Here you will find an overview of
1. Membership categories and membership requirements
2. The membership benefits & rights
3. The membership obligations
Please read the full document before applying for membership and choose the correct membership category. We value diversity and are welcoming everybody to our community and network while at the same time we only accept full members which fulfill the membership criteria detailed in this document.
Membership categories and membership requirements
All members of GEN Europe associate themselves with the work GEN Europe does and wish to become part of our network. Members share the vision of the global ecovillage movement and wish to support the work of GEN Europe by becoming part of it. Members are actively engaged in the network, attend GA´s, pay membership fees annually, respond to emails, and pass on information to their networks/communities, etc. Members will receive several benefits listed below in the chapter Membership Benefits, not the least of which is being welcomed into a large, dynamically creative global family that is involved with developing the most vital paradigmatic movement in the world!
GEN Europe offers the following membership options:
– Individual membership root, sprout, and blossom tier
– Supportive organisation membership
– Aspiring membership
– Full membership
While individual and supportive organisation memberships are for individuals and organisations that are not necessarily based in an ecovillage or community, aspiring members and full members are ecovillages or ecovillage networks based in Europe.
Individual membership
Individual members may be any natural or legal person who supports the goals of the association. Individual members have no right to vote, nominate, or propose agenda items for the General Assembly but may attend the general meetings as guests. Individual members are warmly welcomed to join a GEN Europe working group.
Supportive organisation membership
Supportive organisation members may be any organisation who supports the goals of the association. Supporting organisations have no right to vote, nominate, or propose agenda items for the General Assembly but may attend the general meetings as guests.
Aspiring membership
Aspiring members are communities, eco-villages as well as housing and co-living projects that do not (yet) meet the criteria for full membership. Aspiring members have no right to vote, nominate, or propose agenda items for the General Assembly but are invited to the general meetings as guests. Ecovillages and ecovillage networks in all stages of development are invited to become aspiring members.
We are tolerant of the diversity of viewpoints within our movement; however, we may decline aspiring membership to organisations whose values and actions are in contradiction with GEN Europe values.
Full member ecovillages
An ecovillage is a human-scale settlement consciously designed through participatory processes to secure long-term sustainability. Ecovillages are communities in which the inhabitants share goals as well as the use of property, the making of decisions and work. The level on which these are shared might be different from each community.
Established ecovillages that meet the full membership requirements must:
- Have a common purpose and vision that is aimed at the creation of a culture that considers a balance of ecological, social, economic and culture aspects within their own communities;
- Have at least 20 community members of which 8 should be permanent adult residents living together on the chosen site for at least 2 years;
- Manage the land and/or real estate in joint legal form (association/cooperative etc.) that is, as an independent legal entity, while exceptions can be made when the legal environment of the community does not allow for joint legal forms;
- Utilize a participatory decision-making model which is transparent, inclusive, and empowers all its members to make decisions about the community and take on leadership roles.
- Exercise community policies of care; protective of free will. Have practices that do not (un)intentionally harm or promote harm to community members or external groups/individuals.
- Include environmentally friendly building, consumption, production and recycling practises.
Full member ecovillage Networks
An Ecovillage Network is a network of ecovillages, intentional communities or like-minded projects. It can be national or (macro-)regional, cultural or bioregional. Ecovillage Networks can also be diverse networks that have a strong focus on community living, as well as thematic networks (networks that follow a particular philosophy, e.g. Krishna Communities, Camphill), whose vision and goals are in accordance with the vision and goals of GEN.
The members of the national ecovillage networks are part of the network and have access to the membership benefits listed below supportive membership.
Established ecovillage networks:
- Have at least three established ecovillages or intentional communities associated;
- Have elected representatives;
- Are registered as an organisation;
- Have an organisational email address and website;
- Organise network activities such as an annual gathering;
- Have a common purpose and vision that is aimed at the creation of a culture that considers a balance of ecological, social, economic and culture aspects within their own communities;
- Utilize a participatory decision-making model which is transparent, inclusive, and empowers all its members to make decisions about the organisation and take on leadership roles.
- Exercise community policies of care; protective of free will. Have practices that do not (un)intentionally harm or promote harm to community members or external groups/individuals.
Application process for full membership
In the event that an aspiring member meets the requirements of becoming a full member, they are invited to follow these steps:
- Fill in the full membership application form, describing how the applicant meets the full membership requirements. The full membership application form will be presented to the council of GEN Europe by the membership officer.
- Wait for approval from the council, If questions are raised the council may decide to have a meeting with the applicant or make a site visit when possible. Upon council approval, the aspiring member has access to the membership benefits of sending 3 delegates to the GA and conference.
- Participate in a GA and give a presentation to the members and council. After this the council will recommend the approval of full membership of the applicant to the GA, from which there needs to be 0 objections. Until full membership is granted by the GA ecovillages and ecovillage networks can join as aspiring members.
