Roots of Change
Community Study for Local Action
Community Study
The problems we face today are vast, and sometimes our ability to influence them can seem frustratingly marginal. Working together with friends and neighbours to address the roots of problems - rather than symptoms - can make all the difference. This is the impetus behind our Roots of Change programme of guided community study. It is open to people of all ages, and requires no academic background. All that's needed is a willingness to question some of the assumptions underlying our faith in 'progress', and a desire to work for change.
The programme has three main goals:
- To encourage a broad analysis of the origins and workings of the global economy.
- To promote discussion of the impact of globalisation on participants' own communities, as well as on communities around the world.
- To generate strategies for effective local action.
ISEC helps to set up small local groups (usually with six to ten members), which meet once or twice a month to work through a curriculum based on the writings of the world's leading ecological thinkers and activists. There are no 'teachers', although most groups choose one of their members-sometimes on a rotational basis-to act as facilitator. ISEC staff are available throughout the programme, both to provide logistical support and to suggest avenues for further study.
"The readings challenge me to reconsider things I ignore or take for granted, and help to counteract the mesmerizing effect of everyday life in urban America."
Diana Young, Berkeley, CA
From study to action
More often than not, groups progress naturally from discussion to action, typically choosing to start projects that help to strengthen their local economy. Some groups have organised farmers' markets or local currencies, others have started community newsletters or arranged cultural exchange initiatives. Many groups continue to meet long after they have finished the readings.
"Taking part in an ISEC study group was very supportive and empowering, giving me the confidence to get involved in local action."
Pam Hine, Devon, UK
The curriculum in brief
- What insights into sustainability can we gain from traditional cultures? What does 'development' really mean? What is 'progress'?
- The 'engines' of progress: technology, conventional economic thinking, formal schooling and corporate power.
- Globalisation and the spread of the consumer monoculture.
- Resistance and renewal: shifting direction to rebuild community and reconnect with the land.
Plans for the future include a Roots of Change newsletter, allowing participants to share ideas and experiences. We will also be organising regional workshops, giving groups the opportunity to meet face-to-face.
If you are interested in joining (or starting) a group, please contact our US or UK office and ask for a Roots of Change information pack.