IN SHORT

On May 16, 2020, the op-ed Work: Democratize, Decommodify, Remediate was signed by more than 3,000 researchers from more than 700 universities and academic institutions around the world, and was published in more than 43 newspapers, in 27 languages, in 36 countries around the world.

In October 2020, the book Le Manifeste Travail was published, developing the three core principles of the op-ed.
The Portuguese version O Manifesto do Trabalho was released in March 2021.
The English version Democratize Work was released in May 2022.
The Italian version Il Manifesto del Lavoro was released in July 2022.
Several other versions are currently in progress.

On October 5-7, 2021, the first-ever Global Forum on Democratizing Work was held fully online.
Some key numbers: 3043 attendees from 85 countries, 387 speakers, 16 national chapters, 129 panels in 9 languages

The #DemocratizingWork Manifesto has received significant positive media attention around the world (events, articles, interviews, podcasts, etc.).

BACKGROUND

This initiative is the result of a collective endeavor launched in May 2020 by three scholars: Isabelle Ferreras, Dominique Méda, and Julie Battilana. The three share an abiding interest in democratic and sustainable ways of working and organizing that diverge from the model of shareholder value maximization. The initiative came from a hope to help in the unfolding crisis – in health, climate, the economy, and political life – that we are facing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cooperating distantly, as is the new norm, the three scholars sat down to draft an op-ed together about what we are learning from this pandemic around the specific issue of work. Their goal was to name – clearly and urgently – the core lesson they saw emerging: it is time to democratize firms, decommodify work, and remediate the environment.

When they had finished, they contacted Le Monde, which accepted the text but gave them a publication delay of 15 days. The piece was to be published on May 16. The three decided to seize the delay as an opportunity to spark a dialogue within the academic community, and so they shared the op-ed with a group of 5 female scholars – Julia Cagé, Lisa Herzog, Sara Lafuente Hernandez, Helene Landemore, and Pavlina Tcherneva – all of whose research explores different aspects of the solutions discussed in the op-ed. Together, this core group of 8 academics, representing the fields of sociology, philosophy, management, economics, and political science, decided to reach a bit further afield, this time to their close contacts, starting with women in academia.

These scholars in turn expressed their enthusiasm and support, including: Katharina Pistor, Lea Ypi, Ingrid Robeyns, Elizabeth S. Anderson, Albena Azmanova, Adelle Blackett, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Eva Illouz, Rahel Jaeggi, Alison Jaggar, Serene J. Khader, Susan Neiman, Serena Olsaretti, Françoise Tulkens, Miriam Ronzoni, Debra Satz, Sarah Song, Elaine Unterhalter, Melanie Walker. The circle expanded to male collaborators as well, including Dani Rodrik, Thomas Piketty, Tommie Shelby, Axel Honneth, Charles W. Mills, Olivier De Schutter, Gregor Murray, Brandon M. Terry, Alberto Alemanno, Raj Patel, Ha-Joon Chang, and Joshua Cohen, and then outward to the broader academic community; in particular in the earth and environmental sciences, Pierre-Benoît Joly, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Jean Jouzel, Julien Barrau, Hans Herren, and Pablo Servigne.

Soon, the op-ed was circulated further, across disciplines, and around the world. In the short space of that two-week delay requested by Le Monde, the text was signed by more than 3,000 researchers from more than 700 universities on every continent. On May 16, it was published in 43 newspapers in 36 countries around the world. Academics, who had signed the op-ed, took the lead in translating the piece into 27 languages and in reaching out to publications in their region. This mobilization reflects what the academic community is capable of undertaking in the hope to illuminate possible paths forward for societies to choose. Today, scientists have an ever greater responsibility to help set our societies on the path toward an economic future that is both sustainable and democratic.

Given the global reach of the message, and the enthusiasm that it received, the core group decided to reach out to more female scholars who had been particularly involved with organization and translation efforts, in order to better reflect the diversity of the Democratizing Work message: Alyssa Battistoni (Barnard College), Adelle Blackett (McGill University), Neera Chandhoke (University of Delhi), Imge Kaya Sabanci (IE Business School), and Flavia Maximo (Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto).

