About Sharon
Sharon Ede, Founder
I work to build the community based sharing + collaborative movement in Adelaide and Australia, which contributes to creating more connected, resilient communities; enables households, businesses and governments to save money; and helps us use less resources by better sharing what we already have.
In 2012, I set up Share Adelaide, the first presence in Adelaide and SA about the sharing movement, and created the concept of ShareNSave, an initiative of the South Australian government which maps community sharing assets.
I am committed to strengthening the commons (the antidote to the privatisation, commodification and enclosure of the commons), and the P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Foundation lists me in its ‘100 Women Who Are Co-Creating the P2P Society’. I do this through my own initiatives, and by supporting those who are striving to progress urgent social and environmental change, steering humanity away from extreme inequality and ecological collapse, and towards a world that works for us all.
I’ve been a speaker, guest lecturer, activist, and worked at the coalface of community development and organisational change for sustainability since 1993. I cultivate extensive local, national and international networks and love playing connect the dots with a wide range of people working on environmental and social issues.
I love dogs, am a fan of 70s and 80s rock music and am going to finish the novel I’m working on any…day…now.
Activism + Community Service
Post Growth Institute
Creating Global Prosperity Without Economic Growth
In 2010, I was part of a group that co-founded the Post Growth Institute to help spark a movement for ‘the end of bigger, the start of better’.
Post Growth initiatives include Free Money Day, a global stunt designed to spark conversations about sharing; the EnRich List, a cheeky take on the Forbes Rich List, which instead celebrates those whose life and work contributes to enriching futures for all; and How On Earth, a book about how not for profit enterprise will become the primary business model by 2050.
Urban Ecology Australia
Advocating Ecological Cities Through Education + Example
I spent five years working as a full time volunteer with Urban Ecology Australia (UEA) during my university days. Based at the Centre for Urban Ecology, UEA is a nonprofit community group that promotes the development of ecological cities through education and example, and initiated Adelaide’s ‘piece of ecocity’, the internationally award-winning Christie Walk.
Lost Dogs of Adelaide
Reuniting Lost Pets + Owners
I established and supported the building of the immensely successful Lost Dogs of Adelaide Facebook page, which is now an effective, citizen-powered service for reuniting lost pets and owners, and a shining example of how peer-to-peer communities can work.
Global Footprint Network
Advancing the Science of Sustainability
In 2001, I went to the US for over a month on a Foundation for Young Australians scholarship, and studied with the co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and founder of the Global Footprint Network, Mathis Wackernagel. I worked to spread the uptake of the Footprint concept in Adelaide, delivering numerous presentations and workshops. As a result of the work of a number of people, the Ecological Footprint was eventually incorporated into the Strategic Plan for South Australia.
