Localization Forums, Caucuses and 2009 Convention
We request your input on this draft proposal. It is offered as one potential strategy for carrying out a Localization Education/Organizing Campaign. It centers around a series of events where people from a broad cross-section of sectors and communities would take part, forming their own ideas, goals, and strategies for pursuing a more localized, resilient, and equitable economy. This strategy would help build a constituency in the Bay Area for enacting pro-local policies at the municipal and regional level. Ideally it would also serve as a foundation for creating institutions and systems that will forward localization on the political, economic, and community levels.
PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW
We are especially interested in ideas to refine this proposal as well as what communities, events, organizations, and funding sources might be interested in participating. Thank you for your input!
EVENTS:
- FORUMS: Hold one or more discussion forums (“salons”) with people from different communities, key allies, and thought leaders focusing on what localization means and identifying where common ground exists. A facilitated, open space format would be preferred. We would partner with an organization working on behalf of communities of color to co-host and co-facilitate, with a goal of having a diverse cross-section of participants.
- CAUCUSES: Caucuses would be convenings of public officials, businesses, CBOs, local experts, and concerned citizens with the goal of developing localization policy objectives and ideas/metrics for achieving them.
- Bay Localize and key partners would bring ideas on potential goals and policy tools. The caucus members will add to these, refine them, and decide on the most appropriate goals for their communities.
- The caucuses would be held in conjunction with other events that are already planned (e.g., Peak Oil & Climate Conference, The Big One, Slow Food Nation).
- These could be themed around key areas of concern: energy, water, food, and materials reuse/manufacturing, mobility/proximity, etc.
- Ideally, we would also have a cross-cutting representation from the public, private, and community benefit sectors.
- The format of the caucus would support deliberative decision making and could be as technical as a 21st Century Town Meeting or as low-tech as the caucuses in Iowa. Other possibilities include charettes and consensus conferences. The main purpose is that the format should support joint decision making and the integration of diverse points of view
- Each caucus would lay the foundation for a regional Localization Convention.
- LOCALIZATION CONVENTION: This culminating event (or series of events!) would bring together caucus-goers and others from around the Bay Area. One idea for a convention format would have participants serve as delegates from each county who would debate, re-craft, and eventually ratify an agreed-upon set of localization goals to take back to the City Councils of their cities or towns (e.g., specifying localization production and social justice targets and policy tools to meet them). Selected delegates would form a Bay Area Localization Council that would meet regularly to develop new localization policies and strategies for implementation throughout our region.
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:
The forum(s) would be framed as groundbreaking, cross-community innovation for change. As a meeting of thought leaders from disparate groups, utilizing a cutting-edge convening format, and with the aim of cooperatively addressing society’s gravest problems, the event could have wide appeal. Targeted coverage would be primarily local. Material would lend itself best to longer formats such as journal, magazine, and documentary video media. Example media outlets: SF Bay Guardian, Race Poverty & Environment, Earth Island Journal, local television news.
The caucuses would benefit from their attachment to existing events, which will have a certain amount of media interest already built-in. The opportunity would have to be actively capitalized on and magnified by independent outreach to ensure coverage of the caucus itself. The Slow Food Nation conference represents a particular opportunity to solicit high-profile, potentially national media coverage. Framing of caucuses would be community organizing around resources in question (e.g. food) and taking personal conviction beyond individual action/consumerism.
The culminating localization convention has the potential to attract high-profile local decision-makers and thought leaders, with the potential to secure serious media coverage both locally and nationally. The event would be framed as a groundbreaking and radical meeting of leaders with the intention of essentially bypassing conventional economic wisdom, established protocol and centralized government bodies. This would be salient, timely, potentially controversial and excellent fodder for conventional news outlets and progressive media alike. Example media outlets: San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, local television news stations, SF Bay Guardian, Mother Jones, The Nation.
