Getting through The Great Bottleneck

What on earth is going on? Why is the biosphere in collapse? Why are there more wars? Why are division, populism and the far right growing, with democracy in decline? Why are living standards collapsing? What is going to happen to my life, family, community, country and world over the next 5, 10, and 30 years? Can we avoid things getting worse? What on earth can I do, both in terms of the big picture, but also for those I love?

This interactive and participatory session will take a unique look at our complex and interlinked world today. The first third of the evening will be a combination of systems theory and data analysis to map eleven key ‘themes’ of our day (inequality, populism, demographics, breakdown of rules based order, digital, ecology and more...), and crucially, how they relate to each other. The feedback loops at play now and that have driven big moments in the past, both beautiful and horrific, and what they mean for our moment in history. This is powerful and (relatively) novel because our knowledge sector today - academia, research, journalism, etc - is structurally siloed and so unable to apprehend how the big issues governing our world today interrelate.

This is NOT about doom and gloom, but practical and joyous 'what nexts' for everyday people!!! The findings are arresting, as what is actually happening in our world doesn’t tell an easy story. We're all feeling the trauma of whats going on... But this honest session will be clear on the facts, will be carefully designed to hold us in resilience and care as we go through, and is grounded in a love for and trust in the potential of human nature and spirit. The second two sessions will be focused on sharing and holding together, and what the clear and practical solutions are we can engage with, a participatory exploration of how we can shepherd a better world. We'll also be setting up a support group for all those who attend to hold each other through the coming months.

* There will be FREE plant based food, tea and coffee for all! *

Agenda

1. Welcome, tea / coffee, intro: 6.30pm - 6.45pm
2. What has been happening, is happening, and what is likely to happen (talk format): 6.45pm - 7.30pm
3. Holding, breakouts, listening (conversations and joint activities in groups of 10 max, each held by a team member), with food: 7.30pm - 8.15pm
4. What can we do: Held and interactive sessions exploring the three main realms of activity (Mitigation, Sowing seeds, Building personal and community resilience): 8.15pm - 9pm
5. What next: Offering a whatsapp group for collective care and future conversations, and where next for this offering. 9pm - 9.10pm
6. Open chats and convos with tea and biscuits for anyone who wants to stay: 9.10-10pm

Location: The Somerville. A cornerstone of community life in south east London since 1971, a free space where children and young people play, build, create, and belong. Spanning half an acre on the border of New Cross and Peckham, Somerville combines high-quality youth work with adventure and play. Through Somerville Rising, we are reimagining the playground as a youth-led centre for climate resilience, wellbeing, and community connection, supporting young people to take the lead, develop practical skills, and shape projects that respond to the issues they care about. Our Upcycling Academy, Food Sharing Projects and other hands-on programmes bring people together to learn, make, and repurpose

Workshop hosted by Tom Bailey and colleagues. Tom has spent 19 years working in the environment space. In the private sector (Arup) as a sustainability consultant in the UK and China, 6 years as Head of Research at a global climate NGO (C40 Cities) in the UK and US, and then left to co-create a charity trying to encourage joyous, science based community action on climate, and bridging the division between people and communities, called Take the Jump. He also led the climate and energy policy development for the Labour Party at the 2019 election (large parts of which have now been adopted by the current government), and launched a report in parliament with Ed Miliband in 2022 outlining how to eco-retrofit every home in the UK.