DOEN focuses on helping to accelerate four major system transitions. These transitions guide the decisions DOEN makes.
Accelerating transitions
1. The transition from a linear to a circular economy
Our current economic system – a linear economy – is based on using raw materials to make products that are subsequently discarded. We need to move from a linear to a circular economy, in which products are designed in such a way that raw materials are reused. There is a growing awareness worldwide that focusing solely on the reduction and reuse of raw materials is no longer sufficient; we must also work on recovery.
2. The transition from growing inequality to a world where everyone participates and counts
DOEN is striving for a socially inclusive world in which everyone feels at home and diversity is seen as enrichment. We are working to build a society that takes solidarity for granted, connects people, and offers all citizens truly equal opportunities, including access to a sustainable way of living and worthwhile work.
3. A society that puts the commons first
DOEN has seen that citizen collectives are able to put the commons first. They find practical solutions to major societal challenges at the local level, for example by setting up energy cooperatives and neighbourhood businesses and working with alternative ownership models. Their projects are close to home, even right around the corner, but make an impact that reaches much further.
4. A society where there is room for radical imagination
Artists, innovative entrepreneurs and enterprising citizens help us to broaden and change our outlook. They ask uncomfortable questions, provoke thought, and show us alternatives and new perspectives for the future. The wealth of thoughts, sounds and images they create is replacing the dominant social narrative of individual gain and the planet as a commodity.
DOEN aspires to a world based on a circular economy, where everyone matters, collective spirit takes precedence, and there is room for imagination.