OpenCivics

we got us. if you're concerned about your and your community's wellbeing amidst ecological and institutional collapse and chaos, OpenCivics has your back. 👀 this space.

Bread Cooperative is hosting a free webinar on community savings circles. Beyond the Bank: Practical Savings Tools for Underserved Communities. Thursday 26th February 10:00 AM PST / 13:00 EST / 19:00 CET No technical experience needed. Link in bio. More info in the thread

In appreciation of Benjamin Life (!@OpenCivics ): Copied from LI, by Fan Yang: "-Michel, I deeply resonate with your appreciation of Benjamin Life. I had the chance to meet him in Washington, DC more than six years ago, and what struck me was not only his clarity about complex systemic challenges, but the quality of presence he carries. There is a steadiness and integrity that quietly builds trust - the kind that doesn’t require long acquaintance to recognize. People who live with compassion, courage, and perseverance create a field that invites others to step into their own sense of purpose. Watching the evolution of OpenCivics and related initiatives has been encouraging, especially for those of us finding our own path in the commons space. And Michel, your own decades of visible and invisible work have shaped that terrain more than many realize. Holding space for inquiry and experimentation over time is no small contribution. I’m grateful for the continuity you’ve sustained for so many of us entering this work later. Mil Gracias!"

Let’s create a world worth believing in.

Inspiring @OpenCivics video & vision for 2026, where people are "evolving from isolated individuals to interconnected citizens opting out of structures of control & opting into networks of trust."💚🌱 Towards An Open Civics - Theory of Change youtu.be/W5iIpUGg7VA?si… via @YouTube

@ColeenChase @YouTube Thank you for sharing, @ColeenChase!

Do you feel like the world doesn’t make sense? Like we’re stuck between stories? Like authoritarianism and chaos are rising? We need a counter-narrative, a new social contract where everyone belongs and thrives. The new social contract starts with us. youtu.be/W5iIpUGg7VA?si…

4/ 📖 Read the full update → open.substack.com/pub/opencivics… 🗓 Next Assembly → luma.com/opencivics 🤝 Invite someone → opencivics.co/join PS. This has been an insane amount of work so we’re excited to CELEBRATE crossing this threshold with all of you!

3/ What hasn’t changed: Your time stays on your work. We exist to support, connect, and resource what you’re already doing. The movement is coming alive. But it needs you to participate in shaping it.

🌱 OpenCivics Phase 02 is live. We went quiet to build. Now we’re crossing from concept into practice. If you’ve asked us “hey, when are you going to be ready for us to engage” and heard the answer 🔜, now is that moment. 📖 Read the full update → open.substack.com/pub/opencivics…

From conceptual framework to embodied movement- how? Ep 15—"Catalysing Network Nations: Movement Building with Benjamin Life & Patricia Parkinson" Patricia & Benjamin, founders of @open_civics join Primavera De Filippi to discuss movement building without charismatic leaders, progressive protocolization, institutional self-negation, the concept of "senius" (collective genius), and why dual power-not exit- is the path to functional sovereignty. These two movement wizards are crystal clear thinkers and the conversation is a great summary of the lay of the land. 🔗Listen here: youtube.com/watch?v=SccLIO… @kosmicgardener, @omniharmonic,@yaoeo, @networknations_,@greenpillnet

From conceptual framework to embodied movement- how? In Ep. 15 "Catalysing Network Nations: Movement Building with Benjamin Life & Patricia Parkinson" Patricia & Benjamin, founders of @open_civics join Primavera De Filippi to discuss progressive protocolization, institutional self-negation, the concept of "senius" (collective genius), and why dual power-not exit- is the path to functional sovereignty. These two movement wizards are crystal clear thinkers and the conversation is a great summary of the lay of the land. We recommend you listen here: youtube.com/watch?v=SccLIO… @kosmicgardener, @omniharmonic, @yaoeo, @networknations_, @greenpillnet

1/ Network Nations are born from three major shifts in how we organize power and community 🧵⬇️

bullish ethereum localism. takeaways from @gitcoin GG24 ethereum localism fund so far: • $275k mobilized, with gitcoin’s $116k catalyzing ~2.36x in local + ecosystem co-funding •round 01: 12 locally led programs funded across catalunya, cascadia, tanzania, ukraine, colombia, brazil, curaçao, fraser lowland (canada), and east + west africa. $100k+ raised locally, increasing durability and legitimacy (groups showing up with real skin-in-the-game) • round 02 (local meetups LATAM) was co-funded by ethereum foundation and saw 37 complete grassroots meetup applications • latam showed strong pull: 37 grassroots meetup applications post-devconnect • ethereum works well as real infrastructure in many of these locales: payments, grants, governance, coordination • lesson: place-based funding is high-touch, high-leverage, and essential for real-world adoption some anecdotes: • in tanzania, the refi solar saving circles were not pitched as “web3 adoption” at all. they were pitched as cheaper energy, shared ownership, and local resilience. ethereum just quietly handled the coordination and flows in the background • gen ukraine was running a local grant program while the country is at war. the fact that they still prioritized transparent allocation, public reporting, and local co-funding says a lot about how strong the coordination muscle already is • several catalunya and cascadian groups raised local money before they ever knew if they would get matched. that flipped the usual grants dynamic from “please fund us” to “we already did the work, now meet us halfway” • in curaçao, the “onchain island” framing made ethereum legible to non-crypto locals by tying it to everyday governance and economic coordination, not tokens or speculation • in latam, 37 meetup applications came in for a round that maxes out at a few hundred dollars per month. many organizers explicitly said they cared more about continuity and legitimacy than the check size • evaluators noticed a sharp difference between proposals that used ai to sound polished and those grounded in lived local practice. the latter were often messier, but much more real read the whole GG24 progress report by @MontyMerlin : gov.gitcoin.co/t/localism-fun…

NOTIZIA BOMBA! 🎉 Siamo stati selezionati per @LocalismFund! Il nostro Design Sprint porterà formazione, strumenti e co-funding a 3 comunità per progettare il loro percorso #web3, creare incentivi e attivare meccanismi locali di coordinamento, finanziamento e mutuo supporto 🧵👇

@GovofCO Hey, Governor! We’re a global network of civic innovators with a hub up in Boulder. We help communities develop infrastructure just like this. Thanks for highlighting mutual aid. We’d love to work with you to make this kind of work easier for citizens of CO!

Eileen Snyder turned her Colorado bakery into a space of connection and care — bringing neighbors together through bread and kindness. 💙🥖 Stories like this remind us what makes Colorado special: compassion, creativity, and community. ow.ly/Tmc850XrF2u

We got us.

start where you are build what you need share what you learn ht @omniharmonic @kosmicgardener for the @OpenCivics network-era theory of change ^

12/ I don't claim expertise, only active studentship. This emerges from work with @OpenCivics and our local Regen Hub (regenhub.xyz). What are YOU learning about network formation? What challenges have you faced? Would love to continue this conversation. 🧵