Silke Helfrich Explained

Silke Helfrich
Birth Date:1967
Death Date:November, 2021
Occupation:Writer, activist, scholar
Known For:Commons
Organization:Heinrich Boll Foundation
Website:commons.blog
Education:Leipzig University

Silke Helfrich (1967 – 2021) was a German author, activist and scholar, best known for her contributions to the commons as a socio-political paradigm.[1] Along with her frequent coauthor David Bollier, she was considered one of the most important international voices on the commons.[2] [3] [4] She was regional director for Latin America at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the think tank of the German Green Party.

Education and career

She was born in 1967, in a small village in the Thuringian part of the Rhoen Mountains.[5] She studied romance languages and pedagogy at the Leipzig University,[6] which enabled her to speak 6 languages. After some time in development politics, she joined the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the think tank foundation of the German Green Party. First she was its CEO for Thuringia until 1999, and later regional director for Latin America until 2007.[7] During this time, she focused on globalization, gender and human rights topics.[8] Later she would acknowledge how her 8 years living in Latin America made her interested in the commons.[9]

Since 2007 she worked as an independent author, activist and scholar, with a diversity of international partners. In this time, she authored multiple books on the commons, both in English[10] and German.[11] She was friend of Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, and translated her works to German.[12] [13] And she was regular co-author of commons scholar David Bollier.[14] Her last book[15] where she defines patterns of commoning following the work of Christopher Alexander,[16] was translated to German,[17] Spanish,[18] French,[19] and Greek.[20] Her books have received ample praise,[21] e.g. "thinking the better world of tomorrow",[22] "a new paradigm for the organization of public and private life".[23] "Silke Helfrich has achieved a true masterpiece with the work",[24] "a truly exciting glimpse into what the world after this one might look like".[25]

During this time, she regularly engaged with academics, practitioners and policy-makers, especially those related to the Green Party.[26] She was part of the board of multiple research projects, on P2P technologies,[27] [28] ecology,[29] or as part of the International Association for the Study of the Commons.[30]

Activism and social engagement

Helfrich participated in and co-founded multiple commons-related initiatives. She created her Commons Blog in 2007,[31] writing regularly since then on the topic. From there, she argued in favor of commons as a process, "commoning"[32] as a new narrative,[33] [34] and supported commons-oriented initiatives worldwide and in multiple languages.[35] [36] Later she would relate her "commoning" with the "buen vivir" concept (originally sumak kawsay) from modern Latin American socialism,[37] the Venezuelan co-operative Cecosesola,[38] [39] or the Transition Towns movement[40]

She co-founded the Commons Strategies Group along with David Bollier and Michel Bauwens, although the latter left it in 2018.[41] As part of this group, she coauthored reports for the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies,[42] and especially reports estemming from international commons conferences and workshops in Berlin,[43] [44] [45] Lehnin,[46] and Blankensee.[47]

From 2008 to 2013, Helfrich co-organized an interdisciplinary political salon called “Time for the Commons” at the Heinrich Böll Foundation.[48] And from 2012 until 2021, she co-organized annual commons summer schools[49] for people to "co-creatively experience commoning and internalize it", and they have continued since her passing.

In her native Germany, she co-founded the Commons Institute,[50] the Network for Economic Transformation,[51] and she is acknowledged as instigator for the creation of the Fuchsmühlen network in Werra-Meißner,[52] and the German Open Source Seeds initiative.[53] She is also referenced as convener of the Argentinian Fundación Vía Libre.[54]

Death

Helfrich was a frequent hiker, and while hiking in the Liechtenstein Alps on 10 November, 2021 she suffered a fatal accident.[55] A long list of institutions[56] published obituaries then, including e.g. Dutch Casco Art Institute,[57] the Heinrich Böll Foundation, and its South African branch, the Commons Network, the Argentinian Fundación Vía Libre or the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung. The Commons Institute plans to establish a foundation in her name.[58] [59] She was mother of two adult children.

