CONTENT What you are about to read is a realtime created magazine, from the harvest of Re.Define Workshop Experience, Friday May 17th. 2013.
HELLO & THANKS, RE.DEFINERS!
3
FEATURED
THE PROCESS OF THE WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE 4 WHAT IS PROSPERITY? 8 ABSTRACT PRACTICALITIES 12 TAKING ACTION TOWARDS WELLBEING 16 EDITORIAL
THE VISUAL STORIES HOW DO WE REDEFINE PROSPERITY IN CT? DISCOVERY DATING IS ON CREDITS
Re.Define - May 2013
20 22 26 27
3
HELLO & THANKS, RE.DEFINERS! Re.Define is dreamed by Invisible Sun. Invisible Sun focuses on the space where social, creative and business activities converge. With Re.Define we aim to catalyse true prosperity for the greater Cape Town area. To achieve this, we need to collaborate more systematically across sectors and mainstream appreciation of social capital and environmental value. We envisage this to include use of technology, impact measurement, geo-mapping, good governance and financing mechanisms - but is yet to be polished and finalised into a concrete plan of action. Re.Define is a diamond in the rough. With the Kaospilots and AFRICEGE we designed this workshop experience to launch the next phase of Re.Define: Creating a shared vision and connecting the right people to make it a reality. This is why you - people with passion, expertise, curiosity and future orientation - have been gathered. That is also why we would like to learn more about your activities, goals, ambitions and dreams. So that we can understand how we can enable you and vice versa. Because the whole is better than its parts. It was a pleasure and true honour to have undergone this workshop experience with you! We hope you have something valuable to take home. Thank you, Claire & Lilian Invisible Sun Re.Define - May 2013
THE PROCESS OF THE WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
COMING TOGETHER
Re.Define - May 2013
COCREATION
LOCAL
LANDING
5
EXTENSION
CELEBRATION
Re.Define - May 2013
Re.Define - May 2013
FEATURED
7
Re.Define - May 2013
FEATURED
8
WHAT IS PROSPERITY?
T
We meet in an unusual setting to discuss, explore, and reform what prosperity means today. Mikkel, our host, starts off by offering a mindset –“You are the right people at the right table at the right moment”and, in groups, we dive into conversation to form a common inquiry and write it on the tables. If you google “define: prosperity”, it tells you that it is to be prosperous, and if you dig deeper it will tell
Re.Define - May 2013
you: bringing wealth and success. But what does that mean really, and what is the purpose of having a shared definition? Further, is prosperity a need or a want?
One shared realization is that there are as many definitions as there are people and some are questioning if it is even possible to have a common definition of prosperity.
“WHY CAN´T WE ALLOW PEOPLE TO HAVE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF PROSPERITY?”
To Lance Buchan, it depends on where you’re coming from: There is delusion & there is reality. The energy around the tables is high, and the participants are engaged in their questions.
- WILLIAM HEWETT
If you want to define something you need to go back to the original source. Andrew Murray: Prosperity started with planetary health. Another participant is talking about prosperity
FEATURED
as composed of three pillars, all flourishing: individual health, humans, and planet. Rory Williams offers the perspective: We don´t understand how we are not prosperous. Another table is discussing the view of looking at the lowest common denominator, to have the basic human needs fulfilled and to work towards a better
life for all humans. A point is raised: “If you keep it at the abstract that leaves it as someone else’s problem.” Another of the conversations is moving around the inquiry, “Do we really need to understand the definition to together build a new one?” So why are we here today? To share
9
stories, experiences, perspectives, build relations and start a movement towards a new paradigm. Or; to find the sweet spot between having enough but not too much? -Pete Sims Only time will tell what the outcome of this exploration will be, but today is an intriguing start.
Re.Define - May 2013
ECONOMIC GROWTH MAKE A START AT INVITING OTHERS INTO YOUR WORLD FOLLOW AND SHARE YOUR TRUTH ALIGN WITH YOUR OWN PROSPERITY AND SHARE IT BE SENSITIVE TEACH EMPOWER HAVE A HEART THAT IS BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD THE CONTRASTS MOVE BEYOND SOUND BITES ENGAGE DIVERSE PEOPLE INTO CONVERSATIONS ITS ABOUT SUSTAINABLE ABUNDANCE LISTEN
Re.Define - May 2013
WHAT IS PRO
OSPERITY?
