The Zeitgeist Movement
 | |
| Abbreviation | TZM |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2008 |
| Type | Advocacy group |
Region served | International |
Key people | Peter Joseph |
| Website | www |
The Zeitgeist Movement' (TZM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in the state of California.[1] It is also a grassroots social movement organized by regional chapters.[2][3] It was founded by filmmaker Peter Joseph in 2008.[4] According to its mission statement it is “a sustainability advocacy organization, which conducts community based activism and awareness actions through a network of global/regional chapters, project teams, annual events, media and charity work.”[5] It advocates a transformation of society, specifically its economic system, promoting a post-scarcity type economic approach often termed a “resource-based economy”.[6]
History
The Zeitgeist Movement was originally created in 2008 in partnership with an organization called The Venus Project that was founded by engineer and futurist Jacque Fresco.[4] Fresco is said to have coined the term “resource-based economy”.[5] In 2011, the two groups separated over disagreements in goals and objectives.[7] While started as an all volunteer, informal group, without any legal status, in 2016 the movement formed its 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the same name, allowing for tax-exempt status and tax-deductible donation support. The name “zeitgeist”, meaning the “spirit of the age” was taken from founder Peter Joseph’s Zeitgeist Film Series, which was an inspiration for the organization.[5]
Structure
The movement’s main administration consists of a board of directors based in the United States, while also maintaining a volunteer international chapter structure with groups in numerous countries.[2][8] As predominantly an educational movement, it conducts annual events, produces video and literary media, and works through teams to conduct research and development projects.[8]
Structure
As of 2016, the organization reports around 160 chapters worldwide with 400,000 to 500,000 subscribed members worldwide as reported in 2011.[2][9][10] Chapters are focused on public awareness actions engaging their local regions. Annual event days such as Zeitgeist Day or the Zeitgeist Media Festival are shared global events which not only have a central event location, chapters usually participate in parallel by holding their own regional events during the same period.[10]
Chapter tiers are currently organized as:
- International Chapters (i.e Germany, Australia, Ukraine)
- Stave/Province Chapters (i.e. Toronto, Vancouver, California, North Carolina
- Local Town/City Chapters
Events
The group holds two annual events, Zeitgeist Day (or “ZDay”) and the Zeitgeist Media Festival. Zeitgeist Day is its flagship educational forum held in the spring of each year in.[5][11] There are single main events and there are parallel or sympathetic events. The first ZDay main event took place in Manhattan in 2009 with a sold out crowd of 900 and included a lecture from Peter Joseph and question and answer with Jacque Fresco, with reportedly 70 countries also participating in parallel.[12][5] Other keynote speakers through the years have included philosopher John McMurtry and independent journalist Abby Martin.
References
- ^ "THE ZEITGEIST MOVEMENT (Incorporation details)", businessfilings.sos.ca.gov,.
- ^ a b c Shane Cohn, "The Zeitgeist Movement spreads to Ventura County", vcreporter.com December 5, 2011,.
- ^ "The Zeitgeist Movement Chapters Portal", tzmchapters.net.
- ^ a b Travis Donovan, "The Zeitgeist Movement: Envisioning A Sustainable Future", huffingtonpost.com May 25, 2011,.
- ^ a b c d e "The Zeitgeist Movement: practical advices to build a better future", heralddeparis.com March 19, 2009.
- ^ "TEDxO'Porto - Peter Joseph - Arriving at a Resource-Based Economy", tedxtalks.ted.com.
- ^ "Zeitgeist: The Venus Project Break Up - Peter Joseph - London Real", youtube.com,.
- ^ a b TIFFY THOMPSON, "First Tool Libraries, now Timebanks: Toronto's Zeitgeist movement is expanding", yongestreetmedia.ca June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Local Zeitgeist chapter celebrates global ZDay", dailyheraldtribune.com March 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Alex Newman, "Zeitgeist and the Venus Project", thenewamerican.com March 10, 2011.
- ^ Jane Dunlap Norris, "First local Zeitgeist Day part of global pause to focus on improvements, big ideas", dailyprogress.com March 15, 2013.
- ^ ALAN FEUER, "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present", nytimes.com March 16, 2009.
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