A/UK 4th Anniversary: We're doing a "Takeover" at the Transition Summit, presenting initiatives in an I-We-World framework

Another of our A/UK 4th Anniversary blogs, highlighting what we’re currently up to, and how it connects to our four years of experimental, curious and passionate agency.

One of our functions at the start was always intended to be about “networking the networks”. We want to seize convening and integrating possibilities as they arise. So many small and medium-sized operators seek to bring about social, economic and cultural alternatives, but find themselves competing, clashing or siloed in ways that defuse (and diffuse) their power. We do our best, in this regard, by both forging forums and supporting others.

This event next week is a great example of how A/UK operates in this manner. In partnership with CTRLShift (one of our long-standing partners). The Transition Network is setting up what one of its founder, the mercurial Rob Hopkins, calls a What’s Next Summit (more info here and here, and see the latest online schedule at the top of this post).

The Alternative UK is appearing in the “What Is?” strand, on Friday March 5th, from 3pm - 5pm, where we’ll be presenting a range of “seed forms” of a better future, filtered by our “I - We - World” framework.

On this Friday (and some of these are themes as well as organisations), we’ll be alongside Inner Transition, Systems and Frameworks, Tech For Good, Beyond Usual Suspects, New Economy, Feminism for the 99%, New Food Systems. Speakers more widely confirmed for the event include Kate Raworth, Mia Birdsong and Andrew Simms.

Here’s the event blurb:

it will build the power of community led action throughout the UK by bringing together hundreds of community activists who are already making change happen, so together we can have a bigger impact.

It will be a space to empower us to create our own future, through inspiring each other, making new connections and sharing knowledge to build a stronger movement that creates the change we want to see in our communities.

The summit will run over a period of three weeks, to enable people to dip in and out as they wish and to allow space for learning, reflection, the building of relationships and concrete pathways of action.

See also the social media on Twitter @TTBounceForward and Facebook @TransitionBounceForward, and this YouTube channel of preparatory videos, as well as this useful FAQ. Sign up for the event on the Nudj platform (see below).

Just to illustrate how overlapping and mutual supporting these networks are becoming, see this from the FAQ:

Who is organising the What Next Summit? 

The Summit is being organised by Transition Network and CTRLshift. But in the spirit of collaboration we have teamed up with the Losing Control network and are using their platform to host the event and enable conversations to take place. The platform is called Nudj.

This is a new collaboration/networking platform for people involved in social change. Think of a one stop shop for connecting and collaborating that provides a space for networks of people to come together. We are doing this because we have consistently had feedback from people that it would be great to be able to connect and carry on conversations after workshops / presentations etc.  

We are also working with Losing Control (a peer led network of over 500 amazing people committed to sharing power to create social change) as we wanted to bring these networks together so that people can make some great new connections. You can find out more about losing control here.  We are also hoping that other groups/networks will join up to Losing Control Network so we can all become much more interconnected. 

Again, if you want to sign up for the event, go here.

There are some issues that still need to be addressed in “networking the networks”. For one thing, in an era of data harvesting, who owns the information about the interactions of members on anyone’s network, and how can that become the property of the users, not the platform? What questions do we need to ask, and what structures of exportability and accountability need to be in place? Questions we’re asking ourselves as much as anyone else.

But the energy behind this event is clear and admirable. We all need each other’s fuel for the “transition” to a more balanced, flourishing future. This is a good place to find it.