Introduction
Why: The
time has come for an ambitious large-scale event which calls upon all the personal
skills and energies we can collectively bring into focus. The challenge is simple: ourselves
together- in the form of a wide range of concerned people of every perspective, whatever the
degree of opposition or harmony, rationality or irrationality. The processes will be carefully
designed to facilitate the expression and weaving together of these contrasting modes of
operation: discovering the subtle pattern which connects what we each consider vital.
We intend to create
an empty central space into which the unexpected can be born. But this is
essentially a self- organizing event, despite the careful attention which will be given to
processes. Much will be left to the responsibility of participants acting in the light of the
spontaneous inspiration of the moment. This is a high-risk creative experience for those who
believe this to be the price of real collective breakthrough.
The event should
be the most exciting and testing you have ever attended: part work, part fair,
with joy and despair, drama and paradox - truly a healing dance of life in its deepest and most
ambiguous sense. For those committed to change, it could be the most significant. The event
will not only be a catalyst for change, it will be an expression of it. Things will not be the same
afterwards - especially for those who participate.
Why not: The
past decades have given rise to many collective events quickly forgotten. People
have gathered under every banner, in search of solutions to every problem. Achievements have
been minimal and essentially cosmetic - little has been learnt from past failures. Proposed
conventional gatherings and campaigns are now viewed with weary suspicion - creative people
avoid them in despair.
A new approach
is required which harnesses and transmutes the very energies which have
distorted and underminded the processes and outcomes of past events- bland exercises in
cautious rationalism or emotionalism. It is not enough to rely on personal transformation,
exercises in group consciousness or on the passive belief that "all will be well".
We have roles to
play. But our very fear of action prevents us from learning how to rise beyond
the polarities by which we are frustrated, trapped and rendered impotent. The times call for
inspired actions of a new kind that bring us face-to-face with all dimensions of our fear of
change. In our ignorance, we must be collectively challenged before we can sense the
dimensions and rhythms of the unfolding drama in which we can find roles to play.
Unless an event
is collectively daring, it cannot avoid the superficial and evoke the energies for
significant change and tangible outcomes - it becomes merely another charming celebration of
impotence.
Context of the event
1. Background: Society
has accumulated many problems and skills. Many projects have been
initiated to bring the skills to bear on the problems with the support of adequate resources.
Those who have participated in this mode, whether internationally or at the grass-roots level,
sense the inadequacy and self-defeating nature of our best efforts. A different type of action is
called for.
2. Future: We
sense the dimensions of our past failures and the values we want to embody in
the future. There are inspirations and visions for the future but they lack clarity and adequate
form and are not tempered by the fire of realism. The key to our difficulty is that they are
usually in conflict amongst themselves. The vital link to possible action in the present by real
people is lacking. This is the bridge which needs to be built.
3. Present: We
are stuck in a dangerous behavioural rut, both collectively and individually. We
need a special kind of crucible within which to bring our skills, problems, resources and visions
into focus in order to embody a viable new approach. The proposed gathering is conceived as
such a crucible.
Essential qualities
and characteristics of the event
1. The key to the
success of the event, through the release of a new level of participant
energies, is that the gathering will not be pre-programmed and pre- packaged. As has
been frequently remonstrated this blocks vital initiatives and forces participants Into a passive
"consumer" role excused from any action. They are then unable to take responsibility for new
action in the here-and-now - a root cause of present societal impotence. Participants need to
understand that they are also key resource people.
2. This degree
of freedom demands considerable innovation on the part of the organizing
group if the event is to be of more significance than a fair, however rich the experience. Indeed,
if the organizing group cannot demonstrate innovation, it is unlikely that they could facilitate
participant innovation
3. The key to the
problem of channelling the participant energies freed by the absence of pre-
programming lies in:
-
(a) giving participants
access to a pattern language by which any group can
quickly restructure part of the event according to the inspiration of the moment. One of
the preparatory tasks of the organizing group is to clarify many elements of this pattern
language so that participants have a vehicle of communication and a rich range of
possibilities to work with, an understanding of the roles they can play, and how they
might go about it. The pattern language should continually evolve as a result of
participant initiative during the gathering.
- (b) maintaining at least some well-defined
channels of communication to focal
groups which can help to ensure the immediate preparation and implementation of
desired patterns.
