Plus Twenty

We've been lost in cyberspace since our old site at http://www.2024network.org went down, but 2024 has now made a new home for itself at the brand-spanking-new http://www.plus20.wordpress.com

Enjoy!

Here's our latest message to the world:

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On behalf of everyone involved with Beers without Borders and 2024, hope 2006 is treating you well.

The purpose of this email is to invite you to the next Beers without Borders (BwB)and to give you a brief update on Network 2024.

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The details of the next BwB are as follows:

Date: Friday, 19th May
Time: from 6-9pm
Location: Abercrombie Hotel
Adrs: Cnr of Abercrombie and Broadway, Broadway…

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So that's the Beers Without Borders story. What about 2024? Here are some brief notes from a planning meeting held recently about the future of Network 2024.

Background

The meeting was held because it was felt that Network 2024 had hit a stalemate. It was unclear what direction the network should take and though it continued to receive moral support, there was little focus on what should happen next and on whether the organisation had a future. Despite this problem, it was also felt that the Network had already had some success in the short term by:

* Encouraging people interested in social change to think long-term and plan their work,

* Building a network through Beers without Borders (BWB)

* Holding a number of successful workshops at events like the Students of Sustainability Conference in Melbourne and the Sydney Social forum.

The meeting began by proposing four main options:

1. lets forget the whole thing;

2. lets forget 2024 but keep BWB;

3. lets transform 2024 while keeping BWB; and

4. keep things in their current form.

Outcomes

From the beginning it was agreed that neither options 1 or 4 should be followed. It was also agreed that there was a need for a project such as Network 2024, and so 2 was also discounted. In summary, the following points were agreed by the attendees:

i. The name should be changed to reflect the fact there is no end date in such a project – we agreed that ‘Plus 20’ would be a more appropriate title;

ii. We should aim to be a bit of a hub for long-term thinking and planning. We could do this via the website where we build links with other groups. Specific campaigns are not our expertise and require too much work given our limited time and resources;

iii. There is a need to list the criteria for projects included or endorsed by the 2024 network. The following list was proposed:

* The project should be long term;

* It should be considered ‘progressive’;

* It should be about process and structural change; and

* It should be sustainable (that is, have enough people working on it)

iv. The niche 2024 should aim fill is to link topical-micro campaigns with longer-term, macro and what could be considered strategically important campaigns;

v. Network 2024 should also seek to build connections between campaigners/activists and commentators, policy makers, academics and philosophers.

vi. We need something to compliment Beers without Borders – like a big ideas and vision forum… what is your vision? This will provide the ‘permission to imagine’.

vii. We need something simple and succinct to explain to people what we are doing… we are creating spaces of hope for the future and fighting against fundamentalism of all kinds. Given the current state of federal politics, the attendees felt that the aim of Plus 20 has never been more important.

Please come along to the next BwB to discuss these issues and meet other like-minded people.

Please contact James or Miriam if you have any questions.

On the 31st May 2005 we had a meeting about what the first 6 topics for the 2024 ‘short papers’ should be. Around 20 people came along, and while we did come up with some potential topics, we also ended up spending a fair bit of time looking at broader issues of what 2024 should aim for and how it should work.

Here’s some very rough notes from that meeting:

What is 2024 really about?

“What we’re really looking at is redefining the core values and philosophy of society”
“2024 should be about gathering and distilling the wisdom of progressives and feeding it back to them”
“2024 should work with other groups to provide the language that will capture the hearts and minds of the voters”

• The challenge for 2024 to identify is how to best communicate ideas. How do we package these ideas and in what form? There is a possibility of using different types of storytelling. “The problem is that communication is not working. This website needs to take risks and it needs to be popular.”

• 2024 should not be reactionary, it should aim to always be on the front foot – so the challenge is to move to set the agenda.

• 2024 should act as a clearinghouse – mapping who is doing what, creating a taxonomy of different ideas that are achievable.

• 2024 could become a resource for organisations like Stand Up (the Australian Move On)

• There is a need to identify which other groups have ’20 year visions’ and learn from them.

Possible topics for papers are:

– What are the ‘articles of faith’ of our society – such as economic growth, progress etc? What are the assumptions behind these ideas, and how do they differ from the assumptions behind progressive ideas?
– (Same idea put another way.) What are Australia’s core values, what are our core values, and what’s the difference?
– What is a ‘progressive’?
– What divides progressives?
– What does ‘democracy’ mean? Deliberative democracy and how to achieve change in our political culture
– What does ‘community’ mean? How do we establish functioning neighbourhoods?
– What are the challenges facing us today: aging population; USA as a sole superpower; oil; global warming etc – how do we anticipate and plan for the inevitable?
– How should we structure the economy? Particularly around issues of the environment and water; health care; education; taxation; industrial relations? An aging society?
– The Australian environment: re-naturalising the city; the urban environment; how do we feed cities (e.g. Sydney)?
– How should we respond to terrorism?

Hi everyone…

The purpose of this email is to outline the plan for network-2024. This plan is based on the great deal of feedback that we have received regarding what the exact role of 2024 should be and how it can fill gaps in the current progressive movements in Australia.

It has been suggested that 2024 should exist on two levels. The first is a website that will be primarily focussed on strategic papers for progressive movements in Australia to consider. These will be short papers (somewhere between 2-4 pages) that will address carefully chosen questions that deal with how we can achieve progressive goals over the long term. The first set of papers will look at the question ‘what divides progressives?’ A meet-up is planned for May to discuss future questions & potential contributors. There is also a forum on the website for discussion of this issue, so that people outside Sydney can participate in choosing the topics and authors of future papers. Registered users will be able to comment on and debate the papers, with the aim of making each paper a ‘living document’ that is authored and reviewed by all who are interested rather than just a handful of people.

The website will be used as a ‘hub’ to promote events, articles and sites that have similar aims to 2024. Individuals will be invited to use the ‘blog’ function of the site to reflect on their personal ideas and experiences as progressive Australians working for long-term change.

The second level is to organise ‘beers without borders.’ – These will be informal meetings where people can discuss issues and expand their networks – though we will also be also inviting guests. The next Beers Without Borders will happen on Friday June 10^th, starting at 5:30 at the Abercrombie Hotel. We’re hoping that in the long-term Beers Without Borders might take off in a few other towns as well.

Please email us with your thoughts.

Thanks

James and Miriam