The Livelihoods2020 group aims to help ourselves and our community work towards a healthy, resilient and sustainable economy in the face of Climate Change and Peak Oil.
We are a group of people who care about the future of our community, in which businesses are key members. There is a core who come regularly to meetings; others contribute by sharing ideas by email, by promoting the group and the issues wherever they can or via our group pages on the Transition Brighton & Hove website forum (click on 'usergroups' at the top to join), which feature discussion, resources and ideas. We have plenty of imagination but we don't know where this journey will take us or how to get there. Can you help us make it interesting, fun, and successful?
Join in, in whichever way you can. All input is very welcome; we need many people with a variety of backgrounds and talents, to carry this project forward and make it worthwhile. Please also get in contact with us if you'd like to discuss the risks, opportunities and strategies related to your organisation and the economy, in the face of Climate Change and Peak Oil.
To see all events/information on this website relating to this group, click here.
Meeting day/time
The group meets from 6.30-8.00pm on the second Wednesday of every month, normally at Brighton Media Centre, 68 Middle St, Brighton, followed by drinks in a nearby pub.
Contacting the group
Email: livelihoods2020*at*transitionbrightonandhove.org.uk
Phone: Martin Grimshaw on 01273 202339 / 07891 571739
Aims & Principles
We aim to- Generate excitement around the idea of the community re-thinking our city’s future, in the face of climate uncertainties, rising energy costs , declining resource availability and economic turmoil, so as to meet our needs more effectively.
- Help nurture a thriving and resilient economy, with all stakeholders empowered to participate in creating the local economy we want, rooted in genuine social, economic and environmental sustainability, with an ecological footprint consistent with the principle of One Planet Living.
- Nurture and support a city-wide network focused on the transition to a low carbon economy, working with and supporting all other groups.
- Encourage and value the development of skills which will increase local resilience.
- Help Brighton & Hove to be a shining beacon of best practice, of interest to others far and wide.
Principles
- This group works to support the aims and principles of Transition Brighton and Hove and the Transition Network.
- We recognise that there are many barriers to achieving the aims of this group. While resisting those interests working contrary to our aims might be important, the focus of this group is on reaching out, working constructively and influencing all groups. We recognise the need for protest, but leave that to other groups.
- We recognise that wealth is more than money and relates more to health and the quality of life, and the richness of our natural, human and social resources, we therefore encourage the use of more comprehensive indicators of a prosperous economy than GDP, growth, profit or turnover. We recognise the negative consequences of excessive income inequality.
- A healthy society and economy is fair and inclusive, where basic needs are met and where trust, respect, equality are valued.
- We seek to 'break once and for all the link between economic development and environmental degradation'; we see sustainability as maintaining and enhancing the quality of all life, while using resources carefully.
- We need to facilitate and enable the transition from old to new paradigms and methods; in this we face a design challenge, of matching our money system, economy, forms of ownership, and business models with our values, natural limits and essential needs.
- It has been demonstrated that businesses that value what they do, rather than focus solely on profit, tend to be successful. We encourage business moving towards serving the community, with a sense of purpose, greater than simply profit, and not at the mercy of, or subordinate to, stock markets or shareholders.
- We seek to find the right balance between local, regional and centralised economic activity in the face of increasing transport and energy costs. We especially support the need for more self-reliant local economies that provide sustainable livelihoods.
- We use Formal Consensus as a tool for working toward our shared goal, encouraging and respecting the ideas and concerns of everyone, to produce the best possible work together - www.consensus.net
First Steps
We need to reach out and engage with the community, in order to raise awareness and generate support for our work with an active and diverse membership. In doing so, we will listen to the needs of others that we engage with, and work with other groups with similar aims rather than duplicating their efforts.
A key step will be to assess local vulnerabilities to oil dependency, climate change and carbon limits and the problems, barriers, opportunities in making the necessary and desired changes.
All project ideas will be tested against the group's aims and consideration of the best use of our time and energy
Our work is rooted in the Transition Communities model developed Rob Hopkins, as described very well in The Transition Handbook - from oil dependency to local resilience - Green Books, 2008 - Available in good bookshops (place an order if not available) or via books*AT*transitionbrightonandhove.org.uk
