On Friday 29 November, in the midst of the Black Friday rush, three activists from Scientist Rebellion and Growth Kills scaled the façade of INNO on Rue Neuve in Brussels using a seven-metre ladder to perch on the building’s cornice:
Black Friday: is this really the future?
Once there, they sprayed a 13-metre advertising hoarding with washable paint, applied with a fire extinguisher. Once the advertising was covered, they stuck up a series of posters with water-washable glue to form the following slogan: ‘What future do we want?’ Beneath this question, a five-metre-wide banner bore the statement, ‘Let’s decide together!’:
Simultaneously, around ten other activists arranged a circle of chairs to sit in and engage in a discussion on various themes linked to overconsumption and its central role in the ecological crisis. At the centre of the circle, a banner displayed the same question: ‘What future do we want?’, surrounded by multicoloured lines symbolising the links between the participants and this collective reflection. The session began with a declaration.
Meanwhile, near the action, scientists in white coats approached passers-by to raise awareness, interview them, amplify their answers over a loudspeaker and invite them to join the discussion circle. Finally, two other activists unfurled a banner bearing the message: ‘Let’s redirect the collective energy towards what really matters!’
Several actions also took place in the Netherlands and Germany around Black Friday, as part of this campaign. In shops on the shopping streets of twelve cities, clothing labels were replaced with awareness-raising messages, while second-hand clothes were added to the shelves to promote recycling as an alternative to fast fashion. In Amsterdam, activists visited the offices of Adidas and Amazon to confront them about human rights abuses in their supply chains. On 23 November in the Netherlands, activists blockaded the Inditex distribution centre.
Economic growth doesn’t bring happiness
With this action, the activists aim to highlight the existential danger posed by the ecological crisis, and the central problem of over-consumption that is its main cause. They denounce the myth of infinite economic growth, which serves as a pretext for extracting ever more resources while destroying ever more of the biosphere on which our survival depends. They propose a solution: degrowth; that is:
- A drastic reduction in our consumption of resources, whatever the effect on GDP.
- A transformation towards an economy that puts the well-being of all people and the planet before the interests of a handful of ultra-rich people.
- The creation of assemblies of citizens drawn by lot which, as past experience of citizens’ assemblies has shown, are far more capable of taking rational decisions than politicians guided by short-termism and lobbies.
These concerns and the call for degrowth align with numerous systemic scientific studies linking ecology and economy, as well as a report from the European Environment Agency and an open letter signed by leading experts and over 100 civil society organisations.
In a written statement, Growth Kills and Scientist Rebellion declared:
The belief that economic growth is essential for our well-being is a myth that mainly serves the interests of a wealthy few. Instead of endlessly increasing production, we should focus on producing what is truly essential for everyone’s well-being and ensuring fair distribution.
The belief that economic growth can align with environmental respect is equally misleading, as climate disasters multiply, pollution worsens, and biodiversity continues to decline without signs of improvement. Economic growth is inherently tied to overconsumption, driving the relentless extraction of resources at the planet’s expense. We must urgently rethink the economy to reduce resource consumption while ensuring everyone’s well-being, regardless of economic growth.
Our campaign, rooted in collective ecological restoration, aims to inspire a global grassroots movement that empowers individuals to restore balance and biodiversity through shared responsibility. Connected with one another, we can rediscover our power to act and restore life.
A campaign rooted in collective energy
The activists are calling on all citizens of the world to follow their example by taking back control of public space, dominated by advertising and the consumerist infrastructure, in order to organise talking circles similar to their own, with the aim of launching a mass popular movement in favour of degrowth and participatory democracy.
Manua, strategy and global campaigns coordinator at Scientist Rebellion, said:
The aim of this action is to spark a global citizens’ movement by reclaiming public spaces with circles of chairs, creating opportunities for reflection on degrowth. By aligning the launch of this movement with Black Friday, we seek to present an alternative way of living together.
While Black Friday promotes a narrative that is ecocidal, consumerist, and insular—driven by social inequality and the endless growth of commodities—we propose these people’s assemblies in public spaces. These assemblies invite us to rediscover social bonds, engage with the living world through constructive dialogue, unlock new collective imaginations, and emerge strengthened to question our lifestyles and societal activities.
There is an urgent need to revive the ancient tradition of the agora and forum, where political life was inseparable from the daily lives of citizens. These spaces were arenas for discussion and exchange, essential for “making society.” We believe that such “talking circles,” open-air democratic forums, can serve as a catalyst for future sovereign citizens’ assemblies with binding decision-making power at all levels. In the face of biodiversity collapse and the climate crisis, we aim to restore everyone’s power to act.
This global initiative is part of a campaign launched last June in Brussels by the Growth Kills and Scientist Rebellion collectives, kicking off with a week of bold actions, including a blockade of the European Commission on the eve of the European elections. Following this week of action, since September activists from both movements have taken to the streets to engage directly with the public, igniting conversations around shared concerns, hopes, and visions for a sustainable future.
They have collected the responses of citizens using a microphone. Depending on the action, they either amplify them directly in the public space using a loudspeaker, or record it and use it in the form of quotes displayed in place of advertisements.
Black Friday: it doesn’t have to be this way
In this way, they transform the public space from a space of consumer propaganda into a genuine democratic forum. Through this approach, the activists put forward a holistic vision of activism, aiming to build a grassroots movement that strengthens the social fabric as a basis for preventing future disruption and instability in our lives.
Manua concluded:
Our mission is to reawaken the creative spark within each of us, pouring this energy, with love, into public spaces. To reclaim the imagination of these spaces, we must come together as a collective whole, united by purpose and possibility.
We believe this shared reflection can reawaken the strength within us all, restoring confidence and grounding us in a community poised for action. Our commitment to public engagement embodies our conviction: only a genuine grassroots movement can ignite the societal shift essential for true sustainability.
Through collective action, we work to rekindle life and restore harmony in our fractured world. Together, we reclaim, we restore, and we create anew.
Featured image and additional images supplied
