using our creativity to build a better world
Creative Models Needed to Build A New Society
Remember paradigm shifts? By now they seem about as passé as a hemp hula hoop. But old school or not, a shift in paradigms is exactly what is now underway. Society is moving from the industrial to the ecological age, and many of us are working to bring this transformation about. I think we’ve done a fairly good job of changing what we do. What people buy, drive, eat and the candidates they vote for have all begun to move in the direction of a more sustainable planet. It seems, though, the way we enviros "do sustainability" is utterly unsustainable. Let me explain.
If you’ve been to an eco event in the last two or three years, I’ll bet there was recycling on the premises. Speakers probably held back on paper handouts to save a tree. Maybe the meals were even organic. But what was the seating arrangement? Who was invited to speak and who was not? Were you asked to listen quietly to someone else held up as an expert who held all the answers? Did you sit all day under artificial lighting in uncomfortable chairs? Chances are you never had a chance to get up and move your body, other than to go to the restroom, and you certainly weren’t invited to go outside as part of the program. You certainly weren't asked to participate in anything truly collaborative or creative.
More often than not what I see at sustainability events is people desperately trying to bring about a new paradigm using old paradigm models. Worst of all, this seems to be completely unconscious. I can’t tell you the number of conferences I’ve been to where topics of great innovation and change were presented in a cold (often literally) institutional-style space, while “attendees” (non-experts) were talked at via boring PowerPoints by “experts” (usually representing a narrow demographic). Like good little soldiers, we file in and sit in neat rows, following unspoken orders we learned in kindergarten (designed not to inspire but to control) and quietly take notes, getting up only when told to so that we can eat our donuts and drink our coffee. This brief injection of faux fuel gives us just enough energy (or illusion thereof) to keep us going through another boring PowerPoint or two, if we're lucky, before we crash yet again.
Enough already! We are not going to bring about the kind of change we need in the short time we have using these tired old methods! Here’s what we need to have at our eco events instead:
• Formats that allow for creative collaboration, not passive receipt of information delivered from above
• Humane settings that take into account people’s physical needs for natural light, wholesome nourishment, breaks (or even programs) out in nature
• Conference attendees seated in circles instead of rows
• Music!
• Dance! Movement!
• Humor!
• Art!
• Women! Children! Old people! Brown people!!
• Plants! Animals (non-human, that is).
This might sound like outlandish stuff, but why? Think about it. How can we expect to bring about the kind of society we want while continuing to embrace unsustainable ways of getting there? It’s just not possible.
I believe there is a natural shift happening toward this new way of bringing about change. I went to an event recently that was designed per the old paradigm format (a top-down info dump by experts). When it got to the Q&A portion, more often than not, the person asking the question turned toward the audience rather than the expert panel and addressed his/her peers. There seems to be a desire for more collaboration, a more organic sharing of ideas that rejects hierarchy. We seem to want to participate in something that looks more like an ecosystem and less like a talk show. I think this is happening naturally, but it’s also happening unconsciously. How much more productive and joyful we could all be if we planned and participated in our sustainability gatherings with this intention of ecosystem building right from the start rather than having to sneak it in edgewise?
We simply have to move beyond “greening” our events with recycling bins and cloth napkins and start modeling the kind of future we want for ourselves and our planet in radically new ways.
[S. McCracken]
If you’ve been to an eco event in the last two or three years, I’ll bet there was recycling on the premises. Speakers probably held back on paper handouts to save a tree. Maybe the meals were even organic. But what was the seating arrangement? Who was invited to speak and who was not? Were you asked to listen quietly to someone else held up as an expert who held all the answers? Did you sit all day under artificial lighting in uncomfortable chairs? Chances are you never had a chance to get up and move your body, other than to go to the restroom, and you certainly weren’t invited to go outside as part of the program. You certainly weren't asked to participate in anything truly collaborative or creative.
More often than not what I see at sustainability events is people desperately trying to bring about a new paradigm using old paradigm models. Worst of all, this seems to be completely unconscious. I can’t tell you the number of conferences I’ve been to where topics of great innovation and change were presented in a cold (often literally) institutional-style space, while “attendees” (non-experts) were talked at via boring PowerPoints by “experts” (usually representing a narrow demographic). Like good little soldiers, we file in and sit in neat rows, following unspoken orders we learned in kindergarten (designed not to inspire but to control) and quietly take notes, getting up only when told to so that we can eat our donuts and drink our coffee. This brief injection of faux fuel gives us just enough energy (or illusion thereof) to keep us going through another boring PowerPoint or two, if we're lucky, before we crash yet again.
Enough already! We are not going to bring about the kind of change we need in the short time we have using these tired old methods! Here’s what we need to have at our eco events instead:
• Formats that allow for creative collaboration, not passive receipt of information delivered from above
• Humane settings that take into account people’s physical needs for natural light, wholesome nourishment, breaks (or even programs) out in nature
• Conference attendees seated in circles instead of rows
• Music!
• Dance! Movement!
• Humor!
• Art!
• Women! Children! Old people! Brown people!!
• Plants! Animals (non-human, that is).
This might sound like outlandish stuff, but why? Think about it. How can we expect to bring about the kind of society we want while continuing to embrace unsustainable ways of getting there? It’s just not possible.
I believe there is a natural shift happening toward this new way of bringing about change. I went to an event recently that was designed per the old paradigm format (a top-down info dump by experts). When it got to the Q&A portion, more often than not, the person asking the question turned toward the audience rather than the expert panel and addressed his/her peers. There seems to be a desire for more collaboration, a more organic sharing of ideas that rejects hierarchy. We seem to want to participate in something that looks more like an ecosystem and less like a talk show. I think this is happening naturally, but it’s also happening unconsciously. How much more productive and joyful we could all be if we planned and participated in our sustainability gatherings with this intention of ecosystem building right from the start rather than having to sneak it in edgewise?
We simply have to move beyond “greening” our events with recycling bins and cloth napkins and start modeling the kind of future we want for ourselves and our planet in radically new ways.
[S. McCracken]
1 Comment
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Comment by alzinha on January 11, 2008 at 5:13pm
- I couldn't agree more Shana. I have participated in some "new format" meetings where we started the meeting off by getting into our bodies, moving around, going outside, and it felt GREAT! I can't wait to host another meeting where I get to do some of this stuff!
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