Through our Earth Economies Program, AELA works collaboratively with civil society organisations, university researchers, economists, and community advocates, to provide education opportunities and support community projects, focused on sustainable economies.
Today’s dominant economic system is built on the foundations of a global industrial and financial system with immense productive capacity, but the extractive nature of which has created extreme income disparity and social injustice and wrought devastation on the natural world. Earth jurisprudence calls for us to rethink and redesign our legal, economic and political systems, so that they nurture rather than destroy the Earth community. To this end, AELA is committed to supporting the creation of new economic systems and thriving local economies, characterised by small scale, socially just enterprises and community initiatives that nurture the Earth community.
AELA's work
Education
AELA co-hosts a range of courses and events with the New Economy Network Australia (NENA) each year, including:
- ‘Building a New Economy for Australia’ short course,
- ‘Localisation Week’ webinars in June each year, to celebrate International Localisation Day
- “Economics for the Earth” Week – across a week in September, as part of Earth Laws Month
Community Projects
- Greenprints SEQ
- Greenprints Lithgow
Networks
New Economy Network Australia
- From 2016 to 2019, AELA auspiced the creation of the New Economy Network Australia (NENA). NENA is now an incorporated cooperative, with hundreds of individual and organisational members and thousands of people connected through our social media and e-list.
- AELA continues to collaborate and co-create events and education with NENA each year
- Please visit NENA's website for more details about who's involved, and upcoming events and join our Facebook Group.
Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll International) and WAEll Australia
- AELA is an active member of WEAll, which is a collaboration of organisations, alliances, movements and individuals working towards a wellbeing economy, delivering human and ecological wellbeing.
- Please visit WEAll's website for more details.
- AELA and NENA are also supporters of the emerging WEAll Australia network.
Doughnut Economics
- AELA is connected to the international learning community for Doughnut Economics, and the Doughnut approach is one of many frameworks explored within the AELA Greenprints initiative.
Community/Diverse economies
AELA engages with and applies community based, 'diverse economies' frameworks in its local community and place based work. For more information about these approaches, please visit the Community Economics Institute and check out their resources.