- (c) ensuring the presence of a highly flexible
(computer-supported) information system
to guarantee maximum communication between participants at all times. (This is
in contrast with communication at participants).
4. Corresponding
the here-and-now self-organization of the event, it is vital that skills of any
kind represented at the event should in some measure be focused to the benefit of the
event as a demonstration of their significance. The gathering is society in micocosm, it ists
potential cannot be released in the present, and itf its ills cannot be healed in the present, then
those skills have liitle of significance to offer against the ills of the outside world, now or in the
future.
5. In order to
interweave the wide range of often incompatible participant ener-gies and
perspectives - however complementary they may be in principle - the gathering must itself be
compre-hensible in very different ways. Each participant should be able to explore it in his or
her own terms, however "fanciful" they may appear to others. One of the tasks of the gathering
might well be to evolve far more creative and dy-namic images of such a gathering and its
interplay of energies. Many partici-pants would then be equipped to per-ceive society as a
whole in an entirely new way - to move beyond (and transmute) the sterile images inherited
from past decades.
6. The gathering
will be significant to the extent that participants are different and succeed in
bridging their differ-ences synergistically. Participants will not only differ in their concerns but
in
the background or maturity with which they approach those concerns. Each has blindspots,
including the organizing group. The effects of ignorance on the dynamics of the event will have
to be used creatively (in the spirit of east-ern martial art responses to the "enemy" who
is my
shadow).
7. Whilst many
will be satisfied by simply encouraging the free interplay of a broad range of
participant initiatives, more can be accomplished by encou-raging participant sensitivity to the
balance of the event as a whole as it evolves. What energies are called for to contain and
counter-balance the excessive expression of others, or to enhance those inadequately
expressed ? How can concern for the whole be giv-en form without jeopardising diversity of
expression ? These are real-time exercises in strategy, analysis, synthesis, and meta- patterning.
8. The concern
for balance can itself become sterile, whether sought in "rational" or "aesthetic"
terms. The powerful dynamics of the opposing (complementary) forces involved call for a
profound shift in perspective if they are to be reconciled, to interact creatively, and to give birth
to some vi-able new form. The "dance" of these processes can only be comprehended and
guided in and through the essen-tial drama of the moment if the gather- ing has achieved some
measure of col-lective self- awareness. Description at this level becomes a matter of meta-phor
and poetry.
Number of participants
There are two approaches
to the number of participants that could be attracted to this
gathering:
1. Fixed target: This
is the conventional approach and creates the risk of falling below the
target figure if marketing is unsuccessful or other factors inter-vene, or exceeding the figure if
market-ing is "too successful".
The magic number
envisaged by this approach is 50,000, which has the merit of being
ambitious and striking the imagination.
The question is
at what target number does the risk start to increase significantly without
increasing the significance of the event. Also, at what figure does the risk of " significance
erosion", start to increase due to the presence of higher percentages of "hangers on"
who are
not able to contribute positively to the dynamics of the event - or are they part of the challenge
?
2. Flexible
target: Using this approach the target figure would be treated in probability terms
and "hardened" as the event approached and infrastructure commitments had to be made. At
this stage a significant event could be envisaged anywhere in the range 500 to 50,000.
Note that these
figures are relatively modest in terms of present day "instant" refugee or pilgrim
camps (e.g. in India).
Location
Because of the
political, infrastructure, travel and other considerations, care must be taken in
the choice of location. Ideally a valley is required in which tent or other temporary shelters can
be put up and serviced.
An important dilemma
is obtaining a magically attractive location (lakeside, etc) without the
associated risk of leaving it an ecological disaster. In this connection other alternatives are a
desert location (with mountains) van abandoned military base, provided that travel and services
can be organized. Given that the event is designed to respond to the disagreeable conditions of
the present, it may be preferable to hold it in an area which can be re-energized by the event if
it succeeds. The apparently attractive alternative of profiting from some magical site could well
be seen as a further attempt to exploit the beauties of nature and a failure to make creative use
of our own psycho-social resources.
