Date/Time
Date(s) - 21/05/2020
1:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Location
The Create Centre
Our economic system is retarding attempts to create environments that enable social and environmental wellbeing. Although there have undoubtedly been improvements over the years we are witnessing a period where economic inequalities are increasing, precarious work is becoming the norm and social and personal insecurities are fuelling serious mental health problems in all sectors of society.
When combined with the prospects of catastrophic climate change and biodiversity loss the present moment is one demanding fundamental system change that goes beyond the limited impacts of individual behaviour modification – recycling plastic, driving less, etc.
We need to take serious action at a range of levels. We need new ways of doing business and of making decisions that lever massive change to ensure that people, communities and the wider ecological environment are able to survive and flourish. The imperatives of economic growth need to be replaced by the imperatives of economic well-being, democracy, social ownership, responsible technology, ecological stewardship, ethical markets, green finance, and participatory and deliberative democracy.
Programme For The Day
13.30 Session One: William Morris and the Well-Being Economy
Introduction – Presentation and discussion on William Morris’s views on well-being, private property, technology, work, the economy and the instinct for freedom (John Blewitt)
14.15 Session Two: Levering Change in a Time of Crisis
The well-being economy in a global context. The value of systems thinking. Tools for structural change. Politics of political ecology. (Jenneth Parker/Ian Roderick)
15.00 Break and informal chats
15.15 Session Three: Practical action – multi-scalar approach
Introduction to Discussion groups on different themes such as – food growing, cultural diversity, meaningful work, clean community energy, local economic development and decision making, ecological regeneration, sustainable finance, etc JP, JDB + IR
16.00 Session Four: Feedback, action points, research options, and future actions.
16.25 Summary and Dissemination John Blewitt & Jenneth Parker
16.30 Close