FEATURED
11
DO SOMETHING THAT YOU LOVE TODAY UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER INVITE A NEW FRIEND EACH WEEK TO DISCOVER CAPE TOWN ON BICYCLE AND TALK MUTUAL PROSPERITY ECOLOGY EQUALS ECONOMY JUST DO IT! GET INVOLVED DE-AMERICANISE BE CURIOUS MOVE OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, THAT’S WHERE MAGIC HAPPENS SHARE OUR LIFE EXPERIENCES THINK ECO-SYSTEMIC LISTEN TO ALL VOICES
Re.Define - May 2013
FEATURED
12
ABSTRACT PRACTICALITIES
W
hat happens if you gather “the right people, in the right place, at the right time” to redefine prosperity? The stage is set and the question is written in big bold letters on the wall. The room is buzzing with concentrated people engaging in conversations on a topic they truly care about. Listening faces, challenging questions and personal voices come together in a joined, some would even
Re.Define - May 2013
say collective, pool of perspectives. We rotate and start again – new people with different backgrounds, new understandings and approaches to the topic sit down.
How we approach the topic of prosperity will ultimately colour the outcome. What does prosperity mean to us as fathers and mothers, as members of a community and as
FEATURED
inhabitants of the world? Ultimately we are in it together. Kathy Watters says: “If we keep it in the abstract we always have someone else to blame, whereas if we look at the ‘me’ we can actually make a change.” However as Naren Sewpaul says “it is a collaborative change.” At another table they conclude, “A shared vision needs
to acknowledge and embrace the individual differences in an ongoing process.” PHILOSOPHICAL OR PRACTICAL Early in the conversations the question was raised “Should one be dealing with the philosophical or practical level of prosperity?” During the debates the awareness of these two approaches
13
seems present and is made explicit by Rory Williams “If we were to say – ‘Hey money doesn’t matter!’ They would be like - ‘yeah, yeah’”. Followed by the wondering, “How do we set the dialogue?” Dialogues are powerful and as Rory continues “Most of my life I didn’t really think I would be prosperous, I was thinking I would get a job, go around, you know, mundane. It changed through connecting with people, discussing and gaining new insights.” Maybe the philosophical and the practical level are not that separate after all?
Re.Define - May 2013
Re.Define - May 2013
FEATURED
15
Re.Define - May 2013
FEATURED
16
“IF I HAD AN HOUR TO SOLVE A PROBLEM AND MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT I WOULD USE THE FIRST 55 MINUTES TO FORMULATE THE RIGHT QUESTION BECAUSE AS SOON AS I HAVE IDENTIFIED THE RIGHT QUESTION I CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES.”
- ALBERT EINSTEIN
I
n an unusual space above a coffee bar, a diverse crowd of people from Cape Town are discussing “How can we Redefine prosperity?” Is asking this question already the first step towards doing exactly that?
Re.Define - May 2013
TAKING ACTION TOWARDS WELLBEING This discussion today also started with Redefining the question, so according to Einstein, we are on the right course. All the attendants at this workshop have different views on the questions, and maybe no one answer is the right one. This article will look
into some of the actions that people already take towards redefining or improving prosperity.
FEATURED
17
effect of this change in the bridging between the discourse is probably them is where there still to be seen. is huge potential for improvement. The synergy created when “AN INCREASE IN SOCIAL CAPITAL STRENGTHENS you bring together gin PROSPERITY” and tonic is amazing; - MIKE FREEDMAN, PARTICIPANT IN WORKSHOP this is also the case for the meeting between Mike Freedman diverse people – like we continued to speak have done today. about HOW to increase social capital. In Cape Is it then possible to be Town people are rich in social value but still struggle to but bread good at bonding in strong networks but on your table? The full CHANGING THE DISCOURSE Not long ago value was equal to money, no question about it. Now terms like social, environmental and economic value have found their way to the centre of the discussion about prosperity.