Finances
A. Sources: There
are a number of sources of financing which can be considered singly or in
combination:
1. Participation
fee
2. Concession
fees
3. Corporate
donations (in funds or kind)
4. Individual
donations
5. Foundations
6. Media and
other rights
7. National
or local government
B. Marketing:
The key to the success of this operation is defining a sufficiently vital `'
package ,, to attract the various sources of funds noted above.
1.. "Psychological
holiday" (Togetherbound...)
The gathering could
be very successfully developed and marketed to individuals (and groups)
as a holiday of a very different kind (excitement, risk, renewal, sense of mission, festival,
"discover the future", etc.). As such the travel industry would do much to make it know as
an
option. People could consider it under a holiday budget rather than as a special expense. It
belongs then in an identifiable category as a (psychological) adventure holiday (cf. Outward
Bound courses), but with a highly innovative flavour.
2. Social experiment
Even if marketed
as a psychological holiday, the nature of the event would also allow it to be
"marketed" to foundations and governments as a self-organizing social experiment in instant
community building. The degree of innovation is relevant to many research issues and would
provide a field day for researchers. Universities might even "buy into the project" in order
to
conduct and observe experiments in that environment, on the Skylab formula. The experiment
could be described as a way of self-organization in the ever present refugee camps. As such it
might well be of interest to civil defense agencies or even as an exercise requiring army support
(as a simulated refugee camp). It could also be described as an organizational experiment in
response to mass unemployment and social alienation - a problem about which governments
are increasingly anxious. As such, some governments could well be interested in financing the
presence of people from their own country. It could also be considered as an experiment in
conflict resolution within a large community and therefore attract funds from "peace" sources.
3. Hardware
/ Software experiment
The event could
be analyzed in terms of the possible use of:
Innovative hardware: low-cost dwellings (domes, etc.), energy systems, sanitation
systems, catering, information systems, etc.
Innovative software: especially computer programmes to help people to work together,
focus their concerns, and generally empower them to act.
Such possibilities
could well attract corporation support or assistance.
4. "Discover
the future", campaign
With the three
elements described above, a credible campaign could be launched to attract
funds from individuals who believe that the experiment is worthwhile and likely to bear fruit,
even though they have no intention of participating.
5. Media rights
Given the four
elements above, the event could be sold to the media reasonably successfully.
Planning and financial risk management
It is vital that
planning and financial arrangements be envisaged in terms of "fail-safe"
procedures which minimise financial risk. This means that the budget should not be designed in
fixed terms but as a function of the number of participants. Budgetary items should be plotted in
terms of different target probabilities.
Clearly there will
be "fixed costs", but many of these will increase stepwise with increments in
the number of participants.
Legal arrangements
Careful thought
should be given to legal arrangements, liability. etc. Possibly several different
corporate entities should be created to handle different aspects of the event and its preparation:
Towards a Pattern Language for Participants
This section gives
a very provisional outline of the " windows" through which any participant
might choose to perceive the gathering and the possibilities for action there. In its final form,
distributed to participants, each item here would have attached comments and advice as a kind
of "how-to-do-it" or "recipe", book, open to subsequent amendment by participants
themselves.
The term "pattern
language" is taken from a recent series of books on this question by designer
Christopher Alexander (Oxford University Press. 1975-1979).
1. Meeting Patterns
(Orgamzation and Services): "Pattern" is a suggestive general term to
describe any particular (and usually familiar) way of organising the flow of energies in a
gathering. Patterns can be combined into a network within a "pattern language". Some of the
resulting arrangements are "better" than others, and the challenge s to find arrangements
which
enhance the hidden quality which makes them "feel right" in a given set of circumstances
2. Pattern Participation
(Roles): Many of the above patterns are "activated" only by the
presence of people playing appropriate roles. People may take up these roles irrespective of
the formal reason for their participation in the gathering and their performance may be more
significant for the gathering than their concerns (see below). These roles may in fact be
considered as sub- patterns in their own right.
3. Pattern Concerns
(Contributions, etc): People participate in events because of
"concerns" about which they wish to give, receive, or share, or which they wish in some way
to
advance or promote. These concerns colour the energy content of the patterns through which
they are expressed.