TOOLKIT INTEGRATION:
A Localization Toolkit could be launched (and presented) in stages over the course of this series as a working document with a few concrete ideas (i.e., personal to municipal-level localization strategies) to help seed the discussions (both online and off). We could synthesize what we know about what different people, organizations, and communities are doing to push local clean energy, local food, etc. as the basis for much of the Toolkit. The forums and other events will provide the vital feedback we need to revise and further develop the Toolkit. By the time of the convention, it would contain a much richer set of localization policies and ideas.
PARTNERSHIP/FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES:
With the correct framing, the convention could be rich for fundraising and creating partnerships. Many foundations are interested in funding collaborations between organizations. This effort will bring a lot of diverse communities and organizations together to establish a shared policy platform, common goals, and metrics. By enrolling organizations in a common goal and a shared policy platform, we increase the likelihood that the desired outcomes will occur.
Partnership Opportunities
We already have a dormant coalition that was formed for the Campaign for Bay Area Localization (CBAL): BALLE, IFG, Redefining Progress, Center for Sustainable Economies , PCI, and Bay Localize. Additionally, we could invite literally hundreds of community groups, organizations focused on some aspect of localization, environmental orgs, social justice orgs, health organizations, local businesses, and government entities and agencies to participate in specific caucuses and the convention.
Fundraising Possibilities
- Major donors
- Foundations: foundations focused on ecological, equity, and/or economic issues in the Bay Area; foundations focused on climate change, peak oil response, increasing civic participation among minority and low-income communities, etc…
- Agencies: BAAQMD grants to curb climate change (up to $75,000).
- House parties: The hosts invite their friends, neighbors, and associates, and one or more Bay Localize (or convention promoter) person shows up to lead a discussion on a vision of a more localized future based on the type of goals that will be determined through the caucus and convention process, as well as potentially creating a mini-forum on how they imagine their community and lives evolving in this context. We would accept donations and the host would be considered to have donated an amount to cover their expenses.
Comments
Trainings and Political Opportunities
This is great. Well done. The only dimensions I would add are two. Under Events, I would also add “Trainings” as a category with the idea that we offer multi-dimensional training to future localization activists to give them the media, political, research, organizing etc. tools they need to keep spreading the word and making localization viral. I would also add a component called “Political Opportunities” to make sure we have people monitoring everything Congress, the statehouse, county commissions, and city councils are doing to either promote the old model of globalization (which should be resisted) or the new model of localization (which should be cultivated and encouraged). That’s it. Good work! John Talberth
Comment by John Talberth February 8, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
House Party Potlucks!
Regarding the house parties: they could also be potlucks! Let me know if you are interested in hosting a house party. Dave Room
Comment by daveroom February 8, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
Envisioning Community
I would also explicitly add the activity of “envisioning their community in 2050? to the Forum events. The caucus events could also use some visioning as well. Dave Room
Comment by daveroom February 10, 2008 @ 11:09 am
Prioritize Localization Policies and Benchmarks
I support this strategy and would like to know more details. I see how the caucuses would relate to the “culminating event(s)” convention, but how do the forums relate to the caucuses?
Also, it strikes me that a potentially powerful outcome would be a prioritization of localization policies along with the “localization goals”/benchmarks.
Finally, great partner(s) would be venues willing to host gatherings at discounted rates or pro bono.
Localize it!
Comment by Kevin Bayuk February 10, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
Harness the Potential for Collaboration
Nice!
You could go with targeted media such as: Discovery Channel, Peak Moments (TV/ Video), Reclocalize.net, stream our own radio and video on-line with partners like Urth.tv Current.tv and friction.tv, and More. On the home front grass roots style engaging with community members to make zines, and pieces for the DIY TV on the streets!! Making a game out of finding the media/ material (to tell a story) through a scavenger hunt ;) And having the documentation being illustrated with the notes during the conference could be quite nice addition and appealing to the eye.
Question…
Are you going to be building off the Ecocities conference this April? The Digital BE-IN is doing the 15th anniversary for a night event in conjunction with this conference- and you know they involve the media and have a focus in both rising technology, media, and the environment. “Localize it!” will be a nice attractor for the media already present at this conference.