WATCH THE ONLINE MEETINGS

May 16, 2022: Launching “Democratize Work” book

December 1, 2021: After the Global Forum: review meeting

October 2021: Some highlights of the Global Forum on Democratizing Work

May 17, 2021: One Year After the Release of the Op-Ed

October 15, 2020: Launching “Le Manifeste Travail” book

June 4, 2020: Review meeting after op-ep publication

May 15, 2020: Briefing on the Eve of Global Publication

THANK YOU

Many people did a lot to make the May 16 release possible, volunteering to coordinate, design, organize, translate, and reach out to the press in their home countries. Without their investment, this could never have happened: Alicia Pastor y Camarasa, Lukas Clark-Memler, Médiatrice Nkurunziza, Olivier Jégou, Barbara de Radiguès, Joseph Vaessen, Julien Charles, Kara Sheppard-Jones, Devin Clark-Memler, Brittany Butler, Mu-Chieh Yun, Colleen Kelly, Gaëtan Vanloqueren, and Anna Skarpelis.

Thank you to the amazing team of volunteer translators and national organizers: Miranda Richmond Mouillot, Ingrid Robeyns (Utrecht University), Paulo Savaget Nascimento (Durham University and University of Oxford), Flavia Maximo (Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto), Sari Madi (University of Montreal),  Arto Laitinen (Tampere University) Olli Herranen (Tampere University), Serena Olsaretti (ICREA–Universitat Pompeu Fabra),  Riccardo Spotorno (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Daniel Kotecký, Laura Cementeri, (CNRS– Centre d'étude des Mouvements Sociaux (EHESS)) Mikołaj Pawlak (University of Warsaw) Adam Mrozowicki (University of Wrocław) Olga Nowaczyk (University of Wrocław), Roberto Merrill (University of Minho), Eyja Margrét Brynjarsdóttir (University of Iceland), Virginia Simón-Moya (University of Valencia), Miguel Simón-Moya, Massimo Maoret (IESE Business School), Halil Sabanci (IESE Business School), Imge Kaya Sabanci (IE Business School), Melanie Adrian (Carleton University), Foad Torshizi (Rhode Island School of Design), Nicholas Vrousalis (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Cecilia Varendh-Mansson (Oxford University), Laurence Castillo  (University of Melbourne), Alex P. Dela Cruz (University of Melbourne), Mitsuhiro Urano (Kwansei Gakuin University), Toru Yoshida (Hokkaido University), Fadel Kaboub (Dension University), Scott Viallet-Thévenin (Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique), Pablo Fernandez (IAE Business School / Universidad Austral), Luiz Gustavo da Cunha de Souza (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), Frederic Vandenberghe (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro),, Marc Ventresca (University of Oxford), Isabelle Martin (University of Montréal) Sebastián Pérez Sepúlveda (IRISSO, Université Paris Dauphine / PSL; CriDIS, Université Catholique de Louvain) Gianfranco Casuso (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú),  Rodrigo Arocena (Universidad de la República. Uruguay) Neera Chandhoke (University of Delhi), Dick Pels (University of Amsterdam),Susanne Ekman (Roskilde University), Christine Abbt (Universität Graz), Lea Ypi (London School of Economics),  Massimo Maoret (IESE Business School),Justo Serrano Zamora (University of Groningen), Sophie Weerts (Université de Lausanne), Christine Abbt (Universität Graz), Clare Wright (La Trobe University) Israr Qureshi (Australian National University), Florence Jany Catrice (University of Lille), Adolfo Rodriguez Herrera (Universidad de Costa Rica), Armi Beatriz Bayot (University of Oxford), Xavier Landes (Stockholm School of Economics in Riga), Valentina Franca (University of Ljubjana), Jonghoon BAE (Seoul National University), Hannes Kuch (Goethe University Frankfurt), Nizzan Zvi Cohen, Maha Ben Gadha, Agasef Imran (Economic Think), Mubariz Mammadli (UNEC), Natavan Namazova (UNEC), Zivar Zeynalova (Anadolu University), Periša Ražnatović.