4. Pattern Perception
(Images and strategies): In a complex gathering people need to have
some image through which to make sense of the event as a whole and of where it is going, and
to help them to decide on how to participate in it. Whatever the images used they are needed
to give a sense of continuity and context. Different people prefer one or more different images:
-
Structure: The
gathering may be "objectified" in terms of any of the following:
Agenda, Critical pathway, System diagram, Programme matrix, Event timetable,
Programme "tracks"
- Risk: Participants may prefer
to assess their participation in terms of "risk tracks".
Some may be entirely conventional low-risk lecture/discussion type events. Others may
be designed to make the participant take or defend a position as a person. Others may
involve the participant in some personal transformation process. And some may be
high-risk experiments which may fail as experiments do, providing lessons for the
future.
- Ceremonial and celebration: The
gathering may be decided as a grouping of sub-
ceremonies culminating or constituting some macro-event. This may involve, or be see
as, the high point of a pilgrimage with associated festival activity.
- Games: The gathering
may be described as a pattern of interlocking games, whether
recreational, therapeutic or "serious" in intent. An underivina objective mav be the
emergence of qualitatively superior games (e.g. in the style of Hesse's Glass Bead
Game).
- Topic tracks: The gathering
may also be objectified as a complex set of interweaving
topic ("concern") tracks as is often done in conventional conferences.
- Quest: The gathering
may be attractive to some when interpreted as a mystical quest
or an exercise in collective alchemical marriage.
- Learning pathways: To those
oriented towards education, the gathering may best be
understood as a complex set of interweaving learning pathways.
- Energy sources and sinks:
Some may choose to see the event in terms of sources of
different qualities to be cultivated, energy receptacles to be created and maintained,
and energy sinks or traps to be avoided. The whole event may be seen in terms of
gathering and using chi energy.
- Community: Some may prefer
to experience the event as an experience in "instant
community" enriched by the presence of children, old people, the handicapped, etc.
- Imagery and dance:
Such a gathering can also lend itself to comprehension as a
pattern of aesthetic images, or as a dance of energies.
- Group formation: For
some there will be ways of using information which could
make of the whole gathering a gigantic experiment in forming and reforming groups until
the most mature groups emerge suitably empowered and able to relate appropriately to
other groups emphasizing other energies.
- Socio-political analysis:
The gathering will lend itself to description and
interpretation in terms of power politics and societal dynamics.
- Abstract forms: Some
may wish to see the gathering as energies patterned onto more
abstract forms: Spiral, Hierarchy Network, Tensegrity, Mandala, Matrix, Torus,
Polyhedron, Knot
- Symbol systems: Some may
be attracted by seeing the interweaving energies at the
gathering in terms of a particular symbol system such as astrology, the I Ching, any
pantheon, etc. These could even be used to identify imbalance in the energies
represented, blockages in the evolution of the event, or threshold tests and challenges.
- Catastrophe theory: The
transitions in the event may be best understood by some in
the light of the mathematics of catastrophe theory.
- Drama: The gathering
should be aramatic, and some may want to participate in it in
such a way as to heighten the dramatic effects and the significance of the event as a
whole
- Psycho-cultural analysis: The
forms and expressions of the gathering can be seen in
psychoanalytical terms with necessary archetypal confrontations.
- Group healing exercise: The
gathering may been seen as a body to be healed and
rendered whole.
- Ecosystem: The various perspectives
and processes may be best mapped by some
onto an image of some environmental system with different species interacting,
procreating and developing somewhat at the mercy of the elements.
- Information processing device: The
whole gathering may be interpreted as a
complex bio- mechanical computer processing different types of information, storing it,
and forming it into various images of the whole - possibly with some final cutout
- Taoist group meditation:
The gathering may also be understood as a collective
meditation
Conclusion
Clearly the above
points merely help to clarify what we need to know in order to be able to
organize such an event. What could it achieve and would it be worth organizing ? Given the
uninspiring alternatives for collective action at this time, it may be that this event would attract
the "creatively mad" people whose interaction could break new ground and point the way to
a
creative response to the world's current condition. Hence the subtitle of this document.
Initiatives of this kind are useful social experiments in their own right, especially when compared
to the sterility of current intergovernmental conferences. But whether such experiments are
actually undertaken or not, the collective exercise of working out what features and processes
could usefully be embodied in them can help to sharpen our awareness of the nature of the
psychosocial design problem that we face.
1. Art | Fitting Together