Selected works

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: www.oekom.de . oekom-Gesellschaft für ökologische Kommunikation mit beschränkter Haftung- . Was mehr wird, wenn wir teilen oekom verlag . 2024-04-05 . www.oekom.de . de.
  2. Web site: Farewell Commoning Fellow - Silke Helfrich Heinrich Böll Stiftung Cape Town. South Africa Namibia Zimbabwe . 2024-04-12 . za.boell.org . en.
  3. Web site: Remembering Silke Helfrich . 2024-04-12 . en-US.
  4. News: Jensen . Annette . 2021-11-17 . Theoretikerin Silke Helfrich ist tot: Immer auf unbekanntem Terrain . 2024-04-12 . Die Tageszeitung: taz . de . 0931-9085.
  5. Web site: Free, fair and alive Heinrich Böll Stiftung . 2024-04-12 . www.boell.de . en.
  6. Web site: Who We Are . 2024-04-05 . Commons Strategies Group . en-US.
  7. Web site: Vale Silke Helfrich, 1967 – 2021 Community Economies . 2024-04-12 . www.communityeconomies.org.
  8. Book: Helfrich, Silke . Terremoto social en El Salvador . . 2001 . El Salvador . Spanish . Social earthquake in El Salvador.
  9. Web site: Poynder . Richard . 2010-10-04 . Open and Shut?: Silke Helfrich on the commons and the upcoming International Commons Conference . 2024-04-12 . Open and Shut?.
  10. Book: Patterns of commoning . 2015 . CSG - Commons Strategies Group . 978-1-937146-83-2 . Bollier . David . Amherst/Mass . Helfrich . Silke . Commons Strategies Group.
  11. Book: Ostrom, Elinor . Wem gehört die Welt? zur Wiederentdeckung der Gemeingüter . 2009 . Oekom-Verl., Ges. für Ökologische Kommunikation . Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung . 978-3-86581-133-2 . Helfrich . Silke . 2. Auflage . München.
  12. Book: Ostrom, Elinor . Was mehr wird, wenn wir teilen: vom gesellschaftlichen Wert der Gemeingüter . Helfrich . Silke . 2012 . oekom verlag . 978-3-86581-251-3 . 2. Auflage . München.
  13. Book: Ostrom, Elinor . Wem gehört die Welt? zur Wiederentdeckung der Gemeingüter . 2009 . Oekom-Verl., Ges. für Ökologische Kommunikation . Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung . 978-3-86581-133-2 . Helfrich . Silke . 2. Auflage . München.
  14. Web site: In Remembrance of My Dear Friend Silke Helfrich, 1967-2021 David Bollier . 2024-04-12 . www.bollier.org.
  15. Book: Bollier, David . Free, fair, and alive: the insurgent power of the commons . Helfrich . Silke . 2019 . New Society Publishers . 978-0-86571-921-7 . Gabriola Island, BC . on1083715529.
  16. Web site: 2020-09-16 . Silke Helfrich blockchain technologies part of the commons . 2024-04-12 . P2P Models . en-US.
  17. Book: Helfrich, Silke . Frei, fair und lebendig - die Macht der Commons . Bollier . David . 2019 . transcript . 978-3-8376-4530-9 . Sozialtheorie . Bielefeld.
  18. Book: Bollier, David . Libres, dignos, vivos: el poder subversivo de los comunes . Helfrich . Silke . 2020 . Icaria editorial . 978-84-9888-980-2 . Primera edición . Barcelona.
  19. Book: Bollier, David . Le pouvoir subversif des communs . Heinrich . Silke . Petitjean . Olivier . 2022 . Éditions Charles Léopold Mayer . 978-2-84377-231-3 . DD . Paris.
  20. Web site: Διαβασέ το! . 2024-04-12 . Free, Fair and Alive. The insurgent power of the Commons . el.
  21. Web site: 2008-08-18 . Bücher . 2024-04-12 . CommonsBlog . de-DE.
  22. News: Jensen . Annette . 2019-05-11 . Kann man auch anders machen . 2024-04-12 . Die Tageszeitung: taz . 15 . de . 0931-9085.
  23. Shaw . Mae . 2014 . Learning from The Wealth of the Commons: a review essay . Community Development Journal . 49 . i12–i20 . 0010-3802.
  24. Web site: Commons transcript.open - Open Access Co-Publishing Network . 2024-04-12 . www.transcript-open.de.
  25. Web site: Administrator . David Bollier . “Free, Fair and Alive” is Now Published! . 2024-04-12 . Free, Fair and Alive. The insurgent power of the Commons . en-US.
  26. Web site: Bauwens . Michel . 2010-05-11 . Portrait of a commoner: Silke Helfrich . 2024-04-12 . P2P Foundation . en-US.
  27. Web site: 2022-12-05 . Stakeholder board P2Pvalue blog . 2024-04-12 . web.archive.org . 2022-12-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221205113148/https://p2pvalue.eu/stakeholder-board/ . bot: unknown .
