Evi Swinnen

Evi Swinnen, 1977, Diest (B), coordinator and founder of Timelab, Ghent since 2010. She introduced the first makerspace in Belgium as an experimental environment for open source and shared knowledge projects. Combining with an international art residency project, the knowledge developed in open source and open ended communities could function as possible models or examples for governance. Since 4 years Evi has been exercising with tools for governance, from business model canvas to sociocracy and coops in practice in Timelab and project based.

Studied Art Research at University Ghent and Architecture at Henry van de Velde Institute Antwerp. Postgrad cultural Management at UAMS Antwerp and life coaching at School of entrepreneurship Ghent.

Project coach of the project NEST (nest.gent), a temporary use of an old library set up as a commons managed by over 150 initiatives over a period of 1 year. Project lead of the development of De Schuur (deschuur.org - under development), an independent non profit initiative striving for positive (inter)action, vast experiments and moral imagination. This project is part of a Bouwmeesterteam Pilot on circular economic, social and ecological systems in urban contexts and part of IABR exhibition. Project lead of the School of Commons, a network of coaches guiding organizations, people and initiatives towards commoning strategies. Since january 2018, president of the Peer to Peer foundation. Board member of Art Basic for Children Gent. RSA fellow. Member of the steering commitee of Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities project (TEH.net)