URGENCI MEMBERSHIP FEE 2021 BIDDING ROUND

(Also available in pdf – 374 Ko)

What is the objective this year?

The Covid-19 crisis is ongoing in many parts of the world and its impact is still unfolding. At this frightening moment when we need solidarity and compassion so badly, but can not meet in person, we, Community Supported Agriculture and other types of Local and Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology (LSPA) initiatives, have a critical role to play in feeding local communities safely. And as we face the even greater crisis of climate change, family-scale farms use agroecological practices to preserve and build sustain- able local and territorial food systems that connect produc- ers and consumers and provide healthy, nutritious food for all.

In the current pandemic, we are seeing the relevance our movement has in the re-localisation and sustainability of our food systems. We are called upon to play a key role in ensuring that solidarity economy and food sovereignty, two of the key levers in this essential struggle for the collective survival of humanity, become recognized and normalized around the world. We are witnessing how important it is to sustain the continuous strengthening of our movement.

This is why following the relative success of our first bid- ding round-based membership fee collections in 2019 and 2020, URGENCI is calling on its members to pledge their 2021 membership fee with this year’s bidding round. We are aiming to collectively raise 20,000€ from the 2021 fees.

We are however fully aware that the Covid-19 crisis has af- fected all of us, and that you have dedicated a maximum of your resources to supporting people in your local com- munities to get through the crisis. We are still in the midst of it in many parts of the world. This is affecting our ability to plan and forecast, as well as redirecting our priorities for resources. So, we stand in solidarity with whatever amount

you can spare or not during these challenging times.

How is the bidding round taking place?

Step 1 – URGENCI sends out an email to all its members calling on them to pledge their membership fee. The bidding round 2021 will start on September 1st, 2021.

Step 2 – Each member responds to URGENCI at <contact@ urgenci.net> within 4 weeks before 30th September 2021 with the amount of its bid.

Step 3 – Members then pay their membership fee by bank transfer or Paypal before October 30th. URGENCI shares the result with all members.

What do we all get from this?

Our goal is to be able from now on to raise the resources to sustain the position of the General Secretary from within our network. By collectively sustaining the position of a part time General Secretary for our network, members ensure that URGENCI, as an international secretariat, works on

Coordinating experience sharing, with actions such as:

• Showcasing successful stories from the field and
• Encouraging exchange between Local, Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology (LSPA).

Strengthening movement building, with actions such as:

• Providing decisive support to create nascent networks in different parts of the world, pooling of tools and experience.
• Strengthening the mobilisation of local producers’ and consumers’ networks.
• Creating alliances with other initiatives at local, regional, national, and international level.
• Coordinating the actions at international level (and facilitating consistency).

Providing resources and tools, with actions such as:

• Providing access to capacity building or other forms of training.
• Developing information and communication tools.
• Developing tools to reinforce the viability of the partnerships.
• Creating international financial and methodological tools to further LSPAs.
• Undertaking research to support the Member’s efforts.
• Implementing other actions that help serve the objectives of the Network.

Increasing visibility, with actions such as:

• Representing the LSPA movement at the UN level.
• Supporting and advocating for LSPA policy support at the various regional levels (especially in European policy).
• Creating dialogue with public institutions. » Developing mass mobilisation campaigns.

How do members collect the membership fee within their own networks?

Each member is free to decide how they collect the membership fee within their own national network, as and how applicable. Some members charge an additional dedicated fee to URGENCI per individual basket. Other members decide during their GA how much of their general budget they will contribute. There are as many options as there are members!