January IDN Quarterly Newsletter 2026

 Welcome to the first International Degrowth Network newsletter of 2026!

As we begin the year, we take a moment to reflect on a year shaped by growth, experimentation, and deep collective effort across the International Degrowth Network (IDN).

This quarter's newsletter features our new members and next IDN events as well as the highlights of the work done by each of our circles and the goals we hope to achieve in this new year.

Hope you enjoy the read ☺️  

📅Upcoming Events

Degrowth Networking event
🤝 If you would like to meet like minded individuals, expand your network or learn about degrowth in practice, this event is for you! 2 projects awarded with Degrowth Events Fund 2025 will present showcase
📍 Online
📅 10 Feb 2026 13:00 UTC
🌐 Register here Degrowth Networking event

Social Forum Beyond Growth Spain
🤝 Forum with civil society to define collectively the type of society we would like to have Beyond growth. This is a follow up from the Beyond Growth Conference in the Spanish parliament in Sep'25.
📍 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
📅 13-14 February 2026
🌐 Foro Social 2026 - Foro Social Más Allá del Crecimiento

Online Degrowth Movement Winter Assembly 2026
🤝 Different sessions led by the IDN Circles opened for all the degrowthers interested
📍 Online
📅 2-3 March 2026
🌐 Check the program and register here Online Degrowth Movement Assembly 2026

Degrowth Central & Eastern Europe Conference: bridging green and just in CEE
🤝 Organizer: Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University🤝 Partners: Degrowth Poland, Masaryk University & NaZemi (CZ), University of Szeged (HU), Technical University of Košice & Klima ťa potrebuje (SVK).
📍 Krakow
📅 16-19 June 2026
🌐 Submissions for workshops, papers, posters, and artistic formats are open until 28 February 2026 using the following form. Contact: degrowth@uj.edu.pl

Degrowth and the Politics of Space
🤝 University of Amsterdam
📍 Amsterdam
📅 21-23 October 2026
🌐 www.degrowthpsc.com

    👏Highlights from the IDN Circles 2025 and plans for 2026

    🏦​Organising Circle

    In 2025 the circle continued its work with major achievements for the IDN like the setup of a legal organization based in France!!

    Circle was also helping in the organization of the Assembly of the Degrowth movement 2025 with one online in April'25 and one in person in Oslo in June'25 just before the International Degrowth conference.

    Circle also continue welcoming new members (see report below) and ensuring the underlying infrastructure (emails, Matrix, newsletters, website...) works as expected to support the work of IDN and its circles.

    The goals for 2026 are to create a dedicated bank account for IDN, activate funding pages and channels, organize Degrowth in Practice networking events, and last but not least keep core systems running smoothly (email, website, tools).

    🗓️ Events Circle

    The Events Circle played a key role in 2025 through the Degrowth Events Fund, supporting economically 15 degrowth events across regions with a total funding of 15000€. This led to strong local impact, including new groups forming in Tokyo, Taiwan and Romania and events reaching out the Government like in Zimbabwe, alongside significant coordination and administrative work.

    In 2026, the circle plans to continue supporting grassroots events while streamlining processes and improving follow-up and visibility of funded initiatives.

    🤝 Practice Circle

    In 2025, the Practice Circle supported hands-on experimentation and on-the-ground initiatives. Members contributed to international conferences, including presentations at the Oslo Degrowth Conference and panels on degrowth businesses at the Next Economies Summit. The circle also supported events such as Harvest of Enough in India, which brought degrowth into dialogue with rural and local contexts, and added a new Degrowth in Practice section to the Explore Degrowth website. The first collaboration of the IDN was also setup by circle with Re-Action outdoors clothes repair collective.

    Looking ahead to 2026, priorities include launching the Degrowth / Post-Growth Business Incubator in Barcelona, supporting preparations for the Next Economies Conference in Cairo in 2027, and continuing to strengthen practice-based learning across the network.

    🌀 Transformative Learning Circle

    The Transformative Learning Circle focused in 2025 on building shared foundations for degrowth education. Key efforts included developing the Transformative Learning Principles for Degrowth, created a first draft of the Transformative Learning Playbook, and ran a survey on learning topics and communication preferences.In 2026, the circle plans to launch dedicated web pages for the playbook, facilitate sessions at the upcoming Degrowth Movement Assembly, and build collaborations with initiatives such as Deschool (Chicago) and NaZemi (Czech Republic).

    🏛️ Policy & Politics Circle

    Created in 2025 following the Oslo Degrowth Conference, the Policy & Politics Circle focused on strengthening degrowth's presence in political and movement spaces. This included engagement around COP30 and the People's Summit in Belém, as well as the development of a shared position paper.

    In 2026, the circle aims to further amplify degrowth perspectives in policy debates, support coordinated political interventions, and build alliances with aligned movements and organizations.

