Kick-off ‘Explorations Amstelpark as ZOÖP and Testing Ground for the City’

As Amsterdam celebrates its 750th anniversary, we – Zone2Source, the testing ground for art and ecology in Amstelpark – challenge the municipality to envision the next 750 years of Amsterdam as a city hosting billions of lives, rather than just 1 million people, and strive for a radical democracy in which every being counts. We propose to transform the Amstelpark into a testing ground for the city, where together citizens and officials will learn and practice the politics, rights, and practices we need to create a robust, thriving society for all life in our city. To this end, we have invited the Zoönomisch Instituut to explore Amstelpark as a Zoöp, an organizational form that considers non-human life in decision-making.

As citizens of Earth, we face the urgent challenge and responsibility to reverse global warming and prevent ecological decline. To preserve a livable planet, we must relearn how to live and work together with many other forms of life and understand our complex interdependence with the more-than-human world. We propose Zoöp Amstelpark as a place where we engage in discussions about how this understanding can be shaped and learn via practical experiments how to work toward a better society for all life in the city.

The timing is serendipitous as Amstelpark – originally created for the 1972 Floriade – has recently been declared a monument. This declaration raises the question of how we can give form and commit to an ecological monument that is alive, moving, and uninclined toward stagnation. Amstelpark is characterized by a complex ecosystem of visitors, park-based organizations, businesses, the Municipality of Amsterdam, and all the non-human inhabitants, all of whom shape and have a stake in the park’s well-being and future. We wonder how we can give attention to the intangible heritage of this Floriade park and where we can collectively exercise new practices and perspectives to build a more balanced future on this shared Earth.

In a written response on October 1st to the initiative proposal ‘Protect what you hold dear: grant rights to nature’ by councilor Judith Krom (PvdD), the Executive Board of the Municipality of Amsterdam states it support for granting nature a role in decision-making and the exploration of initiative via the Zoöp model, with Amstelpark as a testing ground. In a series of three meetings, we invite officials, civil servants, relevant social organizations, local experts, residents, managers, and other stakeholders to engage diverse voices in this investigation into the possibility of developing Amstelpark as a place for the city to practice alternative forms of governance in which the rights of nature are safeguarded. This first exploration is expected to occur until the spring of 2025, after which the municipality will finally decide whether to manage Amstelpark as a Zoöp.

At Zone2Source, we commit to working together to further understand what is needed to develop Amstelpark as a Zoöp and as a testing ground for the city. How can we learn from those who represent the interests of non-human lives, needs, and desires? To what extent do decision-making processes change if soil life, birds, and insects also have a say in the matter? How do we ensure a healthy ecosystem in which people play a constructive role?

Zone2Source and the Zoönomisch Instituut present the exploration of Zoöp Amstelpark as a project that moves beyond the theoretical to experiment practically – practicing together with alternative forms of politics, legislation, design, maintenance, and planning in which everyone truly counts.

We would love to have a conversation with you about how we can turn Amstelpark into a Zoöp testing ground for our 750-year-old city, so that in the next 750 years we can truly involve all inhabitants to have a say in Amsterdams future.

The meetings will take place at Amstelpark on the following dates:

• December 11 2024 from 13:00 to 17:00
  February 28 2025 from 13:00 to 17:00
  April 17 2025 from 13:00 to 17:00

Are you interested in participating/brainstorming or would you like to know more about this initiative?

Email Alice Smits at info@zone2source.net