Oslo Assembly 2025

The 6th International Assembly of the Degrowth Movement took place online throughout April 2025 and in person on the 23rd of June 2025 in Oslo, Norway. See more information, including outcomes, below. 

Overview

The International Degrowth Movement assemblies serve as vital opportunities to bond and share convivial experiences, encourage collaboration and organising, and make recommendations for degrowth transformations. 

The International Degrowth Network (IDN) organised the 6th International Degrowth Movement assembly in a way that maximises inclusivity and effectiveness, taking stock of the previous year’s experience.  

The assembly design reflected the expectations and aspirations of IDN Members, ensuring that it provided value in areas they care about, including knowledge-building, collaboration, and action. It also allowed space for non-IDN members to connect, network and build their capacities for degrowth transformations. 

So that is why this year, we shook things up a little! The Assembly involved three key phases:

  1. Pre Assembly Survey - February–March 2025
    A pre-assembly feedback phase used a global survey to gather diverse perspectives to shape the foreseen assembly sessions. See more info on this below!
  2. Online Assemblies - April 22 & 24, 3:00–6:00 PM UTC each day
    Time-zone-sensitive online assemblies with interactive sessions to share needs, best practices, and strategies for degrowth.
  3. International Degrowth Movement Assembly - June 23rd, 2025
    An in-person assembly, which was a full-day event to further connect and collaborate in response to the needs and strategies identified during the survey and online assemblies, as well as to celebrate diverse community achievements.

    The 11th International Degrowth Conference and the 18th Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics took place after the Assembly in Oslo. Find out more (external link).

    You can click on the titles below to learn more about each section. 

    The first phase of the Assembly has started! The purpose of this is to gather diverse perspectives and provide ample time to synthesise feedback for informed discussions during the Assembly.

    You can contribute to the survey until March 2nd. 

    This survey is available in English (external link)Spanish (external link), Portuguese (external link), and Chinese (external link). Please help us by sharing it with comrades, friends, colleagues and peers:)

    The working group that is organising the 2025 Assembly looks forward to your answers!

    We are excited to invite you to the Online Degrowth Movement Assembly, a space for collective reflection, exchange, and action-oriented discussions to strengthen the degrowth movement.

    This is not an IDN assembly, but the IDN is taking the initiative to organise it with the support of both IDN members and non-members who are interested in engaging with degrowth. We also invite individuals and groups to host additional local, regional, or global degrowth assemblies throughout the year to explore the topics most relevant to them. We can share insights and experiences and exchange perspectives on how to host effective assemblies for degrowth.

    As part of our collective assembly process, you may be invited to take notes, document discussions, or support facilitation to help capture key insights and ensure everyone’s contributions are heard. This will enable us to build a shared understanding and create resources that can serve the broader degrowth movement. When you join the assembly we want it to feel like our movement, so please don't hesitate to get involved!

    We would also encourage you to host a local watch party, gathering people in your area to join the online assembly from the same space and same screen. This is a great way to spark local discussion, build community, and connect global ideas to local action. Find our guide to hosting a watch party here.

    Why join?

    This two-day assembly will focus on:

    • Degrowth in practice through policy interventions and place-based experiences

    • Supporting place-based and decentralised organising for Degrowth

    • Networking and collective empowerment

    Details

    Date & Time: April 22 & 24, 3:00–6:00 PM UTC each day

    These dates and times have been selected based on our current capacity and availability. However, anyone is encouraged to organise additional Degrowth assemblies to address specific needs and topics.

    Languages: English (Spanish-speaking groups if volunteers are available)

    Agenda Overview

    Day 1:

    • Presentation of IDN’s work and circles (brief overview) 

    • Group discussions on key topics (theory and practice, personal and organisational challenges, cultural transformation)

    • Special session: Degrowth and decolonial perspectives

    • Closing reflections, evaluation and next steps

    Day 2:

    • Degrowth in practice, movements, and actions worldwide: Moving towards collaborative projects (activism, policy, events, communication)

    • Creative visioning exercise: The future of degrowth conferences

    • Closing reflections, evaluation and next steps

    Register here (mandatory for participation): https://my.liberaforms.org/join-the-online-degrowth-movement-assembly-2025

    This assembly serves as a starting point for deeper conversations and actions that will inform the Onsite Degrowth Movement Assembly in Oslo, right before the ISEE-Degrowth Conference, and continue to evolve throughout the year, both within and beyond the IDN.

    The online Degrowth Movement Assembly 2025 included presentations and many thematic group discussions. More specifically, the Delinking collective, formed during the ESEE-Degrowth Conference 2024, presented their key arguments and upcoming activities (watch the recording here (external link)). In addition, there selected contributions on activism, events, policy, and communication for degrowth were made (watch the recording here (external link)). 

