Local is our future

This 2019 published book is a great work. 

It makes my top 21 recommended reading list. 

I'm also a fan of the Local Futures website including this guide to what we call all do locally. 

I feel very fortunate to live in a place (The Bellarine Peninsula) where everything we need is just around the corner, and that the small city of Geelong, twenty kilometres away, provides us with our out of the ordinary needs.

I'm also pleased that the big city (by Australian standards) of Melbourne is just that twenty minutes and then an hour by train away. And that from the main train station we can walk or take a tram to many places that provide a unique experience.

The pandemic has freshly highlighted these blessings and also the curse of globalisation.

My wish is that the majority of people never go back to commuting to big cities to work, rather that CBD's are successfully reinvented as go to places for one-of-kind experiences as well as places to live.

Below is an update I received recently from the folk at Local Futures

The COP26 meetings in Glasgow this month represent a step in the wrong direction. While the presence of fossil fuel barons has received criticism, the involvement of big tech, big agriculture, big banks and other global corporations has gone largely unchallenged, while a critical discussion of the free-trade rules that drive escalating resource use and emissions has been all but completely omitted.

By further cementing the alliance between big government and big money, the COP negotiations have consistently served to steer the agenda of the environmental movement away from fundamental structural change, towards pseudo-solutions like carbon trading, synthetic food, and investment in technological expansion. And COP26 is no different. 

However, all is not lost. At the grassroots, people are taking genuine steps to face up to the climate crisis. The call for systemic change is becoming mainstream, while localization projects across the globe already demonstrate the potential to drastically reduce emissions and support biodiversity while increasing human wellbeing."

One of the massive problems of our time in my view is "the alliance between big government and big money..."

Local Futures offer an alternative in this short film.

I'm doing my best in my own way to move on from a world controlled by corporations and politicians.

I've been weaning myself off exposure to media too, both mainstream and social, as a part of my quest. In my view the media as a collective is a massive part of the problem.

With few exceptions my feeling is that the majority of mainstream journalists are fanning the flame of corporate and political dominance over our lives. 

I don't feel that social media is helping us move in a better direction either. Too much division and duality for me. 

Over the weekend I deactivated my Twitter and Facebook accounts as a part of my journey to hold my beliefs and opinions lightly. I will still be offering them when asked, just in settings where I feel safe and welcome to do so.

In future my focus will be on LinkedIn, my YouTube channel, my blog and podcasts where my aim is to be helpful and valuable to the people who value my research findings and also learnings gleaned from the weekly peer group gatherings I host for my clients and the regular story telling and conversations.

I have more clarity than I've ever had to just focus on my small circles of influence (about 150 people).

I've been helped with this by revisiting Dunbar's Law which I've embraced since anthropologist Robin Dunbar published his research in the 1990's. I see this in new light lately.

For me Dunbar's Law works like this: my Inner Circle is about 5 people, and the next group of people that I have close relationships with is about 15. My Peer Groups are growing to about 35 people. I have meaningful connections with approximately 150 people. These are the folk I stay in touch with regularly. All are on my small monthly newsletter list. Then there are Acquaintances (about 500 people) and People I recognise (about 1500). Interestingly my LinkedIn connections number 2407. I reckon I only recognise about 1500!

Carol and I have discovered many great things locally during the pandemic including a great sourdough bread place called Ket Bakery we were always going to visit, just never did.

In Geelong the It's Our Backyard has been a great initiative to inspire people to think local first for goods and services.

A great insight I received while researching this article is that local is a great metaphor for life too

Local is our inner life and what we allow in to our hearts, minds and bodies.

Local is family.

Local is friends.

Local is our neighbourhood. 

Local is our home town or village.

Local is those we work with.

Local is those who engage with us in meaningful ways on the whatever platforms you choose.

Local is the cohorts, community and sporting groups we are involved in.

What is happening for you?
How is local a key to your future?

Please email me ian@ianberry.biz I'd love to hear your stories.

Kind regards

Ian