The Transition Network Newsletter

DECEMBER 2015
Supporting community-led responses to climate change
and shrinking supplies of cheap energy,
building resilience and happiness.

Inside reports from COP21 and starting our exploration of ways to re-tell the Transition Story headline this month’s newsletter. We also hear of research on Inner Transition in Canada, REconomy goes to Wigan, you can listen to a new Transition song from SWIMBY and recalling the cold winter of 1963. Plus a Training update and book reviews.

Transition Network at COP21

By the time you read this, it is likely that some kind of agreement will have been reached at COP21, although we don’t yet know the details. Various Transitioners were, and still are, in Paris, and have documented their experiences and insights here. You can read about being inside COP21, the French launch of ’21 Stories of Transition’, the bizarre spectacle of the ‘Solutions COP21’ event, the Human Chain, the Village of Alternatives, the amazing film Demain, and just what it was like being in Paris over those days, and much more besides.

Rob Hopkins, Chris Bird, Naresh Giangrande and Henry Owen all wrote blogs, with others to come from Sarah Ayech and others. Over on the Transition Italia blog, Luca Lombroso has also been blogging from COP. We hope you find them an interesting and useful insights into this unique moment in history.
www.transitionnetwork.org/cop21

THEME: The Transition Story
Time to stop talking about climate change?
Would Transition benefit from redefining itself as « a movement of communities coming together to reimagine and rebuild our world » and spend less time talking about the issues that drive why we do what we want to do?
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-11/transition-story-time-stop-talking-about-climate-change
Telling the Transition Story – a workshop
A video of the workshop Sarah McAdam and Rob Hopkins presented at the 2015 Transition Network International Conference. It gives brief overview of the basic idea of a new way of telling the Transition story and suggested story flow. It goes into the discussion in more depth and which includes the questions and debate it generated.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-11/new-video-telling-transition-story-workshop
Reflections from Chile
The first Chile National Hub meeting reflected on new ways of telling the Transition story.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-12/transition-story-reflections-chile

INNER TRANSITION
Inner Transition in Canada
Anne Rucchetto and Blake Poland: Lessons from their research into how inner Transition is integrated within initiatives in Canada.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/sophy-banks/2015-11/guest-blog-anne-rucchetto-and-blake-poland-lessons-inner-transition-canada

REconomy
The Road from Wigan Pier
Delighted to announce the next in the REconomy series of regional events in the UK. This year we have been in Devon, Powys and now looking forward to Wigan. The political idea of a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ is growing. But what is its purpose? What is our response? How do we benefit?
www.reconomy.org/reconomy-north-west-the-road-from-wigan-pier/

THINKING ALOUD
Of Climates Past: 1963, the last time the River Thames froze
2015 looks 97% likely to be the hottest year on record.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-12/climates-past-1963-last-time-river-thames-froze
The most beautiful song about Transition yet created?
Songs about Transition, tend to be universally dire. For some time Rob has been on the lookout for a song that somehow captures the essence of what it is that we do, a kind of (inter)national anthem for Transition. As part of SWIMBY, lyricist Matt Harvey, composer Thomas Hewitt-Jones and producer Chloe Uden have created a song called ‘In Our Own Back Yard’ which is as close to that as he has yet found.
https://youtu.be/i6Ebg_5GbTg

BOOK REVIEWS
Austerity Ecology & the Collapse-Porn Addicts by Leigh Phillips.
A tirade which starts out attempting to sound rational and informed, but which as the book goes on, loses the plot entirely.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-11/book-review-austerity-ecology-collapse-porn-addicts-leigh-phillips
21 Stories of Transition Reviews

Author John Thackara on his Doors of Perception blog agrees that « something brilliant and historic is already underway » as evidenced by the projects in the book.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-11/john-thackara-reviews-21-stories-transition
Writer and theatremaker Lucy Neal surveys the fresh fields of imagination mapped by 21 Stories of Transition.
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-11/lucy-neal-reviews-21-stories-transition
The 21 Stories might provide another watershed moment for Erik Lindberg of Transition Milwaukee
www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2015-11/review-21-stories-transition-and-great-imagining-why-transition-matters

Freelance opportunity – help us build our translation capacities
Transition Network is looking to establish a freelance contract with an individual (or, potentially, a partnership/small enterprise) with the skills, experience and commitment to design and develop support materials, processes and tools to expand the International Transition movement’s language translation capacities. More info here
www.transitionnetwork.org/freelance-opportunity-build-our-translation-capacities
TRAINING
A range of Transition Trainings are available in the UK and internationally:
www.transitionnetwork.org/events/network-training
Transition Thrive is happening in Wales in the new year.
www.transitionnetwork.org/events/2016-01-09/transition-thrive
What is Thrive?
www.transitionnetwork.org/training/courses/thrive
And Launch online in English will be starting on January 12th:
www.transitionnetwork.org/events/2016-01-12/launch-online-january-march-2016
What is Launch online?
www.transitionnetwork.org/training/courses/launch-online