    Below is a brief overview of the key points raised in the group discussions. We invite you to read the full summaries (external link) and explore the minutes of each group discussion. Please note that these are not official positions of the IDN but rather reflect the concerns and ideas of participants from the 2025 Online Degrowth Movement Assembly (60-70 individuals and representatives from various organisations, IDN and non-IDN members). Sometimes, their views can even be contradictory. The key points raised, along with the evaluations of the online Degrowth Movement Assembly insights, will be used to structure the agenda for the on-site Degrowth Movement Assembly in Oslo (please contact us at info[at]degrowth.net, if you wish to get actively involved in the process).

    One of the thematic discussions was focused on bridging degrowth theory and practice, and two distinct perspectives emerged. In the European and North American context, the discussion highlighted local initiatives like Repair Cafes and community food projects as ways to practice degrowth, while also emphasising the need for systemic change and stronger links between grassroots movements and institutions. There was also concern about the degrowth movement unintentionally reproducing existing societal problems, such as patriarchy, exclusion and the marginalisation of the working class, even while aiming to challenge dominant systems. In contrast, the discussion around the Latin American context focused on the limits of using the term “degrowth,” which is often seen as abstract or negative, and instead stressed the need to connect with local struggles, address historical injustices and structural inequalities like colonialism, and build solidarity between the Global North and South. 

    Another thematic discussion was focused on organisational challenges, such as lack of financial resources and time. It was a small group discussion that mainly revolved around the IDN. Participants discussed the value of keeping the network loosely structured to foster connection and flexibility, while also acknowledging the need for some coordination to support engagement and action. One key issue raised was the importance of compensating essential reproductive and organisational work. Relying solely on unpaid labour risks reinforcing existing inequalities, and the idea of a small, adaptable list of paid roles was suggested. These roles could be defined collectively.

    The group discussion on degrowth and cultural transformation focused on making degrowth more accessible and culturally relevant. Participants highlighted the need to move beyond academic discourse and embed degrowth within the organisational structures. A major challenge is addressing the dominant neoliberal narratives and overcoming fears that degrowth means losing modern comforts. Inclusive communication is key, along with reframing the language to work better for broader audiences. Emphasis was placed on systemic change, not individual blame, and on fostering collective reflection through different spaces where people meet, collaborate, interact, learn and share.

    The group discussion on events for degrowth revolved around ways of creating inclusive, interactive, and diverse degrowth events that not only promote learning but also shared action and community building. The group discussion on policy campaigning for degrowth focused on the need to bridge the gap between abstract visions and everyday concerns by offering hopeful, relatable alternatives to the current system. While national-level platforms remain weak, grassroots and municipal efforts could be focused on tangible issues like housing, transport, and working time to operate as entry points for political engagement and collective action.

    Overall, this assembly was a successful first attempt at organising a virtual Degrowth Movement Assembly. In the evaluations we received, participants highlighted both the urgency and complexity of building a political movement around degrowth. To move forward, they emphasised the need to confront power dynamics, amplify underrepresented voices, and connect bold visions with concrete action. Political education, inclusive structures, and alliances across media, unions, and local governments will be important. We are now moving towards the on-site Degrowth Movement Assembly in Oslo, building on the knowledge, insights, and reflections gathered during these days of the online assembly!

    We are excited to invite you to the International Degrowth Movement Assembly 2025 in Oslo, Norway, building on the outcomes of the online assembly that took place in April 2025.

    The in-person assembly will be held on June 23, just before the ISEE-Degrowth Conference at the University of Oslo. The venue will be Helga Engs hus. You can find the location here: https://tinyurl.com/48pram2b (external link) 

    Draft Programme outline

    • 09:00 – 09:30 | Registrations
    • 09:30 – 10:15 | Opening Circle - Welcome, group agreements, and logistics overview
    • 10:15 – 11:45 | Breakout Sessions: Sharing Stories of Change - Thematic small group discussions around key challenges within the degrowth movement.
    • 11:45 – 12:30 | Visual Gallery Walk - Interactive exhibition of group outcomes: successes, challenges, and creative insights.
    • 12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch & Informal Mingling
    • 14:15 – 16:00 | Parallel Workshops (draft list - you can propose your own in the registration form!)
      • Campaigning & Political Strategy
      • Degrowth Project Incubator
      • Delinking the Global South from the Global North
      • Screening & Discussion: ACTionism
      • Participatory Futures Visioning
    • 16:00 – 16:30 | Break
    • 16:30 – 17:30 | Plenary Presentations - Sharing key takeaways and strategies developed in the workshops.
    • 17:45 – 18:15 | Closing Circles - Reflections, personal commitments, and small group sharing.
    • 18:15 – 18:20 | Closing Ritual

    Please remember to bring your own bottle or cup to help reduce waste! 😊

    Also, if the weather allows, we’ll try to sit outside in the park — so make sure to bring something to sit on for the grass!

