1000Communities2 ("1000CommunitiesSquared")

Introduction—Much Potential, Many Challenges

 

At no other time in the course of history has so many people had access to so much in the way of time-tested guidelines, inspiring role models, and service-oriented initiatives.

 

We should be able to actualize this potential into acceptable standards of living for a very high percentage of the people on this planet, and do so in a way that creates economic stability, maintains ecological sustainability, and emphasizes a high level of compassion for our fellow human beings.

 

And yet there are many difficult challenges ahead.  Consider the following quotations:

[Note:  The “1000Communities²” proposal includes over 150 excerpts and quotes,
                which are provided to refer readers to relevant sources for further research.]

 

a)  From the “UN Human Development Report  2007/2008  Fighting Climate Change:  Human Solidarity in a Divided World”

 

“Avoiding the unprecedented threats posed by dangerous climate change will require an unparalleled collective exercise in international cooperation.”¹

 

b)  From the “World Report on Violence and Health” (World Health Organization

Geneva  2002) 

 

 “The global drugs trade and the global arms trade are integral to violence in both developing and industrialized countries.  Even modest progress on either front will contribute to reducing the amount and degree of violence suffered by millions of people.  To date, however—and despite their high profile in the world arena—no solutions seem to be in sight for these problems.”²

 

c)   From an editorial titled “The World Food Crises” in the “Opinion” section of The New York Times (online)(April 10, 2008).

 

“Last week, the president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, warned that 33 nations are at risk of social unrest because of the rising prices of food. ‘For countries where food comprises from half to three-quarters of consumption, there is no margin for survival,’ he said.”³

 

 

There now exists a need for problem solving on a scale most of us have never known before. 

 

We are in need of innovative and imaginative solutions.  One suggestion which could assist in bringing to light many solutions is a 161 page proposal by this writer titled “1000Communities²”.   “1000Communities²” (“1000CommunitiesSquared”) advocates for Community Visioning Initiatives, “Community Teaching and Learning Centers” with ongoing workshops, and “sister community” relationships, as a way of generating an exponential increase in our collective capacity to overcome the challenges of our times.  [Note:  The “1000Communities²” proposal is accessible in pdf format for free at the website of The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative, at www.ipcri.net.  (This writer is the founder and outreach coordinator for The IPCR Initiative.)]

 

 

About Community Visioning Initiatives and “Community Teaching and Learning Centers” 

 

Many of us will be familiar with the problem solving strategy of identifying problems and brainstorming solutions.  Well organized efforts to identify problems and brainstorm solutions are a universally recognized approach to problem solving which is commonly used in family, community, business, and government settings in every part of the world.  In its most basic format, a Community Visioning Initiative is simply a more comprehensive variation of the above mentioned approach to problem solving.  The more comprehensive Community Visioning Initiatives require steering committees, preliminary surveys or assessments, workshops, task forces, collaboration between many organizations, government agencies, businesses, and educational institutions—and seek to build up consensus in the community for specific goals and action plans by encouraging a high level of participation by all residents.

 

Equally important to the “1000Communities²” proposal is the concept of “Community Teaching and Learning Centers” (a concept created by the “Teachers Without Borders” organization).  So that readers may fully appreciate the importance of this concept, please consider the following:  on the homepage of the website of The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative, there is reference to a “Ten Point Assessment of the Most Difficult Challenges of Our Times”. Such an assessment indicates there is a need for problem solving which approaches 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.).

 

This writer does not see how such a “full utilization” can be approached 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.  The need for innovative and imaginative solutions is urgent.  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.  Thus, it would seem practical to experiment along these lines.

