Logos Circles: Tackling Winnable Issues With Grassroots Action
Revitalising civil society by solving local problems with local people
Logos
In temporarily occupied spaces across the globe, Logos peers connect, discuss, and cooperate, aiming to deploy solutions that improve the lives of real people using decentralised technologies and the power of collective action. Anyone can start a Logos Circle in their local community, and we support them in doing so.
These new communities are testbeds for parallel organising and encourage the creation of alternative structures that operate alongside state institutions. Historically, there’s strong evidence for the efficacy of parallel organising to provide alternative services to those mandated by nation states, as demonstrated by Czechoslovakia’s Charta 77 movement, which helped to organise the nation’s “Velvet Revolution” in the late 1980s. The motives behind parallel organisations are unique to their circumstances, but they most commonly form when people don’t feel that existing institutions represent, protect, or serve them.
The Logos community has already formed Circles in the Czech Republic, the UK, the US, Spain, Portugal, Nigeria, and Tanzania. If you’re interested in becoming a Circle leader and starting to tackle issues in your own area, let us know on Discord.
Why do we need Logos Circles?
Today, growing distrust and dissatisfaction are symptoms of a system unable to serve the people who rely on it. Only two out of every five people in OECD countries trust their national governments, around 64% of citizens in “advanced democracies” are dissatisfied with how their institutions are working, and more than 70% of the global population lives under authoritarian or eroding democratic regimes.
Moreover, trust is dwindling at the interpersonal level, with multiple think tanks reporting significant declines in trust between individuals since the 1970s – a clear indicator of the breakdown of civic society, which has historically played a crucial role when governments fell short.
As well as building trust, working together on goals that are winnable fosters meaning, purpose, and belonging within the group. This matters at a time when mental health struggles, especially among younger generations, are at historic highs. A recent study shows that the traditional “happiness curve” has almost disappeared. Instead of dipping in midlife and rising again, unhappiness now starts earlier, with many in Generation Z facing what amounts to a quarter-life crisis.
Researchers link this to the erosion of free time and a loss of real-world community. This decline in life satisfaction parallels the breakdown of civic society and what John Vervaeke has described as a “meaning crisis”: a widening void where people no longer feel part of something larger than themselves. By uniting around concrete, shared victories, Logos Circles help reverse this trend, offering pathways back to trust, connection, and a renewed sense of collective purpose.
Crypto itself was founded on similar sentiment. With its swipe at the UK government’s financial policy during the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis coded into its first block, Bitcoin’s creation was clearly inspired by the shortcomings of states’ monetary systems.
Today, with advancements in blockchain and encryption technologies, we can develop more sophisticated institutions that extend beyond mere finance. Human cooperation at all levels – from small local groups to supranational organisations – can benefit from the transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of these technologies, and Logos Circles provide pockets of freedom in which to demonstrate their efficacy when applied locally.
How do Circles work?
Circles step in where current institutions fall short. They are an avenue for Logos to compete with legacy structures by implementing parallel governance, culture, and institutions, experimenting with scalable solutions that align with Logos’ ideals of freedom and autonomy. By providing tangible value through humanitarian efforts, technological innovation, and community building, Circles reinforce both the movement’s narrative and its members’ sense of purpose.
After formation, Circles begin by spreading Logos’ vision through educational content, guides, and pilot projects that showcase real-world success. Recruitment grows through these stories, with local meetups and mentorship training new leaders to expand the network. Community engagement deepens by celebrating local wins – like fixing parks or hosting tech workshops – shifting meetups to focus on impactful activities. Ideally, Circles organise using a volunteer database, an internal CRM, and the Snowflake model of small, autonomous groups, with a network map to track growth.
The network can be thought of as a growing economy, with grants, donations, and blockchain microloans fuelling economic growth. Eventually, Circles will become trusted local hubs, positioning Logos as a viable alternative to legacy institutions.
Inside a Logos Circle: Zanzalu
In the summer of 2025, Logos joined Zanzalu as a founding partner. Zanzalu is a spinoff of the original Zuzalu pop-up village experiment, started by Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin in March 2023 in Montenegro. After the first Zuzalu, a wave of crypto-linked pop-up villages spread across the globe, including Zuzalu in Fumba Town within a Tanzanian special economic zone.
With contributors already at the pop-up village in Zanzibar, we took the opportunity to host one of the first Logos Circles and test our research into community building and parallel organising on the ground. The initiative led to successful grassroots action and valuable learnings on how to recreate the energy of community activation we experienced in Zanzibar across Logos Circles around the world.
The Zanzalu Circle met four times during our time in Zanzibar. At the first week’s Circle, community leaders, educators, philanthropic individuals, and enthusiastic residents described common issues affecting the Fumba Town community. Given how often a lack of education was highlighted as a root cause of unemployment, poverty, and slow growth, the Circle resolved to investigate the issue further before its next meeting.
The following week, the Circle met again. This time, staff from the Straight Training Center, a non-profit providing volunteer-led English classes to disadvantaged children, attended thanks to an invitation from a participant from the first meeting. We agreed that upskilling the community’s next generation with computer literacy was the most transformative thing that we could take immediate action on together, and a functional computer room would be hugely beneficial.
A clear and winnable issue emerged: build a landing page to support the crowdfunding of $2,000 to buy Raspberry Pis, monitors, and accessories, and set the centre up with offline educational software designed for its students’ age groups. We quickly deployed a landing page with fiat and crypto payment options, and implemented a simple crypto-to-fiat offramp with NedaPay, developed by a Tanzanian team who were at Zanzalu. This was essential due to the inefficiency and high fees of local banks, which have led to disrupted payments hindering the school’s ability to receive donations.
Shortly after Zanzalu ended, we reached the $2,000 goal, leading to an expanded target to fund the securing of a permanent school building. The Circle successfully delivered the equipment to the school in early September, and we’re well on our way to meeting the second goal. If you’re inspired by this cause, please consider donating a small amount for ongoing costs.
Spreading Circles globally
Our time in Zanzalu allowed us to help local people improve their own lives while testing assumptions and research into parallel organising and community building. Specifically, we saw firsthand how collectively arriving at an achievable goal and fulfilling it galvanises community spirit. We also saw the importance of hyperlocalism, with those closest to an issue often being best positioned to enact meaningful improvements.
Above all, Logos Circle: Zanzalu proved that when directed toward a winnable issue, a committed group can make a meaningful difference to real people’s lives in a short period of time. Spurred on by its successes, we’re eager to form Circles in different local communities globally and start identifying and tackling winnable issues.
If you’re interested in starting your own Circle, introduce yourself in the #intros channel in Logos Discord, mention where you want to start a Circle, and tag @amelia__cares.
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