Re.Define - May 2013
FEATURED
THE PERSONAL APPROACH In Japanese philosophy the small things you do are of great importance, the small questions lead to small thoughts, which leads to small actions. This workshop can possibly lead its participants to do small actions towards increasing the prosperity or just the wellbeing of themselves and the people closest
Re.Define - May 2013
to them. The personal approach is like eating the elephant one bite at a time, increasing the sense of wellbeing in your neighbour by inviting him for coffee
18
and listen to his dreams is another strategy for increasing prosperity. Individual wellbeing of many people will cause a sense of communal prosperity.
FEATURED
19
Re.Define - May 2013
THE VISUAL STORIES
THE PARTICIPANTS ARE CREATING A RICH NARRATIVE OF WHAT HAS BEEN TOLD ABOUT CAPE TOWN. THE CONVERSATIONS REVOLVE AROUND THE GREAT DIVERSITY OF CAPE
TOWN, OF HOW THE CITY IS BOTH BUZZING WITH ENERGY BUT ALSO LOADED WITH UNMET POTENTIAL.
WORDS LIKE EGO, IGNORANCE, POVERTY AND ARROGANCE FILLS THE ROOM AS THE PARTICIPANTS CONTRIBUTE TO WHAT THEY
SEE AS THE MAIN DRIVERS FOR THE STORY THAT HAS BEEN TOLD ABOUT CAPE TOWN
Re.Define - May 2013
EDITORIAL
21
THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE ROOM CHANGES AS THE PARTICIPANTS LOOKS TOWARDS A COMMON FUTURE.
WORDS LIKE CO-CREATION, RADICAL INCLUSION, ACTIVE CITIZENS AND LESS FEAR FLOWS THROUGH THE ROOM.
THE CONVERSATION REVOLVES AROUND WHAT IS GOING TO DRIVE THE CHANGE. COMMENTS ON BUILDING BRIDGES, INVITING NEW PEOPLE
TO OLD CIRCLES AND CREATING SAFE SPACES FOR DANGEROUS CONVERSATIONS ARE BEING SHARED. Re.Define - May 2013
EDITORIAL
22
HOW DO WE REDEFINE PROSPERITY IN CT?
A
Spiritual Master once said to me that where our thoughts dwell is who we become. Expanding this idea globally - judging by the symptoms - it becomes obvious that Western collective thought is about progress, money making, consumerism and individualism. Our collective human identity has been buoyed up by the story of economic growth as being the driver of prosperity.
Re.Define - May 2013
And yet what is wealth and what type of growth is sustainable? To me Cape Town is the epicentre of contrasts and it offers us the deepest mirror to our individual and collective mind-sets. Its landscapes of magnificent beauty harbour raw suffering and unacceptable inequalities. When we partake in its pleasures of plenty, it is exhilarating and inspiring. Yet when faced with its needs we can easily fall into a pit of
sadness. Nowhere else in the world is society, ecology and economy at such odds. We are held up and restored by the natural world in Cape Town while at the same time overwhelmed by economic inequalities. More than anywhere, its beauty reminds us that well-being cannot flourish if growth means the killing of the natural world we love. A vague disease settles into our way of being as these contrasts assault our emotions, disturb our
EDITORIAL
23
HE WHO KNOWS HE HAS ENOUGH IS RICH.
TAO TE CHING C. 260 BC
thoughts... Until we need to turn away or simply numb it all out. Do we alienate ourselves by not looking, not reading news, not engaging with the needy because it’s ‘all too much’? And does giving become a word that pulls us all down’? Where do our thoughts go then? Who do we become? Do we fear scarcity and hold on more tightly to what we think we have? It is the contrasts in Cape Town which offer us an extraordinary opportunity of true
growth and expansion, firstly on an individual level and then on a participatory level. The only chance of wholeness starts with our personal ability to hold these contradicting emotions and images within ourselves - to allow our individual identies and hearts to expand to embrace differences. To enable the collective to become cohesive we need to make peace with the paradoxes inside our own heads and minds.
