Videos_The right to participate_From community to Legal Tools
What does it really mean to have the right to participate when we talk about common lands today? The video series from the WonderCommonlands webinar dives into this question from multiple angles—moving between lived experiences, legal tools, and the everyday realities of collective governance across Europe.
The journey starts with an introduction to WonderCommonlands and the European Legal Lab for the Commons, led by Nuria Alonso (Entretantos) and Alima El Bajnouni (BabaLex). From there, Gabriela Vázquez (Entretantos) and Alima El Bajnouni unpack participation not just as a concept, but as something alive and evolving—shaped by processes, relationships, and shared decision-making in common lands.
Elisabetta Cangelosi (International Land Coalition) then zooms out to the European level, exploring how participation and governance are framed across different commons contexts—and the very real challenges that come with making them work in practice.
The series then moves into legal realities and inspiring experiences. Jean-François Joye offers a legal lens on French rural commons, while Cristina Bugarín brings the story of the Montes Veciñais en Man Común in Galicia—showing how community governance and legal recognition intertwine on the ground. These perspectives are complemented by insights from the European Legal Lab for the Commons, including a snapshot of legal contexts across countries and a collective reflection on what stronger, fairer participation would actually require in practice.
A historical thread is added by Lara Barros (Mulime), who traces women’s participation in common lands over time, connecting past struggles with present-day realities. This opens the door to inspiring contemporary stories: from Flora Mammana (La Foresta) and her work on rediscovering and mapping collective assets in Italy’s Lagarina Valley, to Raquel Prado and Almudena Rodríguez sharing how commons in Sayago (Spain) are being defended and revitalised today.
The series closes with powerful examples of women leading the way in commons governance: traditional summer farming systems in Norway (Norsk Sæterkultur), rooted in fäbod and seter knowledge, and the Comunidade de Montes de Antas in Galicia, where women are actively shaping the governance of the commons under the leadership of Erundina Louro.
Together, these videos offer more than just information—they tell a story of participation as something living, messy, and deeply collective. A space where law, territory, memory, and practice meet, and where commons are constantly being reimagined from the ground up