Francine Mestrum is a researcher and activist working on social development, poverty and inequalities, globalisation and European policies. She worked at the universities of Brussels (ULB – Université Libre de Bruxelles), Antwerp and Ghent (Belgium) and at the institutions of the European Union. She has published several books on her research topics in Dutch, French and English. She lives in Brussels and Mexico City. She is a member of the board of Centre Tricontinental (CETRI), which she represents in the International Council of the World Social Forum. She coordinates the global network of Global Social Justice (www.globalsocialjustice.eu). For more information on social commons, see www.socialcommons.eu.