An inspiring video from Victoria BC

by

2008-04-20

Richard Moore

Bcc: misc.
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Friends,
As you may recall from my many postings on the subject, I’m a great fan of wise dialog as a way to build strong community and create a truly democratic society, and I see Dynamic Facilitation and Wisdom Councils as the most promising initiatives in this direction. I’ve been tracking those initiatives, and the most promising Wisdom Council I’ve seen so far occurred recently in Victoria BC, in the neighborhood of Fernwood. 
There are two factors, as I see it, that contributed to this success. The first is the nature of the convening group, the folks who organized the Wisdom Council. They approached their work calmly and systematically, with the intention to convene a series of Wisdom Councils in Victoria, and they developed a solid and collegial internal group process. The second factor was the choice of a neighborhood, rather than all of Victoria, for this, their third Wisdom Council. 
At the end of the Wisdom Council, the conveners held a public meeting to announce the results. One of the results was a Statement by the Council participants, and the meeting was captured on video. The Statement, and the URL of the video, are below. 
What I find most promising about this event is that a follow-through momentum seems to have developed in Fernwood. The Statement doesn’t just talk about what folks would like to see happen in Fernwood, it talks also about new activities the participants intend to pursue, and it invites others in the community to join them in undertaking similar new initiatives. And from the visible spirit of the participants, and the responses of the audience at the meeting, it appears that this momentum is likely to develop further. 
best regards,
richard
PS>  many of you are now subscribed to more than one of the cyberjournal lists, and you will receive more than one copy of this posting. If you would like to unsubscribe from a list, so as to only receive one copy in the future, you can send a message to the appropriate address below. 
Riseup seems to have recovered from its recent system problems, however it is a volunteer operation and may not always be as reliable as the commercial alternatives. On the other hand, riseup is a progressive organization, and you can be sure your email address won’t be used by them for commercial or advertising purposes. The choice is yours. 
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URLs for video:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-9016362302933969367&hl=en-CA

Statement of Fernwood Wisdom Council March 28-29, 2008

We resolve to reduce our footprint and strengthen our handshake

As members of our community, we acknowledge the good work already being done and call for stronger connections within our community.

Thoughtfully United to Reweave, Nurture and Inspire People to Sustainability (TURNIPS)

Thoughtfully – mindfulness, free expression, comfort, acceptance, safety, respect for one another

United – committed to action, discovering common issues, universally applicable, inclusive

Reweave – community, connection, communication, liberating action, connecting existing resources (e.g., directory of what’s available in the community)

Nurture – education, compassion, ecology, boulevard/community gardens, health, take time, feed your soul/spirit (e.g., peace, reflection, rest, time-out, holiday, quiet time)

Inspire – empowerment, courage, hand-up vs hand-out, celebration through art, music, dance and the spoken word

People – accountability, personal responsibility, inclusivity, reaching out

Sustainability – ecology, empowerment, education, preparation, protection, support, accountability, bridging the generations with knowledge-transfer, food security, lifelong engagement

We discussed the concept of preparedness and remembered the blizzard of ’96.  What happened?  People slowed down, began to interact… neighbours helped neighbours.  We could hear the sounds of nature.

Strong communities help us to be prepared… for emergencies and for every day.  (In peaceful times we party, during emergencies we muster.)

Having shared our thoughts, concerns and insights – we asked ourselves “how do we proceed on a personal basis?”  Some of us have committed to replacing our lawns with gardens, giving up our cars, restoring relationships, greeting people on the street, reaching out in other ways, etc.

We invite you to join us.  How else do we work together to strengthen and enrich our community?

TEAM TURN-UP!

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