COMMUNITIESEnable people to work together towards common goals. Networking business models, design collectives, eco villages - communities are powerful change makers for sustainable futures.Communities hold a central position for solving challenges of both environmental, social and economic sustainability. Physical and virtual networks have demonstrated their powers as tools for promoting rapid change and connecting people on shared visions. Sustainability in ActionMany findings show that a majority of people want to take sustainable actions. But they need a framework (workplace, neighbourhood, family, hobby, interest group etc.) in where to connect their energy and ideas and engage with like-minded individuals.In this context communities represent an ancient and timeless recipe for sustainable innovation that has shown its worth throughout history. Communities are excellent platforms for enabling changes among larger group of individuals. And the good news is that tools for deliberate and rapid community building have improved greatly through new means of communication and interaction. So we already see it and are likely to experience community driven change initiatives on both a small and larger scale. Beyond the Virtual Community
Whereas the internet-powered forums have taken up a lot of headlines on the community agenda, it is clear that the future lies a step beyond. The physically rooted community as enacted by a city, village or work place is the ultimate scenery for actually implementing new ideas and solutions on a practical and concrete level.We therefore see signs of a re-emergence and rennaissance of local communities, where people move together based on interests, start to connect more actively in the local environment or through spare time activities. It also includes the design and startup of work-collectives and cooperative enterprises, where people share a profession and worklife guided by a particular (sustainable) vision. Moving OnContinuing this process and offering new conceptes and structures for community based innovation can be a major area for sustainable growth in the future.Cities, villages and existing organisations hold a special potential as there are already established structures present that simply need to guide its efforts in a "sustainable" direction. And maybe the greatest opportunity will be to connect with the energy of the manifold of local and global movements that have already set into motion on a broad scale the latest years, among people across cultures, age-groups and different fields of professions - to unite on a common goal of rethinking our society and transformning our way of living onto a higher level. Take ActionCo·Creative offers strategic consulting services and assistance on the development and communication of sustainable community solutions.We also run creative workshops and camps for people-driven innovation activities. Please contact Project Developer & Director, Søren Femmer Jensen for more info: +45 30 279 111 / soren@cocreative.com |
|
Explore other sustainable solutions:         |
