Organizers of the Common Bound Conference in Boston expected 300 people and we almost overwhelmed when 650 people representing 110 organizations registered, maxing out the accommodations (our publisher Rob Kall was among those who couldn't find a room.) The theme is "Moving Together Toward a New Economy." The core concept? Our economy is more than just money. It's about stewardship and sustainability.

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Boston, June 6, 2014. Organizers of the Common Bound Conference in Boston expected 300 people and we almost overwhelmed when 650 people representing 110 organizations registered, maxing out the accommodations (our publisher Rob Kall was among those who couldn't find a room.) The theme is "Moving Together Toward a New Economy." The notion of a new economy proceeds from the recognition that the economy is much more than just money. Traditional economic modeling treats society and the natural world as externalities -- variables that are ignored in the modeling of the system. The new economy would encompass the totality of our biosphere and seek include sustainability and stewardship as core values.

Gathering at Northeastern University in Boston on Friday, people from cities across the nation began with a workshops at Northeastern University. (Program) Marguerite Chandler, reported on the session Storytelling & Memes based on the work of Christine Cordero, Center for Story Based Strategy. Twitter and other public media require a very brief yet compelling meme or story. When done well, the meme goes viral and is widely re-tweeted reaching an expanding network of people. The workshop revealed how to craft such viral tweets. You can get the flavor of the workshop from Marguerite's outline:

What makes a story? conflict, characters, imagery, foreshadowing, underlying assumptions (of the listeners)

Narrative power analysis

1. filters - not what people DON'T know, but what they DO know (challenging underlying assumptions - e.g., "greed economy" becomes a meme for the extractive, non-sustainable, lack of stewardship of our current economy)

2. analyzing the DOMINANT STORIES that affect our understanding of the issue

3. We have to re-frame and change the stories

Winning the battle of the story

- frame the conflict

- amplify the voice of impacted individuals

- show, not tell (facts + images tell a fuller tale)

- engage people and their values

- foreshadowing (create a clear, compelling vision of alternatives: e.g., people and planet first, sustainable use and stewardship of resources, protection and valuing of cultural capital, strengthening local economies, reclaiming democracy and control of wealth, investment in renewable forms of energy)

-challenge assumptions (make invisible stories visible)

Participants learned how to include dramatic photographs in the tweet to achieve full impact. If you are wishing you could participate, much of the conference is being streamed online. (click here)

Speaking of the whole conference experience Chandler said,

I'm impressed with the energy and generosity of spirit of the people who are in the trenches. They're inclusive and very respectful. I shared conversations are with people who were nuanced, not just blathering, who see and understand the complexity of the situation. I particularly like the woman from 350.org who's working on getting young people, college students, and moving them to action. I'm hearing the buzz words of environmental savvy a lot --words like stewardship, externality, sustainability, biological capital . These are people who care deeply about the future of the planet.

Marguerite recorded phrases and quotes from the plenary session. Here is a sampling:

PLENARY SESSION: A JUST TRANSITION: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? HOW DO WE GET THERE?

Keynote: Ed Whitfield, Fund for Democratic Communities, quotes:

"People are resilient and wildly creative." referring to the labor force.

"I believe in the healing power of booze, BarBQ and blues."

"The costs of telling the truth are high, but the costs of NOT telling the truth are higher."

"Stewardship of private property isn't happening: you have rights to whatever you do to improve it except if you impinge not he rights of others."

"The planet itself is resilient. We're damaging our planet's capacity to support OUR lives."

"There are 3 forms of power: the power to crush you; the power to help you; and speaking truth to power."

"Democracy is creating the opportunity for us to think together."

"One of the most frightening things for people in power is that we can do things for ourselves. (TAMA - There Are Many Alternatives)"

General Baker of Detroit quote: "The struggle for equality is being transferred to a struggle for survival" If robots are more productive than we are, then who has the right to live, to have productive work? We need a vision of the world we want to live in."

Jihan Gearon, Black Mesa Water Coalition quotes:

"We want a healthy economy"an economy based on our traditions, but cutting out the middlemen."

"We need to build solid relationships based on trust: people are so used to being taken advantage of."

"Let's challenge the use of precious resources. How is it that there's no water to create a wool-washing sector among the Navajos when nearby Peabody coal has unlimited, free access to the Navajo watershed?"

" The biggest challenge is fear. It feels like we're biting the hand that feeds us. We must create and inspiration campaign--which is the most important and the most fun."

Joel Uehlein, Labor Network for Sustainability quotes:

"Transitioning to a New Economy will require focusing on the needs of our workers, our communities, our regions."

"One of the biggest challenges to a New Economy is understanding the primacy of working in people's lives and the role of fear."

"It's about making a living on a living planet--sustainability starts at the kitchen table."

"If we're going to talk about divestment/reinvestment it's important to talk to the right people. Talk to the pension fund advisors for labor. They will talk to the unions."

"Ownership of resources is about reclaiming the commons."

"The New Economy should be generating more wealth IN the communities than is extracted FROM the communities."

"Push the envelope [to change the old story to the New Economy] but always do it with love."

Deirdre Smith, 350.org quotes:

"A Just Transition will require a movement of movements (many diverse faces and solutions)."

"Transitioning to a New Economy is a progression: identifying the problem, a divestment campaign AND re-investment opportunities."

"There is no one-size-fits-all simple solutions: we need to learn how to hold complexity."

"It's not an 'investment' if it's destroying the planet."

"If the need to move to action takes us in the wrong direction, we will have wasted a lot of resources. Actions need to be grounded in the community."

"If the solutions we're looking for are at the scale of the problems, and if the scale of the problem IS the problem, we need to look for smaller,more local solutions."

It is a very good sign that so many people and organizations are networking to bring about change in America. These groups are equipping themselves with the tools and the knowledge needed to become the agents of that change.

Authors Website: http://rbshreve.com

Authors Bio:

Richmond Shreve is a retired business executive whose careers began in electronics (USN) and broadcasting in the 1960s. Over the years he has maintained a hobby interest in amateur radio, and the audio-visual arts while working in sales and marketing. For the last thirty years he was co-owner and CEO of the Middlebrook Crossroads business park (Edmar Corporation) in Bridgewater, NJ. He holds a lifetime FCC Second Class Commercial license, and an amateur radio General Class license (W2EMU). In 2012 Richmond retired from instructing sports car owners in high performance driving techniques at major tracks including NJ Motorsports Park, Watkins Glen, and Summit Point. He is the author and publisher of the Instructor Candidate Manual used by BMWCCA and other car clubs to train their on-track instructors.

Prior to moving to Newtown,PA, he volunteered as chief engineer of WCFA the Cape May, NJ community radio station as well as working as a gaffer on the Cape May Film Festival technical crew, a driver/engineer in the Cape May Point Volunteer Fire Company, served as its Treasurer and as Treasurer of its Firemen's Relief Association. He edited and printed the Cape May Point Taxpayer's Association Newsletter.

As a computer power user, graphic artist, photographer, and website designer he helps nonprofits build and maintain web sites. He is a fromer Vestry member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent.
Richmond is a citizen journalist and former Senior Editor at OpEdNews.com, a progressive news and opinion site on the internet.

Richmond lives with his wife Marguerite Chandler in Newtown, PA wher he continues to write essays ad short fiction. They travel extensively with their fifth wheel RV.

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Books:
Lost River Anthology (Amazon.com)
Instructor Candidate Manual (LuLu.com)