Full members are expected to attend General Assemblies regularly, take an active part in the network and pay their membership fees annually. If a full member fails to meet these expectations, or the requirements of full membership, the council can decide to revoke full membership privileges until return to a compliant standard of full membership. Officially a membership period is of one calendar year, meaning that if membership fees are not attended to the member loses the official membership rights (voting rights at the GA, travel reimbursement to the GA, reduced fee for the annual gathering). After not attending to payment of membership fees for three years the membership is cancelled in our member administration system, taken off of the members map and mailing lists.
Membership Benefits & Rights
General membership Benefits & Rights (for all 4 membership categories)
- Being part of an international network dedicated to pioneering new models for equitable, sustainable communities in both urban and rural settings;
- Opportunities to develop new friendships and partnerships that support your dreams and visions;
- Subscription to the GEN International Newsletter, the GEN Europe Circular and the GEN Europe Newsletter;
- Receive information about ongoing courses/events and other opportunities in Europe;
- Participation in the GEN Europe email lists (“general” list where you could initiate/take part in discussions with like-minded people and “announcements” list, where you could promote courses, events etc.);
Individual members
There are three tiers of individual membership, each with different membership benefits.
- Root tier: €60/year (€5/month)
- Annual circular
- Moon Cycle News
- Access to our Discourse forum
- 10% discount to annual European Ecovillage Gathering ticket*
- Sprout tier: €120/year (€10/month)
- Annual circular
- Moon Cycle News
- Access to recording library
- Access to our Discourse forum
- Check out one person a year from our ‘living library’ – a 50 minute consultation/discussion with a staff member or ecovillager on a topic of your choice! (coming soon)
- 20% discount to annual European Ecovillage Gathering ticket*
- Blossom tier: €240/year (€20/month)
- Annual circular
- Moon Cycle News
- Access to recording library
- Access to our Discourse forum
- Check out two people a year from our ‘living library’ – a 50 minute consultation/discussion with a staff member or ecovillager on a topic of your choice
- Free access to our online events
- 30% discount to annual European Ecovillage Gathering ticket*
*Discount only available on ticket price, not applicable to food and accommodation
Supportive organisations
- Organizations and projects qualify for the annual €3,000 European Gaia Excellence Award https://ecovillage.org/get-involved/hildur-jackson-award/ ;
- Organisations and projects have access to join partnerships and funded projects of GEN-Europe. Examples of such projects are CLIPS (Community Learning Incubator Project) and Eco Gamer (ecovillage game development and impact assessment). Also, GEN Europe runs a series of training per year on how to apply for Erasmus+ funded projects.
Aspiring members
- An invitation to the General Assembly held prior to the yearly European Ecovillage Gathering as observers;
- Delegate ticket in the European Ecovillage Gathering (for up to 1 person) * Under the condition one representative has attended the annual General Assembly;
- Possibility to join partnerships and funded projects of GEN-Europe;
- Opportunity to use the GEN Europe logo for representative purposes;
- Promotion of your courses, seminars and articles through the GEN-Europe website and GEN Europe social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube);
Full members
- To be showcased in GEN Europe flyers and brochures;
- Ecovillage/community members: delegate ticket in the annual European Ecovillage Gathering (for up to three persons) * Under the condition one representative has attended the annual General Assembly
- National Network members: delegate ticket in the annual European Ecovillage Gathering (for up to five persons) * Under the condition one representative has attended the annual General Assembly
- Option of up to 33% travel refund for Voting Delegate at GEN Europe’s annual General Assembly (up to a maximum of 200 EUR)
- Access to financial support for members’ projects and national network meetings (when available)
- Voting rights at the General Assembly for one representative of the member as well as opportunities to propose topics and nominate for role elections for the GA;
- Possibility to join partnerships and funded projects of GEN-Europe.
Membership obligations
Members are actively engaged in the network, attend GAs, pay membership fees annually, respond to emails, and pass on information to their networks/communities, etc.
Membership fees
Individual members
Individual members pay a yearly fee of €60, €120, or €240 depending on the tier they choose. They are invited to support the work of GEN Europe by offering their time and expertise on a voluntary basis.
Supportive organisations
Supportive members pay a yearly membership fee of 100-1000 Euro (sliding scale).
Aspiring members
Aspiring members pay a yearly membership fee of 60-1000 Euro (sliding scale).
Full members
Full members pay a yearly membership fee of 100-1000 Euro (sliding scale), depending on the size of the ecovillage or ecovillage network and the GNI of the country in which the member is based using our suggested way of calculating your membership fee: Find your country in the list of sovereign states in Europe by GNI (nominal) per capita (source: World Bank, 2016).
High income countries (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Israel, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Malta)
- Full member ecovillages: 200 + 5 p/inhabitant
- Full member ecovillage network: 200 + 5 p/member
Middle income countries (Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey)
- Full member ecovillages: 100+ 4 p/inhabitant
- Full member ecovillage network: 100 + 4 p/member
Low income countries (Armenia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Ukraine, Palestine)
- Full member ecovillages: 60+3 p/inhabitant
- Full member ecovillage network: 60 + 3 p/member
Example: Arterra Bizimodu is located in Spain (a high income country), and has 30 inhabitants: 200 + (30*5) = 350