    🧪 Research Circle

    The Research Circle worked to strengthen collaboration and exchange among degrowth researchers in 2025, hosting two online meet-ups and creating space to share experiences, funding strategies, and resources.

    In 2026, the circle aims to contribute to the International Degrowth Movement Assembly, continue regular meetups, and explore funding opportunities through a shared survey.

    📝 Comms

    The Communication Circle continued producing general newsletters, updating the website, and sharing regular content on Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik Tok and Mastodon. In 2025, the circle also took over management of the Degrowth World mailing list, strengthening coordination across the movement.

    ✊ Activism Circle

    In 2025, the Activism Circle supported global actions and movement-building efforts, including Global Degrowth Day, a strong involvement in the International Degrowth Assembly in Oslo, helping amplify degrowth messages and coordination worldwide. In 2026, the circle aims to continue supporting collective action and strengthening links between degrowth and broader justice struggles.

    🌐 Continental Circles
    🌍 Global South Circle
    Centered on delinking & global justice. They hosted a Global South tent at the Oslo Degrowth Conference Read more here and organized the Delinking Festival in Mexico (Watch it here!).

    In 2026 the hope to Strengthen Global South perspectives within IDN spaces and Support exchanges and events focused on delinking and systemic alternatives

    North America
    The circle regained momentum in 2025 with the relaunch of the North America Circle. Their work included connections to DeSchool 2025, the launch of a Substack blog: Degrowth is the Answer, and engagement with researchers and educators linked to the Oslo Degrowth Conference.

    In 2026, the circle aims to deepen collaboration and visibility, including engagement around upcoming conferences hosted by the US Society for Ecological Economics and the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics.

    Europe Circle
    Europe stayed active through regular communication and online events. The Europe Circle shared monthly newsletters with a growing readership and hosted webinars on topics such as Rights of Nature and Collapse awareness. These spaces supported learning, exchange, and connection across the region.

    In 2026, the circle plans to continue its newsletters and webinars, with a stronger focus on degrowth policies in Europe (with EEB and CAN Europe) and the imperial mode of living, while also exploring new ways to increase participation.

    Asia Circle
    Asia reached an important milestone in 2025 with the launch of its first regional newsletter 🥳. The circle also held monthly meetings and organized a virtual screening and discussion of The Cost of Growth, bringing together participants from across the region.

    In 2026, the Asia Circle plans to expand its membership, host an online regional gathering, and contribute a panel on degrowth in Asia to the IDN Winter Assembly.  

        🤗New IDN members

        Membership & Onboarding circle produced a report with all the members in IDN till Oct'25. This gives already a powerful general overview of IDN and feeling of Degrowth movement  

            Also during last quarter of 2025, we were lucky to welcome several new organizations into the International Degrowth Network:

            1. n'UNDO (Spain): promotes the Architecture of Subtraction (La Resta), shifting urbanism from growth to sufficiency.
            2. Tasaarengu Eesti MTÜ (Estonia): to promote the principles of degrowth, including a meaningful life, social relations, a fair society, and sufficiency. They organized their first Degrowth Conference in Estonia in October 2025.
            3. Centro Textile Sustentable (Argentina)
              CTS works to integrate social and environmental justice into textiles and fashion. In 2026, they will lead a program on "Fashion and Degrowth," exploring alternatives to extractive fashion systems.
            4. More Than Enough (Belgium): to spread degrowth ideas and policy proposals while cultivating a strong degrowth community in Belgium.
            5. Degrowth Japan: Founded in 2024 from the grassroots collective "Tokyo Snails,"it unites academics, artists, farmers, and activists to challenge growth-driven economics.
            6. NOÉ21 (Geneva): Short for New Economic Orientation for the 21st Century, NOÉ21 advocates for degrowth and a just transition in Geneva and beyond.
            7. La Huallizada (Chile): Accelerator of Civilizational Transition. They develop a new mechanism for Social Transformation to regenerate the Earth and safeguard life.
            8. 台灣行動柴棺龜淨零棄成長推動協會 (M.mutica in action, Taiwan): focus on degrowth research and advocacy in Taiwan.

              And for all our members around the world: you can now view upcoming meetings on the IDN shared calendar (external link), and if you'd like, you can also subscribe and sync (external link) them directly to your own calendar app.

              Social Media Diffusion

              Member organisations! If you are posting about an event on Instagram, tag us and we will repost to stories 📢

              📝 IDN Blog

              We invite member organizations to share updates, reflections, and resources on the IDN Blog (external link)! 

              Send blog entries to: info@degrowth.net (external link)

              Include: Author name (person or organization);

              At least one image; Details regarding how the author can be contacted.

              We hope that this will allow member organisations to share learning, pose questions and start conversations across the Network.

              🐌 Become a part of something bigger

              The IDN represents a critical step towards uniting the degrowth movement in these rapidly evolving times. Your participation, whether as an individual or an organisation, strengthens our collective voice and impact. Together, we can forge a path toward a just, sustainable world.