    Oslo Assembly - Outcomes

    Another International Degrowth Movement Assembly took place in Oslo, ahead of the ISEE-Degrowth Conference 2025, and aimed to identify key directions for the movement and actions the IDN could support.

    More explicitly, the assembly created a collaborative space for sharing experiences, reflecting on challenges, and developing strategies to empower the international degrowth community. During the assembly, participants were divided into groups based on their topics of interest. Within these groups, they shared their experiences related to degrowth, discussing both the successes and inspiring practices they have encountered and the challenges they have faced. Through this exchange, participants reflected on their collective learnings, which led to the development of specific proposals and suggestions to move forward. It is important to note that all the reflections and proposals are grounded in the positionalities and lived experiences of those who were present in the room and may not capture the full diversity of perspectives within the broader degrowth community. Around 100 to 120 people were present at various times during the assembly, with participants coming and going throughout the event.

    Summary of challenges and opportunities

    The degrowth community must address internal power dynamics shaped by patriarchy and competition, valuing invisible labour and centering decisions and discussions around the marginalised voices. It needs to challenge the extractive and imperial relationships from the Global North to the Global South by actively supporting decolonial and delinking efforts from different spaces of power while staying rooted in local contexts.

    As the movement becomes more popular, it must protect its core radical values, avoid dilution, and develop strategic, inclusive narratives that connect with everyday struggles. Legal systems and institutions should be challenged and transformed to support degrowth socio-ecological transformations. Building alliances with labour movements, unions, and grassroots actors is key, as is promoting low-tech, open-access, and community-based alternatives. Collective living, accessible transport, and universal basic services should be prioritised to counter individualism and precarity. To scale effectively, degrowth must operate as a federation of aligned initiatives, strategically sowing and cultivating ideas while celebrating small victories and staying grounded in justice, cooperation, and care.

    Key directions for the international degrowth movement and strategic actions that the IDN could help advance:

    • Confront overconsumption and systemic injustice of the Global North at the expense of the Global South by actively supporting delinking and decolonisation in the Global South. This means, on one hand, aligning with climate justice, land sovereignty, and anti-extractivist struggles. On the other hand, actors in the Global North should take responsibility for breaking exploitative connections—economic, political, and cultural—that sustain unequal exchange and ecological harm (eg. pushing for the cancellation of Global South debt, opposing trade agreements that favor Northern corporations, reducing reliance on imported raw materials and cheap labor, and divesting from extractive industries, reparations, solidarity in facing environmental catastrophes, open access technology and medicine IP transfers).
    • Politicise everyday actions, such as repairing, reusing, and participating in community exchanges, by highlighting them not just as lifestyle choices, but as acts of resistance and commoning. The IDN’s Practice Circle, in particular, could play a key role in fostering critical reflection in relation to such initiatives, strengthening collective agency and networks, and reclaiming narratives of care and resistance, especially in contrast to mainstream interpretations of the circular economy and local practices.
    • Transform legal frameworks and laws to support degrowth policies. This calls for further exploration of questions that can help structure future work on degrowth-aligned legal transformation within a dedicated legal/policy space in IDN. For example, 
      • How can law reflect and reinforce core social and ecological values, rather than economic growth?
      • What role can rights of nature and Earth-centred legal traditions play in advancing degrowth goals?
      • What legal tools, existing or new, can help dismantle systems of inequality, overconsumption, and ecological harm?
    • Apply power mapping tools and processes such as stakeholder mapping, alliance building, and leverage identification for building impactful policy campaigns (e.g. on housing, transport, energy), identifying institutional entry points, and scaling out practices via decentralised coordination. The IDN could further develop and apply these tools across its circles, connecting research, community action, and political strategy.
    • Create a political circle within the IDN. The IDN should create a Think Tank on policies and politics to collectively strategise on political direction, express positions on key issues (e.g. Palestine), and create space for deeper political analysis and coordinated policy action.

    Overall, the assembly highlighted that degrowth must move beyond critique to become a political project, which requires more strategic, consistent, and coordinated action. In line with this realisation, the IDN will work to meaningfully build on the assembly’s outcomes and begin planning the next online assembly in the autumn to explore these insights in greater depth.

    You can read the expanded summary of the assembly outcomes here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jSgx-eygWdmNrpKz9RXIQ9eeJQnuIGyN/view?usp=sharing 


    *Disclosure: This report contains adjusted summaries of notes compiled with the assistance of ChatGPT. Please review it with care. We have aimed to highlight key strategic points that emerged in order to identify important opportunities for action with the support of the IDN.

    Recordings

    Check out recordings of the Pre-Assembly and Oslo Assembly below!