 

 

Expanding the concept of “Community Teaching and Learning Centers”

 

In this “1000Communities²” proposal, the concept of “Community Teaching and Learning Centers”  (created by the “Teachers Without Borders” organization) is expanded so that such local community points of entry function as

 

a)  information centers, resource centers, and clearinghouses (on how residents can deliberately channel their time, energy, and money into the creation of “ways of earning a living” which are directly related to resolving high priority challenges)

 

b)  locations for workshops on topics suggested by the “Preliminary Survey” [for more about “Preliminary Surveys” see Section 9 (p. 22-42) in the “1000Communities²” proposal], and as determined by the “Community Teaching and Learning Center” Coordinator

 

c)  practice sites for the development of “teacher-leaders”

 

d)  community centers for meetings, both planned and informal

 

e)  locations for “Community Journals” (which are collections of formal and informal input which may be contributed to or accessed at all times)

f)  locations for “Final Version” Document submission (“voting”) as part of Steps 5, 6, 7, 9, and10 of the 15 Step Outline (for an example of “voting”, see “Step 5” on p. 28-29 of the “1000Communities²” proposal)

 

g)  locations for “Summary of Community Visioning Initiative Process to Date” Notebooks, for latecomers, and as an information resource for media

 

h)  central locations for listings of employment opportunities

 

i)  as a special form of community education, which can respond quickly (by changing the emphasis of workshop content) to new urgencies as they arise

 

 

Three Propositions—and “Job Fairs”

 

The “1000Communities²” proposal also advocates three propositions which are especially relevant when considering the value of local community points of entry information clearinghouses, and ongoing workshops….

 

a)  There are countless numbers of “things people can do in the everyday circumstances of their lives” which will contribute to peacebuilding, community revitalization, and ecological sustainability efforts, in their own communities and regions—and in other parts of the world.

 

b)  People can, one by one, decide to deliberately focus the way they spend their time, energy, and money so that their actions have positive repercussions on many or all of the action plans which emerge from Community Visioning Initiatives.

 

c)  The result can be that there are countless ‘ways to earn a living’ which contribute to the peacebuilding, community revitalization, and ecological sustainability efforts necessary to overcome the challenges of our times.

 

 

Furthermore, Community Visioning Initiatives can include “Job Fairs” in the final phases of the process, which summarize the knowledge accumulated during the Visioning process.

 

Here are some excerpts from “Step 12:  Summary Presentations and Job Fairs” of the “15 Step” outline (see p. 22-42) provided in the “1000Communities²” proposal:

 

“Job Fairs will provide a forum for organizations and businesses working in solution oriented fields of activity to describe employment opportunities and future prospects, to discover local talent, to hire qualified prospects, and to build knowledge bases and skill sets for the future.” (from p. 39)

 

“Special Commentary:  By now, there will have been sufficient public discourse for those people with understanding about high level shifts in investment portfolios to have learned something about what directions future shifts will be leaning towards.  The job fairs which come at the end of the Community Visioning Initiative process provide opportunities for all key stakeholders in the community (businesses, organizations, institutions, government, etc.) to demonstrate their upgraded awareness—and their interest in the welfare of the community—by offering and facilitating new employment opportunities… and thus helping with a just transition from patterns of investment which in only limited ways represent solutions to prioritized challenges to patterns of investment which in many ways represent solutions to prioritized challenges.”  (from p. 39)

 

“[Note:  As mentioned on p. 125, one aspect of this just transition can be that people who do deliberately focus their investments of time, energy, and money towards solutions identified by the Community Visioning Initiative being carried out in their community may receive, as encouragement, local currency.  And then such local currency can, in its turn, be redeemed in ways which will be particularly helpful to people transitioning from less solution-oriented employment to more solution-oriented employment.]” (from p. 39)

 

 

It is possible…. and yet….

 

This message is offered as one way of demonstrating that it is possible for communities of people to deliberately create countless “ways to earn a living” which contribute to the peacebuilding, community revitalization, and ecological sustainability efforts necessary to overcome the challenges of our times.

 

And yet… consider the following: 

 

This writer believes that there is a profound and critical need for an exponential increase in compassion for our fellow human beings.  This profound and critical need is especially urgent when viewed as only a part of the challenges listed in “Ten Point Assessment…” accessible on the homepage of The IPCR Initiative.

