Revival Meeting

[Simeon Jackson]

Thanks to all those who came to the TN Economy & Livelihoods revival meeting last night.

Attending: Bill Hill, Christopher Ejugbo, Peter Ellington, Jona Conway, Lolly Conway, Christine Way, Stan Sabberton, Chris Keene, Simeon Jackson
Apologies: Valerie Jenner, Eileen Mulvaney

The meeting was quite informal.  The attendees voiced their concerns about today's economy and there was talk of how to tackle those concerns.

The main conclusion drawn was that education is the cornerstone to progress in this area, and that if more people knew about all of the issues affecting them and how our economic system really works, then action will inevitably follow. Two attendees from the first economy meeting in 2008 were present - Peter and Christine, who mentioned that at that meeting a lecture series had been proposed, with the idea of getting Ann Pettifor to speak, amongst others. It was suggested that getting speakers is expensive and challenging, and that presenting film showings, producing leaflets, and having small scale presentations may be a better option.  Another method of raising awareness of these issues is to be preesent, perhaps having a stall, at events where those who already have an interest in green or local economy issues are present, with leaflets and other resources to help the general (but interested) public learn about the issues. Christopher suggested that social media was an important way to engage people, and that 

Peter and Christine also mentioned that Noel, who had been at the meeting in 2008, was involved in the Totnes Pound project and now works at the UEA.  Few of the attendees of this meeting knew much about local currencies, so it was proposed that further investigation on the subject of local currencies would need to involve some more knowledgeable people, and to get involved people who already have an interest in this field, including members of NorLETS, the existing Norwich Local Exchange and Trading System. Apparently Noel did say that one of the advantages of the Totnes Pound is that of the exposure that it gives the Transition Initiative as a whole.

Several films were mentioned: 

• Bill mentioned The Crash Course, a feature-length documentary about the economy, available on YouTube.
• Jona mentioned What a Way to Go, another full-length documentary.  Christine said that a previous showing of this film spurred people to walk out early, due to its depressing and apocalyptic viewpoint, but Jona urged that you should stick with it, because many of the most profound points that it makes are towards the end.  He also said that he could edit it down to a more manageable length for showing.  Jona said it is available on YouTube, but I have been unable to find it.
• Stan, who described himself as a "refugee of the TN transport group", mentioned StreetFilms, a website of films about more livable streets and low carbon transportation.
• Stan also mentioned the channel Arte, a TV channel available on satellite television which has environmental programs at 6:30 Monday to Friday, in French and German.
• I mentioned TEDTalks, which is a bountiful resource of talks and lectures (most of them about 18 minutes long), on a wide variety of subjects, many of which are relevant to Transition.
• I would also like to mention RSAnimate, which is again talks and lectures, illustrated using cartoon animation.

All of these, and many, many more, could be shown, shared and made available to those who want to learn.  Jona, Lolly and myself are interested in running such events, but for them to successful, we need a support from as many other people as possible. If you can help by organising events, providing films or resources, promoting events, sharing videos via social media or any other way of letting people know about the issues, please email tn-ec...@googlegroups.com to share your ideas.  There will be a meeting for those interested in organising and promoting such events in due course.

I'd also like to appeal to anyone who knows about local currencies or trading systems to step forward and propose how we can make progress on that front. Does anyone know if NorLETS is still going strong? Has anyone rethought about the idea of local currencies since the funding appeal for administration of such a project got rejected (sorry, I forget the name of the group who appealed, and who they were appealing to!)?

I'm sorry I didn't take minutes of the meeting whilst it was going on, so there are items that we discussed that I haven't mentioned here at all, I'm sure.  If you would like to share them, just send an email to tn-ec...@googlegroups.com.

Kind regards,

Simeon Jackson