WiserEarth Governance

[This is Part B of Section 4 of the original 161 page document “1000Communities2” (see p. 11-12)]

B.  Why are CTLCs so important?

1.  Even if there were only one or two major challenges facing the majority of the people on this planet, there would be an urgent need for these kind of flexible educational settings which promote the formation of “community centers”.  Unfortunately, most of us may eventually have to acknowledge that on top of the challenges of

                a)  global warming and reducing carbon emissions

                b)  peak oil and reducing dependence on oil

                c)  global inequities and the tragic cycles of malnutrition, disease, and death

                d)  an increasing world population requiring more resources when many resources

                are becoming more scarce (with special emphasis on the increasing number of

                people   who are consuming resources and ecological services indiscriminately)

there still seems to be a majority of people on the planet who do not have a clear understanding—well-grounded in personal experience—of which basic elements of community life and cultural traditions lead to mutually beneficial understandings, which lead to cycles of violence—and why it is so important for people to achieve clarity on this subject.

Special Commentary:  This writer concludes from the above observations that communities around the world will be discovering that they have a need to approach fully utilizing all the knowledge, tools, and resources accessible to them for the highest good possible in every area of capacity building (physical, ecological, medical, spiritual, educational, social, economic, technical, political, etc.).  And he does not see how such “full utilization” can be realized without an increase in local community points of entry which provide ongoing, affordable, and neighborhood-friendly workshops.  He also believes that coordinating such workshops with a Community Visioning Initiative can produce a positive effect of an exponential nature.  And since many communities around the world already need positive results of an exponential nature—and many more communities may soon need positive results of an exponential nature—it would seem practical to experiment along these lines.

Very Important Note:  On Establishing a Sufficient Number of CTLCs

Establishing a sufficient number of “Community Teaching and Learning Centers” (CTLCs) is a critical prerequisite to going forward with Community Visioning Initiatives of the nature described in this proposal.  Identifying and securing somewhere near 20 public access buildings (per community area with a population of 50,000) which can function as described in the beginning of this section—and which can (thus) accommodate as many as 300 people per day¹ coming in and out at different times for an extended period of time (possibly a year, or more) (with associated parking considerations) (and with, hopefully, no rent associated with it) narrows the possibilities to a point that probable requires a shared sense of urgency among many members of the community.  Unfortunately/fortunately, such a shared sense of urgency may be approaching.  In the time period preceding such urgency, word may get around about Community Visioning Initiative approaches (such as the one described in this proposal) through the efforts of people who believe that we can overcome the challenges ahead, and are ready to go forward with constructive and practical solutions.  Such people may, by their efforts in advance, prepare the way for a sufficient number of CTLCs to be established on short notice.  The importance of CTLCs is so critical that without a sufficient number of assurances relating to CTLCs as a prerequisite, there will be no advantage to initiating the 15 step Community Visioning Initiative process described in Appendix 2.