In August, I attended the queerfeminist weekend organized by Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie in Torgau. It took me a long time to process my impressions. I took away very few positive vibes.
I had applied to join the awareness team. This was denied because I didn't hold an "awareness certificate". Yet the entire weekend was completely peaceful, relaxed, and conflict-free. They could easily have offered learning-by-doing within the team. On a positive note, the security team on site stood out. The young personnel were very friendly. That's good, given that the security sector often leans right-wing or has ties to protection rackets. Still, this sheltered space felt like an overkill at times. An acquaintance of mine has been voluntarily serving on the front lines in the Donbas since the Russian invasion, while his wife and child found refuge in Chemnitz. Telling them how heavily protected everyone was at this retreat feels completely detached from reality. It would have been far more meaningful to invite Ukrainian mothers and listen to their experiences.
Although the event focused heavily on care work, affected communities were completely missing. I didn't see a single refugee woman—neither from the Ukrainian nor the Arabic-speaking communities. They should have actively reached out to them. Instead, it was a white, elite academic gathering. During the panel discussion, the main topic was the loss of funding. Real solutions were absent. A representative from the Dresden Alliance Against Cuts rightly pointed out that even trade unions are hardly reformable anymore because they have become so bureaucratic. Instead of integrating new approaches like the "Never Broke and Alone" initiative or discussing solidarity economics, people remained stuck in complaints. In the end, this only fuels right-wing attacks on tax-funded NGOs.
In the Open Space, I brought up the idea of founding a feminist cooperative. The reactions from participants were entirely dismissive. I was told that a cis man shouldn't initiate such a project and that I should first define feminism before speaking up. I felt discriminated against rather than welcomed. In organizations that have been around for this long, the Peter Principle eventually takes over. After 16 years, their peak seems to have passed.
Konzeptwerk co-organized the first international Degrowth conference back in the day. But today, they use terms like "Post-Growth" (Postwachstum) that nobody at the grassroots level understands. People who are losing their jobs and facing existential fears hear "Post" and think of social media posts or the postal service. This academic language completely fails to reach them.
Konzeptwerk is based in Leipzig at Klinge 22 in Plagwitz. That would be the ideal setup for an organic real-world lab. They should demonstrate how local economics work in practice, which businesses operate there, and what a local mycelium looks like. Instead, "economics" remains an abstract construct. Initiatives like System Delta are much closer to the people and the real issues of today. The expiration date of the old NGO bubble is already in sight.
