Welcome. Thank you for being here: for exploring this proposal to establish a Regional People’s Assembly (specifically, a Regional Holocratic Assembly) – as well as Local Holocratic Assemblies – in and throughout the Northern Rivers.
The People’s Assembly is – by various names – the primary vehicle, the key civil organization, used by the global ‘Real Democracy’ movement and by participatory democracies worldwide for the self-organization of the People.
The ‘holocratic’ assembly is distinguished by its use of two of humanity’s most proven organizational models for working collaboratively in an ethics-based, transparent, horizontal, egalitarian and harmoniously fruitful manner (these being Sociocracy and the ‘Blueprint of WE Collaboration Document’). Please see Volume Four: The Holocratic Circle for further clarification.
The purpose for establishing Regional and Local Holocratic Assemblies throughout the Northern Rivers is to facilitate the well-informed, powerfully self-organized collaboration of community members now required in order to best ensure a sustainable, healthy and prosperous future the people of the Northern Rivers.
As a regional community, we are eminently endowed to realize our common aspirations – and also to provide a beacon of hope, an inspiring working model of sustainable and equitable practice to a world that, frankly speaking, totters on the tipping-point. Our assets are many and great. We are one of Australia’s prime life-style regions – due to the region’s great scenic amenity and the health and cultural vibrancy of the community. Residents of the Northern Rivers have and continue to demonstrate in many ways our sincere commitment to safe-guarding and enhancing the region’s natural environment and resources, biodiversity values and the well-being of the entire community.
In the Northern Rivers, we have well-researched, excellent sustainability and inclusivity plans – and a host of sophisticated government, business and non-government organizations involved in realizing their goals. There is so much valuable knowledge gathered together and such sincere and active commitment focused towards ensuring the long-term well-being of our community and the natural environment upon which we depend.
And still, there are serious problems. Even in the Northern Rivers, let alone the planet of which we are a part, efforts to achieve the sustainable and genuinely democratic society of common aspiration fall short: this is a failing of unsupportable consequence.
In 1992, some 1,700 of the world’s leading scientists, including the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences, issued an appeal – the ‘World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity’, stating:
“Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.
“No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished.
“A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.
“Five inextricably linked areas must be addressed simultaneously:
“We must bring environmentally damaging activities under control to restore and protect the integrity of the earth’s systems we depend on.
“We must, for example, move away from fossil fuels to more benign, inexhaustible energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the pollution of our air and water.
“We must halt deforestation, injury to and loss of agricultural land, and the loss of terrestrial and marine plant and animal species.
“We must manage resources crucial to human welfare more effectively.
“We must give high priority to efficient use of energy, water, and other materials, including expansion of conservation and recycling.
“We must stabilize population.”
1992 World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity
On November 13, 2017, the American Institute of Biological Sciences issued a follow-up statement: ‘World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice‘, stating:
“On the twenty-fifth anniversary of [the scientific community’s ‘first notice’], we look back at their warning and evaluate the human response by exploring available time-series data. Since 1992, with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.”
Planning for the Inaugural Holocratic Regional Assembly – Northern Rivers
Residents of the Northern Rivers interested in being involved in establishing and working within Regional and Local People’s Asemblies in and throughout the Northern Rivers Region are warmly invited to confirm their interest by:
leaving a comment to such effect below
joining the Northern Rivers Regional Assembly HERE
joining the Facebook Group: Regional Holocratic Assembly – Northern Rivers HERE
contributing to online discussions on tactical matters HERE.
AGENDA
The purpose of the Assembly, as noted above, is to provide a powerful civil vehicle for the community to self-organize so as to further well-informed, focused and effective collaborative actions aimed at realizing common aspirations. A strong organization requires strong foundations and dedicated teams: the following proposals are aimed at developing these…
ONE
Establish explicit Ethical Guidelines and Priorities for the Assembly.
Draft documents have been prepared and submitted for Assembly Participants’ consideration, improvement and ultimate endorsement. Please view and provide your feedback and suggestions following the links provided below:
RHA-NR Core Values and Ethical Guidelines
RHA-NR Vision, Mission and Priorities
TWO
Form Working Groups to Address the Assembly’s Priorities
It is proposed that the Northern Rivers Assembly promote cross-sectoral whole-community engagement aimed at realizing common aspirations by self-organizing to further
1) the Priorities identified in the ‘Northern Rivers Joint Organization Strategic Plan’ (currently informing the collaborative efforts of the region’s 6 councils, businesses and wider community)
2) when and wherever such is deemed necessary and expedient, the Priorities identified for the Global Holocratic Assembly.
Please see the proposed: RHA-NR Vision, Mission and Priorities.
Each working group would be responsible for:
1) Familiarizing itself with the relevant sections of the Northern Rivers Joint Organization Strategic Plan and other associated plans, as well as supporting documents, websites, partner organizations, etc relevant to each working group’s Priority
2) Researching and familiarizing itself with the challenges to overcome, the opportunities to grasp and the best-practice methods to utilize so as to best ensure that stated objectives are, in fact, realized
3) Designing and presenting fine-tuned proposals for Participants in the Regional and/or Local Assemblies to endorse and implement, thereby facilitating the community’s meaningful participation in effectively furthering worthy goals.
[Download your own copy of the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation Strategic Regional Priorities 2019-2022 / the NRJO Strategic Plan: go to https://www.northernriversjo.nsw.gov.au/priorities-and-projects].
Register as a Member of the RHA-NR HERE
You are warmly encouraged to share your views regarding this civil society initiative, and to offer any feedback for the improvement of its presentation and orientation. Please use the Comments below.
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