The Economic Democracy Collaborative invites the Madison community to free screenings of four films which explore different aspects of this issue. These will be screened in the Grand Hall at the Capitol Lakes Retirement Center 333 W. Main St. at the dates and times indicated below. In each case, a local person familiar with the type of activity described will introduce the film briefly and then stay for a discussion afterwards.
1. "FIXING THE FUTURE: Creating Local Jobs and Building Prosperity" (2011, 60 min)
SATURDAY SEPT 8th 10AM:
Some communities across America are using innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity, including: 1) Sustainable Connections, a collaboration of thousands of businesses committed to buying locally, hiring locally, and selling locally; 2) Yo Mama's Cookin', a cooperative of women of color part of a national movement to build and train cooperative groups; and 3) The Time Bank, which allows people to barter their time and services. These and other efforts are built on American values of commonwealth, shared prosperity, fairness, wellness, sustainability, and creativity.
2. "COMING HOME: E. F. Schumacher and the Reinvention of the Local Economy" (2009, 37 min)
WEDNESDAY SEPT 12th 7PM:
In 1973, British economist E.F. Schumacher wrote “Small is Beautiful – Economics as if People Mattered”, a book that offered a vision of an economy driven by a desire for harmony, not greed; a local economy based on community and ecological values, not global financial derivatives. For the last three decades the E.F. Schumacher Society has transformed Schumacher’s ideas into a series of practical innovations – reinventing much of the local economy of Great Barrington, Massachusetts and southern Berkshire County in the process.
3. "THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil" (2006, 53 min)
WEDNESDAY SEPT 19th at 7PM:
After Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990s the country transitioned from large fossil-fuel intensive farming to smaller less energy-intensive organic farms and urban gardens--and from a highly-industrialized society to a more sustainable one through cooperation, conservation, and community.
4. "THE GARDEN" (2008, 80 min)
SATURDAY SEPT 22nd at 10AM:
The story of America's largest cooperative urban farm, established in the midst of low-income South Central Los Angeles following the 1992 LA riots and bulldozed after a long battle against a powerful coalition of real estate developers and self-serving political and "community" leaders.
These screenings are part of series co-sponsored by the Economic Democracy Collaborative, the Madison Institute, and Peregrine Forum of Wisconsin in preparation for the Economic Democracy Conference to be held at Madison College (MATC downtown) Oct 11-14th. For info on the conference see www.economicdemocracyconference.org. For more info on upcoming film screenings call 608-442-8399.