This call has been developed in collaboration with the Rooted magazine for the Nyéléni process leading up to the 3rd Global Forum
We are seeking grounded examples and perspectives on the role that grassroots organisations and social movements can play in fostering resilience for systemic transformation towards justice and dignity.
The third edition of Rooted Magazine will be published in September 2025 in collaboration with the Nyéléni food sovereignty movement. Read more below. Deadline for submissions: 20 May 2025.
Weaving resilience and resistance
In the face of the many interconnected crises of our times, rural, urban, Indigenous Peoples’ communities as well as grassroots organisations and social movements hold real solutions to change the course of humanity and preserve life.
In the last months of 2025, several global events will explore resilience in the face of climate catastrophes, biodiversity loss, war, genocide, racism, hunger, inequality, pandemic threats, gender violence and the accelerated deterioration of human rights that are taking place everywhere. The 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum will take place in Sri Lanka in September, followed by the release of a new HLPE report on Building Resilient Food Systems in Italy in October, and the UNFCCC COP 30 and the parallel People’s Summit in November in Brazil.
Movements see these events as strategic moments to present pathways toward more resilient ways of inhabiting the planet. The 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum represents an important expression of social movements in this context, bringing together Indigenous Peoples, peasants, fishers, pastoralists, youth, artisans, feminists, migrants, wage workers, urban poor, social and solidarity economy activists, consumers, health workers, artists, and researchers committed to a world that places life and respect for human and non-human rights at the heart of our relationships.
The third edition of Rooted Magazine, to be published in September 2025 in collaboration with the Nyeleni movement, aims to complement these processes. It will provide grounded examples and perspectives on the role that grassroots organisations and social movements can play in fostering resilience for systemic transformation towards justice and dignity.
Webs of resilience
Resilience is a widely used term to express the process and outcome of how people and (eco)systems successfully respond to adversity. This requires territorial capacities and cultures that allow for adaptiveness, heterogeneity, creativity and responsiveness, necessary to withstand long-term shocks. Like a spider web, a resilient system features diverse interconnections that link up and hold together different parts of the system, fueled by community knowledge, culture, sensitivity, and creativity.
Agroecological approaches are considered more resilient than industrial agriculture and food systems. Working from the grassroots, using context-specific, diversified knowledge systems and equitable approaches in territories, community-led agroecology can offer the adaptability and resistance that allows for both resilience and long-term food sovereignty.
By weaving a web of resilience through food sovereignty, peasant agroecology, the social and solidarity economy, indigenous knowledges along with other approaches, both rural and urban communities can not only resist crises but also have the means to simultaneously improve human and planetary well-being while reducing the frequency and intensity of shocks. Key to realising this new notion of resilience is the recognition of shared demands from different movements calling for radical systemic transformation. This can only be achieved through coordinated efforts across struggles for food sovereignty, peasant agroecology, agrarian reform, social and solidarity economy, feminist values, Buen vivir (good living), health for all, popular control of territories and the commons, and many other transformative proposals.
This conceptualisation of resilience differs from mainstream interpretations that focus mainly on “bouncing back” or “getting back up” from a crisis to return to a previous state. Conventional frameworks largely overlook the reality that, in most cases, the status quo is deeply unjust and unsustainable, and a return to that state would reinstate precariousness, fragility, and inequality.
For the third issue of Rooted Magazine, we are inviting contributions based on concrete experiences. We are interested in learning from existing approaches through which communities and movements foster enduring cultures and capacities for resilience and long-term well-being, minimising the impacts of shocks and enhancing their potential to thrive, while articulating with other movements for a future where the sustainability of life is at the core of our relationships.
Your story
We are seeking contributions presenting grounded experiences that respond to one or more of the following questions:
- How have grassroots struggles and proposals built elements of a web of resilience that allows people to thrive in the face of tensions and shocks such as droughts, wars, pandemics, floods, violence, and coups? What are the short- and long-term paths?
- How have actions to challenge policies, institutions, financial systems, and other structural issues increased the resilience of people, communities, and ecosystems?
- How have intersectoral movements played a role in strengthening the resilience of peasant communities and other food providers?
- What are concrete experiences of emancipatory proposals, narratives or collective political initiatives promoting food sovereignty, global justice, and people’s power for transformative resilience?
- How can social movements participate in disaster response to rebuild food, economic, social, energy, health, political, territorial defense and protection, justice, and governance systems for long-term resilience?
- How have movements for food sovereignty, systemic transformation, and global justice fought against efforts by corporations and elites to capitalise on and profit from shocks, crises, and disasters?
- What can we learn from the recovery of Indigenous practices, cultures, and worldviews about how to nourish resilience for survival?
- What perspectives can we gain from the resilience of other specific communities, such as women, youth, queer people, migrants, food system workers, health workers, people with disabilities, displaced communities, and people of color?
- How do alternative food economies (such as territorial markets or common goods) contribute to resilience? What other ways exist to decentralise and democratise the governance of food systems to increase people’s power and resilience in the territories?
- What experiences exist of public policies contributing to more inclusive resilience among social movements for systemic transformation?
- How are we building intergenerational capacities for resilience?
How to submit your contribution
We invite you to submit abstracts between 250 and 500 words before 20 May 2025. If your proposal is selected, you will be invited to write a longer article. We are looking for two types of contributions:
- Testimonials/stories. These articles detail lessons learned from grassroots experiences and reflect on their broader relevance. What did you do? What worked (or didn’t)? And why (or why not)? What are your recommendations?
- Opinions/perspectives: These articles should focus on presenting an innovative analysis or proposals for the future, but also based on concrete experiences. We will prioritize contributions from authors who have been directly involved in the experience. We aim to present a balance between practical knowledge and academic contributions, and across geographies. Writing experience is not required: our editors will provide full support.
If your contribution is selected, you will be asked to provide photos and other illustrations to support it. Other cultural expressions are also welcome.
Submit your abstracts (in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French), including your name, organisation (if relevant), and country, through this form.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact rooted@cultivatecollective.org
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