Abbe Boulah’s Weblog

(Part of a discussion on Linked In: A diagram describing the overall framework of suggested response to the UN Secretary’s call.

There will be a variety of
LOCAL, INDIVIDUAL, SMALL SCALE, EXPERIMENTAL INITIATIVES
(‘SKUNKWORKS’)
They will vary according to the topic they address (agriculture, energy, education…)
and according to their degree of comprehensiveness:
(Some will be ‘single-issue’ efforts, others will have to address most or all of
societal components, even in small scale projects)
Though some such efforts will try to remain more independent than others, a global effort should accompany these, having basically three functions:

1. COORDINATION / INFORMATION- SHARING / TRANSLATION
This part will coordinate efforts, collect and share information, help in securing funding, track performance of each initiative, and translate not only the information between different languages but also between different mental and ideological models.

2. ORCHESTRATE THE DISCOURSE
and
3. EDUCATION

The discourse must attempt to clarify direction, approaches, research, principles and values
that require mutual translation, discussion, negotiation towards a set of common agreements; for none of which it can be taken for granted that a common, universally acceptable framework already exists. It calls for discussion with as comprehensive participation as possible.
These problems, agreements, attitudes, solutions and remaining unresolved issues must be presented to as wide a global audience as possible, aiming at the necessary transformation (of minds, skills, attitudes) through education. Again, this should not be seen as an effort to impose one view or paradigm on everybody, but as an effort to inform people of the issues, differences, and to encourage them to find cooperative means of resolving conflicts and achieving common tasks.

Both DISCOURSE and EDUCATION address a common set of topics or themes, paths (this is one example where vocabulary differs and needs translation); even the listing of topics is currently open to discussion — the cake can be sliced in several different ways. It can be argued that the overlap and connections between them are really what we are seeking to understand.
One tentative list is:
– Values, principles, direction, ethics
– Governance, power
– Food / Water / Agriculture
– Energy
– Infrastructure
– Economy: Money, finance.
Etc.