 

And yet… an exponential increase in compassion for our fellow human beings is, currently, not widely recognized as an essential and critical element of most comprehensive responses to the challenges of our times.

 

As a way of emphasizing the need for an exponential increase in compassion for our fellow human beings, the “1000Communities²” proposal makes a special point of encouraging communities (with the resources to do so) to enter into “sister community” relationships with communities in other countries where there has been well documented calls for assistance with basic human needs.  [Why?  This writer understands that it is often very difficult for people in one country to understand the indirect effects of their investments of time, energy, and money—even if those indirect effects are unquestionably beneficial.  If we are to “fully realize the repercussions of our actions on our neighbours”—and on people in others parts of the world—it seems that it would be most helpful for whole communities of people to have direct contact with a whole communities of people in another part of the world, for an extended period of time.  In the context of this “1000Communities²” proposal, the “sister community” relationship would provide a way for residents of a community with sufficient resources to do so to be in direct contact with residents of a community where there has been well documented calls for assistance with basic human needs.

 

 

If even a few….

 

Everyone is involved when it comes to determining the markets that supply the ways of earning a living.

 

In 1984, the non-profit organization Chattanooga Venture [Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA)] organized a Community Visioning Initiative (“Vision 2000”) that attracted more than 1,700 participants, and produced 40 community goals—which resulted in the implementation of 223 projects and programs, the creation of 1,300 permanent jobs, and a total financial investment of 793 million dollars.⁴

 

If even a few of the kind of Community Visioning Initiatives described in the “1000Communities²” proposal generated results similar to those achieved by the Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA) Visioning Initiative, people in all parts of the world—keenly attuned when it comes to resolving challenges which require urgent solutions at all levels of society—   could be   inspired to carry out similar Community Visioning Initiatives.  And if many communities carried out similar initiatives, and also achieved significant results, our collective capacity to resolve the challenges of our times   would surely   begin to accumulate at an accelerating rate.

 

Hopefully—by encouraging as much formal and informal meetings with other people in the local neighborhoods for discussion, information sharing, mutual support and encouragement, fellowship and friendship—a combination of Community Visioning Initiatives, “Community Teaching and Learning Centers” and “sister community” relationships can contribute much to the building of “close-knit” communities of people… communities with a healthy appreciation for each others strengths, a well-developed capacity to resolve even the most difficult challenges—and communities which demonstrate a high level of compassion for their fellow human beings.

 

 

 

With Kind Regards,

 

Stefan Pasti, Founder and Outreach Coordinator

The IPCR Initiative

 

 

 

 

Notes and Source References

 

1.  From the “UN Human Development Report  2007/2008  Fighting Climate Change:  Human Solidarity in a Divided World”  Director and Lead Author:  Kevin Watkins Published for the United Nations Development Program   Released November 27, 2007   In “Summary” of Complete Report (See http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_20072008_summary_english.pdf for free download)  On p. 19, in section “Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change:  Strategies for Mitigation”  paragraph 1  (Confirmed June 1, 2008)

 

2.  From the “World Report on Violence and Health” (World Health Organization

Geneva  2002)  in Chapter 9 “The Way Forward:  Recommendations for Action” p. 254  (at http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/9241545615.pdf)  (Confirmed June 11, 2008)

 

3.  From an editorial titled “The World Food Crises” in the “Opinion” section of The New York Times (online).  Published April 10, 2008  (at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/opinion/10thu1.html)  (see paragraph 3)  (Confirmed June 13, 2008)

 

4.  The statistics are from “Revision 2000:  Take Charge Again”, a brochure this writer received from Chattanooga Venture.  These statistics are also accessible in a detailed overview of Chattanooga community revitalization efforts titled “Chattanooga:  The Sustainable City”, at the website for the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at http://www.academy.umd.edu/Resources/AcademyPublicationsPDF/BoundaryCrossers-CaseStudies/Ch3-Chattanooga/Chattanooga.pdf  (see Chpt. 3, p. 7)  (Confirmed June 15, 2008)