There is an opportunity here to move ‘beyond’ towards a collective wholeness and a healthy social conscience. When we turn away from that which is uncomfortable we diminish our humanness, we unhook from our co-intelligence and collective potentials. When we turn away we create lives of separation, which becomes the greater pain individually and collectively. When I really see and feel all that is Cape
Re.Define - May 2013
EDITORIAL
Town, the human and the non-human, the pain in my heart rises yet at the same time I can no longer silence the urgent calls of my conscience, nor can I silence my actual voice. “What can I do to be the change I want to see? What is my relationship to the natural world? Why are we destroying our home, our earth when we are a conscious extension of it? What do I truly value enough so that I will beyond these mere act?� concepts. We need to dive into the mix of it The core characteristic of all life is the constant all and appreciate the richness of it as one. flow of transformation And to do so we can and change, as well simply begin with small as a dynamic interplay local relationships between opposites. holding values of trust, When we separate tolerance, respect ecology, economy and combined with ecological society in our minds, wisdom. Then there we fail to see what lies
Re.Define - May 2013
24
is an opportunity of a wholesome emergence arising. If our thoughts and hearts dwell on creating meaningful lives through wholesome connection there is a chance of a collective shift. And to manifest that now and with us, we need a local action that realizes our collective
EDITORIAL
and a cooperative vision that learns from nature. To me, as an ecopsychologist, the only worthwhile growth is a personal development that can raise the collective consciousness towards compassion, generosity and care. Where prosperity is not money but a richness of relationships and a collective that knows that our well-being is deeply interconnected not only with other humans but also to all living beings. When we act from these values we act from the highest potential of cointelligence.
25
We need to grow ourselves beyond our egos towards ecological selves where we can live or be the values we want to see in the world. A dynamic living system welcomes all contradictions and polarities as the oscillations of aliveness. Cooperating can be slower and more irritating than solopioneering - but we need to move at the pace of the collective in a most tolerant way to help economy come back into its rightful place, within its home, the earth, the ecology, and us, humanity.
Megan de Beyer, Ecopsychologist & Leadership catalyst. www.megandebeyer.com; www.organicparenting.co.za http://ourendlessriver.wordpress.com/
Re.Define - May 2013
DISCOVERY DATING IS ON Over the next weeks we’ll have a series of Discovery Dates. To keep the momentum going, meeting you to learn about your plans and ideas is what we have to do now. Identifying partners who share the vision and are already working in the space is the next exciting step. If you are curious enough then let’s set a time and place to continue the conversation!
Your office? Our office in Woodstock Exchange? Your favourite coffee shop? Your call, our mission. More ways to connect and engage: If you’d to learn more about the actual Re.Define plan to date, please contact Claire or Lilian and we’ll happily share with you. If you just want to be kept in the loop, we’ll send out frequent progress updates. Please join the LinkedIn group for discussions, questions, connections in general. For concrete collective action, join us for 100 in 1 Day! Can’t wait to see you all! Invisible Sun CLAIRE MCGUINNESS agentmcguinness@gmail.com LILIAN SCHULZE lilian.schulze@gmail.com http://www.linkedin.com/groups/ReDefine
Re.Define - May 2013
25
26
CREDITS MADE POSSIBLE BY:
AND YOU ANDREW WHEELDON ANDY LE MAY ANTON RESSEL CHRISTOFFER LINDBLOM COLIN HABBERTON DANIEL NEVILLE EMMA KINGDON GALEO SAINTZ JAMES BAILES JOHN MCGUINNESS KATHY WATTERS LANCE BUCHAN MARC STEINLIN MATTI STRAUB-FISCHER MEGAN DE BEYER MELUSILE NDLOVU MICHAEL WEATHERHEAD MIKE FREEDMAN NAREN SEWPAUL SHANNON ROYDEN-TURNER SHAUN CONWAY SUNE STASSEN VIJAY MITHA ZARINA NTETA
andrew@benbikes.org.za andy.le.may@icologie.com antonressel@gmail.com christoffer@kaospilots.ch colin@givengain.com daniel@neville.za.net emmajkingdon@gmail.com galeo@galeosaintz.com james.bailes@investecmail.com mcguinness03@gmail.com kathy.watters@unltdsouthafrica.org lance@traderithm.com marc@i-p-k.co.za matti@kaospilots.ch mdebeyer@gmail.com melusile@sustainable.org.za michael.weatherhead@nef-consulting.co.uk mike@freedthinkers.com naren@creativefutures.co.za shannon@informalsouth.co.za shaun@resultslab.co sune@rockcityfoundation.co.za vijay@shaktienergy.net zarina@capetownpartnership.co.za
Re.Define - May 2013
Re.Define - May 2013