Building IRL communities - why, how and with what
Hosted by Commons Hub Brussels, Weaving Wolves, Enspiral and Luminal Village Italy
Who is this for?
We invite community builders of in real life communities interested in community health, tooling, coordination, governance, shared responsibility, stewardship and managing resources.
Vibe of the day
We begin the day with an immersive, interactive game that invites deep conversation and shared reflection. In the afternoon, we shift into an Open Space session, allowing participants to further explore and deepen the questions, tensions, and insights that emerged during the morning experience.
Throughout the day, we are gently guided by the work of Elinor Ostrom, the political scientist and economist who devoted her life to studying how communities successfully govern shared resources and shared goals. Her eight principles for healthy commons form a quiet but steady backbone of the day’s journey. In recognition of this work, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009.
Program
10:00 Coffee, tea, welcome
10:30 - 12:30 Keynote interactive game on the principles of Elinor Ostrom
👉🏼 Before the pond runs dry
From shared goals and resources to shared responsibility. A game about cooperation, care, and consequence.
We start the day with a two-hour immersive simulation in which participants step into village life around a shared fishpond. As challenges unfold, the group must learn—together—how to care for a common resource while sustaining trust, fairness, and long-term resilience.
Through play, deep conversation, and decision-making, participants experience in practice the core principles identified by Elinor Ostrom (Nobelprize Winner in 2009) for avoiding the tragedy of the commons and building communities that last.
You will leave with a deep understanding of Ostrom’s work, and concrete tools to implement in your community.
Facilitation: The Weaving Wolves
12:30 - 14:00 Open Space introduction (facilitation Jeremy from Enspiral and Regens Unite) + lunch + collective check in before the open space
14:00 - 16:00 Open Space workshops
16:15-17:30 closing fishbowl and conversation
Included in the ticket:
Coffee, tea, simple lunch
These in real life communities will be present:
Commons Hub Brussels
Luminal Village (ecovillage in Italy)
Paards Paradijs (regenerative agrotourism in Flanders)
Enspiral
Weaving Wolves
Refi DAO