Project Overview
In 2019 NED supported Transition Towns Australia Inc to run a Convergence in Melbourne attended by 120 people from 56 local grassroots sustainability groups.
There were presentations from Sustain, Extinction Rebellion, School Strike 4 Climate, Darebin Council, Retrosuburbia, Beyond Zero Emissions, Transition Streets, Cohousing, New Economy Network Australia, Transition Darebin and Project Drawdown.
The theme was Networks for Action, with a view to finding the wisdom in the room to answer three questions:
- How do we more effectively work together?
- What can we imagine as a life-sustaining future for the generations to come?
- How do we promote interdependent, powerful and visible action?
A highlight of the day was a segment when 5 interstate gatherings (WA, SA, Tas, NSW and Qld) connected online and presented their creative ideas in response to the three questions. In this way the event was able to create linkages and cooperation across a large geographical area without the need for extensive travel.
The Convergence used inclusive and participant driven processes like Q&A’s, Open Space Technology, real time feedback and so on. The experience of being at the Convergence reinforced for people the importance of personal and small group effort as we all take part in the broader narrative of global change in the face of the climate emergency.
A slideshow of the ideas harvested can be found here https://youtu.be/LWSLkBihpZk
More information and numerous photographs can be viewed here https://transitionaustralia.net/resource-library/convergence/ (after you’ve clicked the link, to view the photos you need to scroll to near the bottom of page and click each little dot in turn)
A sample of those photos is below.
