Who and what are these progressive forces growing in urban and regional environments from Rojava, Kurdistan to Hong Kong, from Richmond, California and Jackson, Mississippi to so many cities in Europe – Barcelona, Naples, Messina, Grenoble, Zagreb, Belgrade… and beyond?

Where do they come from? How are they changing the nature of relationships between social movements and public institutions? What political programs are helping them gain electoral power, and how are they implementing progressive policies in the face of entrenched corporate and other vested interests? Taking up these questions will allow us to better understand this new age of political strategies and culture, in which a growing number of grassroots post-capitalist movements seek to transition from the streets to the town halls, organizing around true commitments to internationalism, feminization of politics, anti-racism, a commons oriented economy – and radical pragmatism.

This invigorated translocal cities-based movement, sometimes referred to as “municipalism”,  offers powerful tools for building both resistance – and systemic alternatives from the ground up. To share insights from the movements and how philanthropy can support these initiatives, on February 20th, EDGE organised the Just Transition Collaborative webinar on Radical ‘Municipalism’: Resistance and Systemic Change from the Ground Up. Laura Roth, from the International Group of Barcelona en Comú, shared some challenges and the accomplishments of their endeavours, while a group of funders shared their practices in supporting local initiatives and fostering a global connection amongst platforms.

Watch the recording of the webinar and use the comments field below if you have any questions or if you want to engage in the conversation.

*Correction: Grassroots international has been in partnership with the Zapatistas communities since 2006.