We are an international group based in the Cologne-Bonn region. In 2024, some of us met through organising a film screening of 'Outgrow the System', a documentary about transitioning to a sustainable economic system. Some of us went to international post-growth gatherings and reported back, thinking about how we could bring these ideas more vividly into our everyday lives. In late 2024 we decided to start a local group.
Our vision is a good life for all, within our planet's limits. We share the conviction that abandoning the growth imperative is core to reaching this aim. This website will be one of our tools to make post-growth ideas and activities in the Cologne-Bonn region more visible.
To further our vision, we will organise varied events in the region to promote the ideas of post-growth, such as film screenings and project visits. We also want to build a network to connect local and regional initiatives, that already work on related issues and could benefit from collectively identifying with post-growth.
Many years ago I got very frustrated when I realised that what I learned in my studies of Economics was in contrast to reality: Continuous economic growth did not lead to a good life for all but rather fostered inequality and environmental and social exploitation. I got very enthusiastic when I learnt about the idea of post-growth. The Cologne-Bonn post-growth group gives me the opportunity to contribute to societal transformation in a very practical and hands-on way and returned to me a feeling of self-efficacy.
Marion
After moving to Germany I got in contact with the local Transition Town Initiative in Bonn (external link). Thanks to them, I also became a member of a Community Supported Agriculture association. Having interesting conversations and seeing real examples of how a different type of society and economy could look like, inspired me to read more about the idea of post-growth. This way I discovered that there were already many other people, who were envisioning a society based on cooperation and solidarity instead of selfishness and endless competition. I hope that with our Cologne-Bonn post-growth group we could inspire even more people to create another society together.
Zlatka
At work I was involved in a project about climate targets and realised that we were not going to meet them under the current economic system. Then I discovered the post-growth movement, which offers so many positive ideas about how we could live with less waste of resources and energy, but still meet everyone's needs. I want these ideas to be more visible and for all different social and environmental justice groups to be able to use them to work together to propose a better way of doing economics.
Ruth
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