GROWL

GROWL is an international education network for degrowth formed by academics, practitioners, researchers and political activists.^[1] One central aim of the network is to promote collective action across initiatives related to degrowth (e.g. Transition Towns, agroecology, Solidarity economy, DIY among other "nowtopias"^[2]), in order to reduce the atomization and dispersal of initiatives that hinder their capacity to scale up and present a solid alternative to the dominant economic paradigm.^[3]

History

GROWL was founded in 2013 by ten non-profit, research and higher education organisations under the coordination of the think-tank Research & Degrowth. The network build-up has been supported with a ca. €200000 grant from the Grundtvig programme for the period between August 2013 and July 2015.^[4]

In 2014, the first international thematic courses took place:

• Social dimension of agroecology
• Solidarity & Cooperative Economy
• Mental Infrastructures
• Local Economic Alternatives

Philosophy

The network departs from the acknowledgment of major shortcomings of contemporary education institutions ^{[citation needed]} in providing adequate knowledge and skills required to critically address the problems of limits to growth and engage in the transformations towards a post growth and sustainable society.^[5]

The network relies on the theoretical foundations of social constructivism and the concept of peer learning based on communities of practice.^[6]