Commoning

Founded in Beirut in 2022 in response to escalating hardships across the region, the collective uses research and collaborative pedagogy as vehicles to build an open and accessible hub for co-learning and social change.

Through its collaboration with CHRA, Commoning has expanded its political and pedagogical relationships with student organizing groups, refugees in Lebanon, and other working-class and marginalized communities. Drawing on the collective’s experiences in the field, Commoning has been developing Akkoub, an online platform for activists in the region that provides open-access, collectively authored resources on alternative and collaborative ways of working, organizing, gathering, and learning. The resources available on Akkoub range from reflections on anti-colonial literature to analyses of grassroots groups in the region, their roles during moments of revolution, and practical tools for self-organization around the idea of the commons.

Since 2023, amid deepening economic crises in Lebanon and Syria, the genocide in Gaza, the expansion of the war on Lebanon, and the destruction of southern Lebanon, living conditions across the region have deteriorated significantly, particularly for already vulnerable communities. In response, Commoning has worked closely with grassroots initiatives led by Syrian refugee women, who are among the groups at risk in Lebanon today. Through collaborative inquiry, exchange, and collective practice with these women activists, Commoning has facilitated co-learning opportunities, workshops, and resource-sharing initiatives that address their specific needs and aspirations. These efforts support alternative models of organization, liberatory education, and action-oriented research.

One outcome of this collaboration is a research-based practical booklet in Arabic that serves as a resource and guide for liberatory pedagogy and educators across the region.