TOOLKIT
ENGAGE
There's a time when silence becomes betrayal. That time is now
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Although small actions all count, true systemic change within our political and economic systems will require a shift from individual to group or collective efforts. We all know that actions like going to the bottle bank will not save the world by themselves.
The Web of Hope has always been concerned with this shift from individual to collective action and has identified three core areas where we can all use the resources we have at our fingertips to precipitate more fundamental change - using our money, our voice and our role within the community in the most effective ways possible.
MONEY
Every time we shop we are casting a vote for potential change. Seek out organic, local and fair trade products wherever possible and consult the following links for advice on informed ethical shopping.
www.greenconsumerguide.com
High street banks invest our savings in industries that many of us oppose, from arms to biotechnology and nuclear power. By moving our savings to an ethical bank and a variety of ethical investment funds, we ensure that our money ceases to support many of these practices.
www.triodos.co.uk
www.smile.co.uk
VOICE
The ever-decreasing turn-outs at democratic elections highlights the pervasive feeling of disempowerment that has become almost endemic. However, there are channels open to us which we can all use to influence the mainstream political process.
For example, strategic letter-writing campaigns to your local MP can have a major impact. Go to www.faxyourmp.com to send a fax directly from your computer or, even better, write a personal letter.
Find your local MP at www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm
COMMUNITY
Working as atomised units, while confronted with the enormity of the issues we face, can appear overwhelming. However, when we come together as a group, the dynamics change and 'the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts'. We not only feel a sense of connection and belonging with others, we also reinforce our resolve to be the catalysts for change.
If you know other members of your local community who feel passionate about any shared issue, why not come together, discuss it and see what evolves? Many of the Hopes highlighted on our Resource had their origins within just such a process.
The possibilities are limitless, from starting a wind-power co-operative (www.cat.org.uk) to an alternative currency (www.openmoney.org), from supporting a Community Supported Agriculture Scheme (CSA) (www.soilassociation.org) to starting a Forest School where children can have real contact with the natural world (www.bishopswoodcentre.org.uk).