About the 10 Most Important Questions
These are the questions deemed most important for the world today by fifteen hundred people in 39 countries. Conversation Week 2008, sponsored by Conversation Cafe , involved people all over the globe discussing these questions. It's the beginning of a way to change thinking around the world and get ordinary people involved in setting the agenda for our future.
1) How can we best prepare our children for the future?
2) What does sustainability look like to you? How do we get there?
3) How do humans need to adapt to survive the changes predicted for this century?
4) How do we shift from "Me" to "We" on both the local and global levels?
5) How can you, as Gandhi said, be the change that you want to see in the world?
6) What kind of economic structures can best support a shift to sustainable living?
7) How should we re-invent the political process so that people feel that they have a voice?
8) What kind of leadership does the world need now?
9) How can we balance our personal needs with the most pressing needs of our community and the larger world?
10) What can we do to reduce or eliminate violence in the world?
I participated in a conversation on Global MindShift about these and related topics.
To me, the critical step is to go from talking to action. I'm a practical visionary, a pragmatic dreamer. How we get from where we are now to where we want to be: that's what fascinates me.
It's not enough to envision a new world. We need a plan, a bunch of strategies for change that take as a given the world as it is today, now. Accepting the world on its own terms is not giving up, either. It's simply acknowledging that there is a starting point. While I do get depressed sometimes when I think about all that is not right with the world (in my humble opinion!), I remember that we have to start with what IS - including what's going right. Let's build on our successes.
The Alinsky school of community organizing focused on organizers developing local leadership by first identifying small, winnable fights based on immediate problems in people's lives. Is there a street light that is always broken? OK, let's organize around that. It's possible to identify who is responsible for street lights in the town or city. We can make the case for making sure the light is always working - what are the consequences of a broken light? And we can put pressure on the person responsible, via writing letters, asking for meetings, possibly going to the press if we don't get a response. Then if the fight is won, the group can determine if they want to go further to fight for something else they identify as a need for their commuity. It's building on their success and the energy they get from that win.
We can use a similar approach to changing the world.
1) How can we best prepare our children for the future?
2) What does sustainability look like to you? How do we get there?
3) How do humans need to adapt to survive the changes predicted for this century?
4) How do we shift from "Me" to "We" on both the local and global levels?
5) How can you, as Gandhi said, be the change that you want to see in the world?
6) What kind of economic structures can best support a shift to sustainable living?
7) How should we re-invent the political process so that people feel that they have a voice?
8) What kind of leadership does the world need now?
9) How can we balance our personal needs with the most pressing needs of our community and the larger world?
10) What can we do to reduce or eliminate violence in the world?
I participated in a conversation on Global MindShift about these and related topics.
To me, the critical step is to go from talking to action. I'm a practical visionary, a pragmatic dreamer. How we get from where we are now to where we want to be: that's what fascinates me.
It's not enough to envision a new world. We need a plan, a bunch of strategies for change that take as a given the world as it is today, now. Accepting the world on its own terms is not giving up, either. It's simply acknowledging that there is a starting point. While I do get depressed sometimes when I think about all that is not right with the world (in my humble opinion!), I remember that we have to start with what IS - including what's going right. Let's build on our successes.
The Alinsky school of community organizing focused on organizers developing local leadership by first identifying small, winnable fights based on immediate problems in people's lives. Is there a street light that is always broken? OK, let's organize around that. It's possible to identify who is responsible for street lights in the town or city. We can make the case for making sure the light is always working - what are the consequences of a broken light? And we can put pressure on the person responsible, via writing letters, asking for meetings, possibly going to the press if we don't get a response. Then if the fight is won, the group can determine if they want to go further to fight for something else they identify as a need for their commuity. It's building on their success and the energy they get from that win.
We can use a similar approach to changing the world.
posted by julieannerickson at 2:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home