, it became clear to me that as a recent graduate, I am indeed affected by the housing crisis. We are now members of the De Bundel housing cooperative and are working hard to realise our project of 132 social and sustainable houses in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Through De Bundel, I became involved with Platform Wooncoöperaties Amsterdam, which brings together and represents all existing and new housing cooperatives.
This involvement with organisations and cooperatives gives me hope for the future. For me, Commons Network is the ideal place to navigate the commons and the community economy better, and to share our mission with you and the world. In the few weeks I’ve been working here, I’ve attended events and met new people who left me with a big smile and a sense of confidence that the community revolution is close.
Now that you know what makes my activist heart beat faster, I’d like to share something personal. In addition to being a communications specialist, I’m also a big fan of podcasts. I listen to them, create them, produce them, and publish them, preferably all at the same time! I’m also a dancer and sometimes a dance teacher. I love cats, I love to cook (especially for friends), and I have taken a sign language course.
Speaking of podcasts: a new podcast that Quinten Torre (Meentcoop) and I are working on will be coming out soon. On “De Hoopcast,” we invite guests who are committed to the community economy through an initiative or an organisation. We talk with them and find out what gives them hope in a time of great despair.
I’m new to the commons and the community economy and have a lot to learn. I’m curious, eager to learn, and therefore completely open to book tips, interesting articles, events, and other valuable advice. Do you have anything I shouldn’t miss? Feel free to send it to siophan@commonsnetwork.org.