Alter-Narratives, Co-create Sheppey and TinCan.TV : our Loomio Action Forums are getting active
Picture of activity on our Loomio Action Forums - join here
We took a while at A/UK to decide what kinds of online community networks should start to grow up around this mission - to repair a broken politics with better alternatives (which may not even be “political”, in the traditional sense).
So on our third birthday this March, we entered into a relationship with Loomio because of their service’s emphasis on groups coming together - not just to open up discussions, but for those discussions to lead to actions - to make “constitutes”, using the term from A/UK’s co-initiator Pat Kane.
It seems to be working out that way. Here’s three varied initiatives birthed from our Action Forum (you’re welcome to join it, please come in through the co-creator door) which we wanted to let the wider audience that follows the Daily Alternative know about. Support them, or join us, and propose your own!
Alter-Narratives
Two of our early members - Ben Stollery and Naomi Orbegozo - proposed this media “rebuttal” service a few weeks ago, and it’s picking up involvement and enthusiasism. Here’s the text from their Action Forum post on it - and if you want to contact them directly to get involved, mail here.
Let's ensure we don't go back to 'business-as-usual'!
Post-Covid, the focus of the government seems to be on returning to business-as-usual (BAU) and they seem to think this is the only way forward. We think there are other possibilities that deserve consideration and believe that people’s innate humanity, which has been so evident in the mutual care expressed during the lockdown, needs to be reflected in whatever comes next. With the weight of the mainstream media behind the government however, these alternative stories and ideas aren’t always receiving airtime.
We at Alter Narratives would therefore like to:
Support consideration and discussion of what the alternatives could be, and
Enable ordinary people to voice and input these alternative narratives into the mainstream media.
So, rather than standing alone as you shout at the radio feeling frustrated at the futility of it all, we invite you to stand with us as we retell the story of what could come next. Through collaborative and creative action we seek to become impossible to ignore. If you are already doing this on your own or as part of a group, we offer to join our voices to yours. The more amplifiers we use, the louder we become!
By sharing our experience, skills, knowledge and ideas, we hope to gain a clearer vision of a more hopeful path ahead and fortify our narratives to support the alternatives we offer. By drawing on the incredible innovations already happening worldwide, we aim to offer concrete examples of possible directions to move in. We have already collated some of these stories and would love to gather more.
So, where can our voices be heard?
Our initial idea is to use the feedback avenues provided by the mainstream media outlets to illuminate the possibilities for a better world that they often overlook.
Alert process
If you encounter an item on a media outlet where an alternative narrative isn’t being presented and should be:
Simply flag it on our WhatsApp group so that others can respond/input if they’re able and want to
Respond or input to the outlet yourself (using the contact information we provide) - this can be by using any method - phone call, text, email, tweet, message etc
Record the item and your response/input on our shared spreadsheet so that it’s visible to others.
If you’re responding to someone else’s flag, submit your response/input and indicate on the spreadsheet so we can see how many inputs have been made to that item.
By coordinating and making our voices more audible to one another, we’ll be more effective in getting our voices heard and feel more empowered. Join us to start building our collective voice!
Co-Create Sheppey - a Citizens Action Network
The Isle of Sheppey is an island community off the coast of Kent, in England. Kayleigh, one of our Action Group members, is a resident and has been assiduously building (on a dedicated Facebook group) a “Citizens Action Network”, called Co-Create Sheppey. As the about page says, “it’s designed to bring the local community together. The Isle of Sheppey is a community with so much to offer, Co-Create Sheppey wishes to bring these positives together, to show that Sheppey is worth celebrating.”
It’s early stages, but we are impressed by the attitude and culture that Kayleigh is developing for this network, through posts, videos and graphics (the last of which we’re showing in an image carousel below):
TinCan.tv
We’ve believed from the start that controlling and making your own media is one of the ways that citizens can truly “take back control” of their existences and fate - given the amount of investment that elites and establishments invest in shaping and framing our thinking and sentiment.
So were were delighted that one of our most active Co-Creators, Alex Cooper, decided to set up TinCan.TV - essentially using a YouTube playlist to curate and select video material, to inspire an appetite for hands-on, cosmo-local change. Here’s his blurb:
The Interdependent Citizens Action Network TV Channel (or youtube playlist 🙂)
INTER-DEPENDENCE…The realisation that we're interconnected and inter-dependent but, somehow the current system is dividing us into disconnected individuals that are only looking after our own personal interests, entertainment, gratification and distraction from the ills of the world.
Citizens Action Networks - the hope that together we can bring about the changes that will lead to a more equitable, just, sustainable and harmonious world.
There's no original content on tincan.tv it's just a playlist of some of the videos that have had a profound impact on my thinking about political issues and the way "the system" needs to change or to be rebuilt to meet our deeper needs for connection, growth, contribution and the desire to make the most of ourselves and our time on this beautiful planet. Please recommend videos to add to the list.