  28. Web site: About . 2024-04-12 . P2P Models . en-US.
  29. Web site: EcoFair Trade Dialogue Heinrich Böll Stiftung . 2024-04-12 . www.boell.de . en.
  30. Web site: Honoring the life of Silke Helfrich – IASC Europe & CIS . 2024-04-12 . europe.iasc-commons.org.
  31. Web site: 2007-11-01 . CommonsBlog . 2024-04-05 . web.archive.org . 2007-11-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071101130628/https://commonsblog.wordpress.com/ . bot: unknown .
  32. Web site: Read . ••5 Min . 2017-04-17 . Silke Helfrich on the Commons as a Way of Working and Living Together . 2024-04-12 . Enlivening Edge . en-US.
  33. Web site: Helfrich . Silke . 2009-10-01 . The Commons as a new narrative for the 21 century . 2024-04-05 . CommonsBlog . de-DE.
  34. Book: Economy of sufficiency: essays on wealth in diversity, enjoyable limits and creating commons . 2013 . Wuppertal Inst. for Climate, Environment and Energy . 978-3-929944-92-1 . Schneidewind . Uwe . Wuppertal spezial / Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt und Energie GmbH im Wissenschaftszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen . Wuppertal . Santarius . Tilman . Humburg . Anja.
  35. Web site: Helfrich . Silke . 2009-12-23 . Fortalecer los bienes comunes. ¡Ahora! . 2024-04-05 . CommonsBlog . de-DE.
  36. Web site: 2007-10-17 . Lesestoff . 2024-04-05 . CommonsBlog . de-DE.
  37. Web site: Group . The Commons Strategy . 2013-05-07 . El Buen Vivir and the Commons . 2024-04-12 . Shareable . en-US.
  38. Web site: Impulso . El . 2016-10-13 . ▷ Cecosesola es ejemplo de la filosofía de Los Comunes . 2024-04-12 . El Impulso . es.
  39. Web site: Silke Helfrich – Cecosesola . 2024-04-12 . es.
  40. Web site: Hopkins . Rob . An interview with Silke Helfrich: “We have to reformulate the role of the state as enabler of the commons” » Transition Culture . 2024-04-12 . en.
  41. Web site: Who We Are . 2024-04-12 . Commons Strategies Group . en-US.
  42. Book: Walsh, Zack . Ontology as a Hidden Driver of Politics and Policy: Commoning and Relational Approaches to Governance . Commons Strategy Group . 2020 . . 2020 . English.
  43. Book: Commons Strategy Group . Economics and the Common(s): From Seed Form to Core Paradigm . 2013 . . 2013 . Berlin, Germany . 2013.
  44. Book: Commons Strategy Group . Democratic Money and Capital for the Commons: Strategies for Transforming Neoliberal Finance Through Commons-Based Alternatives . 2015 . . 2015.
  45. Book: Commons Strategies Group . Toward an Open Co-operativism: A New Social Economy Based on Open Platforms, Co-operative Models and the Commons . . 2014.
  46. Book: Commons Strategy Group . State Power and Commoning: Trascending a Problematic Relationship . . 2016.
  47. Book: Commons Strategy Group . Re-imagining Value: Insights from the Care Economy, Commons, Cyberspace and Nature . . 2016.
  48. Web site: 2008-04-01 . Allmendesalon . 2024-04-12 . CommonsBlog . de-DE.
  49. Web site: angela . 2022-09-01 . Die Commons-Sommerschule - Kategorie: Bildung . 2024-04-05 . Was wir tun können . de-DE.
  50. Web site: 2021-11-16 . Say goodbye and stay connected – Commons-Institut . 2024-04-05 . de-DE.
  51. Web site: Abschied von Silke Helfrich – NOW – Netzwerk Oekonomischer Wandel . 2024-04-12 . de-DE.
  52. Web site: Commoning – Fuchsmühle . 2024-04-05 . de-DE.
  53. Web site: 22 Nov 2021 . Nachruf auf Silke Helfrich . Obituary of Silke Helfrich .
  54. Web site: bea . 2021-11-16 . En memoria de nuestra querida amiga Silke Helfrich . 2024-04-12 . FUNDACIÓN VÍA LIBRE . es-AR.
  55. Web site: Wir nehmen Abschied... — CIPRA (d) . 2024-04-12 . www.cipra.org.
  56. Web site: 2021-11-16 . Würdigungen, Nachrufe und Erinnerungen – Commons-Institut . 2024-04-12 . de-DE.
  57. Web site: 2021 . Remembering Silke Helfrich . 12 Apr 2024 . Casco Art Institute.
  58. Web site: 2021-11-16 . Abschied nehmen und in Verbindung bleiben – Commons-Institut . 2024-04-12 . de-DE.
  59. Web site: Nachruf Silke Helfrich :: Netzwerk Solidarische Landwirtschaft . 2024-04-12 . www.solidarische-landwirtschaft.org.

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