The global pic-nic for degrowth idea was accepted at the second conference on degrowth and social justice in Barcelona in March 2010. There will be pic-nics held by different degrowth groups around the world; in Europe, most capitals will be having one.
In London this will be happening on 06/06/2010 at Battersea Park, just at the heart of the city. Why a picnic? Because change always starts with a nice chat around a good dinner! 
Because it’s a good excuse to get together, and we have also planned it to be “a day without money”. Because if individually degrowth is about “simple living”, we need to meet each other and create a network in London for it to happen. Because it will be fun, and we will be free from financial matters. Because we are taking a green space for that. Because it will be an open space, where we can all go share thoughts and discuss… There can be as many reasons as people who will meet there, you just need to get yours and come join us if you want to be part of it.
HOW? There will be different things going on during the day, very briefly explained:
PICNIC4DEGROWTH: An opportunity for exchange of thoughts and ideas, around nice food with even nicer people. A couple of things to note:
Please bring your own cutlery & crockery
Bring enough to feed yourself and one more, three people the most. That way we will reduce left-overs.
If you do make something fabulous, do bring along the recipe to share.
Please be aware of peoples dietary requirements.
Also, please note: whatever you bring with you, you need to take away too. We will bring some bin bags, but please clean up after yourselves.
SWAPing- There are many things that we can swap, in fact the actual money based system it was originary just another way of exchange. We will be swapping tangible and intangible things: books, clothes, songs, poems, languages, drawings, food, hugs… whatever you have to offer, you can try to swap it for something else.
Remember to check before coming, as we all do have things we no longer need that might be what someone else is just looking for at the moment!
TALKS- We will also have an opportunity to listen to stories of people who are involved in projects tp make possible that simple living. If you are one of those people, and want to tell your story DROP US A LINE telling a bit about it, and will get you in the schedule.
OTHER ACTIVITIES- or maybe you are involved in such project and want to share it, instead of just giving a talk about it… also, do write us and will arrange soemthing.
A complete day without money is waiting in partnership with the Picnic4Degrowth. Hope to see you all there, will keep you informed!
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT DEGROWTH?
Thirty years ago, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen published a book with the title “Demain la Décroissance” (Degrowth Tomorrow) (1979). We say, “Aujourd’hui la Décroissance” (Degrowth today). The economic crisis of 2008-09 brings a new perspective. Economic degrowth can be good for the environment but it must be socially sustainable. The Degrowth movement advocates for the downscaling of production and
consumption as they lie at the root of long term environmental issues and social inequalities. Attempts have been made to greenwash the economy, but without success. The Copenhagen summit last winter is a clear evidence that overproduction and ecology do not work together…The aim of the degrowth movement is to maxmize happiness and well-being (rather than Gross Domestic Product -GDP!) through non-consumptive means—sharing work, consuming less, while devoting more time to art, music, family, culture and community. At the individual level, degrowth is achieved by voluntary simplicity.
