Trying to clarify ideas behind gap and suggestions for next times

I like this - it is "organic" - the meaning of "organic" in Philosophy is:-

"having an organization similar in its complexity to that of living things".

Of course anything derived directly from living things can be messy at first, but gradually it comes together in a definite living form which works and is sustainable and reproduces itself down the generations.

An organic process does not have experts, or stakeholders - so it is right to work to avoid the tendency of humans to gravitate towards experts and stakeholders.  

I was in the Childhood GAP because I think we have created a world where children cannot roam and play freely as they used to.  Everyone says so if they are over 50 - and those who are under 50 feel the loss of something they never had, they just know it is not there because it has been part of humanity for thousands of years and you can't wipe out the memory of it from human DNA.  50 years ago children could be happy even if they were poor - because they could play and explore freely in the environment around their home.  Now they are disturbed and anxious, because they are prisoners - even if they are in wealthy families.  They cannot roam freely on their own, or with other children.  In England we have something called the "Right To Roam" which is a right for adult walkers to cross farmland and other private property on public footpaths.  But children have lost their Right To Roam, because of cars and other things which make the environment unsafe for children.

The environment is also unsafe for many plant and animal species.  It is like the water in the spa baths of the town in Ibsen's play, "An Enemy of the People".  It is poisoned by industrial effluent - but you cannot say so - if you do, the whole town will rise up against you because they all earn their living from the industries or from tourism to the spa.  So you cannot say that the spa is toxic.

In the Degrowth movement we have all tried to say for years that the spa water is toxic - but no-one is listening.  So perhaps instead we need to demonstrate actively that the only people worth listening to now are children, animals and plants.  So I think all the GAP groups should focus, whatever the topic, on how the topic could be transformed so that it makes life better for children, animals and plants. I note in particular this sentence from the above article by Francois Schneider:

"The idea is here to understand concerns of each other, but also non-represented ones (like ecosystems or future generations) need to be voiced."

If we Degrowthers actively demonstrate how the focus of attention can be turned on its head to put children, animals and plants FIRST in all topics of the GAP groups - then perhaps others outside the Degrowth movement will follow this example, because one thing we do know about all humans is that they learn by example and imitation.  

I like this - it is "organic" - the meaning of "organic" in Philosophy is:-

"having an organization similar in its complexity to that of living things".

Of course anything derived directly from living things can be messy at first, but gradually it comes together in a definite living form which works and is sustainable and reproduces itself down the generations.

An organic process does not have experts, or stakeholders - so it is right to work to avoid the tendency of humans to gravitate towards experts and stakeholders.  

I was in the Childhood GAP because I think we have created a world where children cannot roam and play freely as they used to.  Everyone says so if they are over 50 - and those who are under 50 feel the loss of something they never had, they just know it is not there because it has been part of humanity for thousands of years and you can't wipe out the memory of it from human DNA.  50 years ago children could be happy even if they were poor - because they could play and explore freely in the environment around their home.  Now they are disturbed and anxious, because they are prisoners - even if they are in wealthy families.  They cannot roam freely on their own, or with other children.  In England we have something called the "Right To Roam" which is a right for adult walkers to cross farmland and other private property on public footpaths.  But children have lost their Right To Roam, because of cars and other things which make the environment unsafe for children.

The environment is also unsafe for many plant and animal species.  It is like the water in the spa baths of the town in Ibsen's play, "An Enemy of the People".  It is poisoned by industrial effluent - but you cannot say so - if you do, the whole town will rise up against you because they all earn their living from the industries or from tourism to the spa.  So you cannot say that the spa is toxic.

In the Degrowth movement we have all tried to say for years that the spa water is toxic - but no-one is listening.  So perhaps instead we need to demonstrate actively that the only people worth listening to now are children, animals and plants.  So I think all the GAP groups should focus, whatever the topic, on how the topic could be transformed so that it makes life better for children, animals and plants. I note in particular this sentence from the above article by Francois Schneider:

"The idea is here to understand concerns of each other, but also non-represented ones (like ecosystems or future generations) need to be voiced."

If we Degrowthers actively demonstrate how the focus of attention can be turned on its head to put children, animals and plants FIRST in all topics of the GAP groups - then perhaps others outside the Degrowth movement will follow this example, because one thing we do know about all humans is that they learn by example and imitation.  

The GAP is no expert commission, no policy commission, no stakeholder meeting, no lectures in GAP, ok, but stirring papers and literature are sort of lectures and hinder the commitment of participants of GAP working groups. You can start out from the participants having thought about the subject, later on they might compare their ideas with earlier results.

The GAP is no expert commission, no policy commission, no stakeholder meeting, no lectures in GAP, ok, but stirring papers and literature are sort of lectures and hinder the commitment of participants of GAP working groups. You can start out from the participants having thought about the subject, later on they might compare their ideas with earlier results.

The GAP is no expert commission, no policy commission, no stakeholder meeting, no lectures in GAP, ok, but stirring papers and literature are sort of lectures and hinder the commitment of participants of GAP working groups. You can start out from the participants having thought about the subject, later on they might compare their ideas with earlier results.

The GAP is no expert commission, no policy commission, no stakeholder meeting, no lectures in GAP, ok, but stirring papers and literature are sort of lectures and hinder the commitment of participants of GAP working groups. You can start out from the participants having thought about the subject, later on they might compare their ideas with earlier results.