Although you have a good list (SF Bay Guardian, Race Poverty & Environment, Earth Island Journal, local television news), let’s really get the word out there and have fun with it!
With the tool kit, and synthesizing what we know about what different people, organizations, and communities are doing to push local clean energy, local food, etc. It would be good to showcase collaborations and process for those groups (so the group process isn’t a shocker for those new to it ie: personalities/ styles) and to exemplify the world of possibilities and to subversively encourage engagement of the local resources within a community. A great example is the Alameda County Community Food Bank who works with statewide and national anti-hunger organizations to support legislation addressing low-income people’s food needs. They have 300 organizations they work with addressing a NEED, food security.
We need to show the NEED for communities and governments to create the foundation for creating institutions and systems that will forward localization on the political, economic, and community levels. Using the Alameda County Community Food Bank as a larger program on track to the food security issue, we can build off what the city-scale need is to localizing food, energy, etc. Give me some people and I’ll make a comical- yet real skit.
Lastly we need to have a master calendar that links to all the org’s involvements for events happening in the Bay- all the way from the South bay to the city, the East and North to heighten awareness of the events and recognition of where we can maximize support. I know Conexions and Sustainovation in the South Bay along with UAS and WISER earth, Greg Wendt plus many others are chompin at the bit to see this meta-calendar happen. Cheers to integration!!
Overall I must say this is some Great work! Fantastic!!
*I will be there to help with the production of these events and keep it movin and groovin!! Call on me when you need. I’d even help with house parties and support the localization conversations, would be good to partner with MoveOn.org, Pachamama, or like-minded org’s.
Thanks for sharing, I’m honored to be part of this process and share as localization and community building are my passion. I’d love to pass this conference information on.
thanks for being you and sharing what you do!
–Kachina Katrina*
Comment by Kachina Katrina* February 11, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
Get Caucus-Goers in for the Long Haul
This is a fantastic idea and I hope it can get going ASAP. Given that politicians like to take credit for great ideas, how about partnering from the start with the Green Corridor concept being promoted by Berkeley, UCB and Richmond. Right now, it’s just a nice idea but this convention could help give it some teeth (in fact, DEMAND that it have teeth and not be a mere PR greenwash).
I’m a little concerned that the drawn out and highly structured nature of caucuses could be off-putting to people with limited time and especially in a state that does not have a tradition of caucusing for elections, making the whole thing seem unfamiliar. But I’m also intrigued by the idea as a way of maximizing input. As long as the organizers of the caucus are in it for the long haul and are careful to organize in such a way as not to cover the same ground twice, I think it could work well.
Comment by Erica Etelson February 12, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Engage People Into Action
This is really excellent.
Here’s how I’m thinking about things.
The ultimate job to do is engage people into some sort of action. For the moment, let’s say that each person/neighborhood determines what’s appropriate for them but at least they are doing something. The question still is: how do measure how prepared we are? How do we say, “That neighborhood still needs someone to step up and organize it?”
There are still some big issues to sort out, but I’m going to throw in an organizing tool I’ve been working on. We should set up a demo.
Comment by Andre Angelantoni February 15, 2008 @ 7:11 pm
Gaining Broader Involvement
Would like to add a dimension to the proposal to get broader involvement. Reading the comments folks have provided - great ideas for individuals with lots of time to dedicate. I'm part of a neighborhood association that struggles to get individuals involved and the key thing we've learned is people are not inclined to get involved if they believe it will take a lot of their time.
The salons are good ideas - maybe even series of workhops/trainings/meetings that are self-contained and run for no more than 2-3 hours on weekend. A good model would be stopwaste.org's bay friendly gardening trainings/workshops. Individuals can then be 'armed' with knowledge and information they can apply in their own lives without feeling like they're being 'roped in' to do more than they have time for. Provides education and actionable tasks for the community and then, when broader support is needed for political action, the community members are already informed/educated on the issues and can even do outreach within their community.
Great ideas - and I too would love to be involved but between the multiple Non-profit volunteer work, work-work, and classes 3 nights a week - alas I'm now one of those people who don't 'have time' to commit.