The New Civilization Network is meant as a self-organizing network. That
is, there is no hierarchy you get plugged into, you won't be handed out
instructions for exactly what you're supposed to do to create a new
civilization and how it will be organized.
The question is then: How do we go about doing it, and how do we agree on
what "it" is?
Well, one of the few fundamental tenets in NCN is that it is perfectly
alright if we have somewhat different answers to what "it" is that we're
working on, as long as it is oriented in a positive direction and as long
as we can be tolerant of our differences and cooperate where appropriate.
The on-line facilities of NCN are mainly a communication infra-structure.
There are some mailing lists, either for announcements like this one, or
for discussion, like the ncndiscuss-l list (to subscribe, send a message to
listserv@newciv.org with the message 'subscribe ncndiscuss-L'). There is a
public chat room. There's a bulletin board in the Member Lounge. There are
listings of members. There are web pages with links to member pages, with
collections of visions and resources and other information.
These different spaces each have a different feel to them and inspire
different kinds of interaction there. But still, none of them really tell
you what you are supposed to do with them or in them, they are just spaces,
there to serve you. And their current configuration shouldn't be taken for
granted either. If you need different kinds of spaces, with different
qualities, or for different, more specialized purposes, just create them,
if you have the resources, or let's figure out how to create them together.
Now, my own vision with NCN was that it would consist of smaller groups,
teams, tribes, communities, that would each have their own projects,
agendas, norms, and communications facilities. And that these smaller
groups would interact closely with each other and then once in a while
would inform everybody else of what they've been up to, what progress
they've made, what they have to offer to others, or what help they need.
One thing I realized was that one can't very well force teams to form. It
can't be done by decree, at least not when we're talking about a voluntary,
idealistic thing like building a new civilization. A team will have to form
from some kind of internal motivation. That might be from one person
deciding to take the lead and pursuing a certain project and gathering
other people who would like to work on it. Or it might be from a group of
people spontaneously starting to feel like a community, based on similar
interests, similar history, or a strong emotional bond.
1169 people can experience a certain unity and fellowship and constructive
optimism together, which is great. But it is probably too big a group to
add up to close community and focused teamwork.
My own estimation is that a group can act best as a team if it has 20
members or less, if all the members know each other well, and there is a
fairly clear agreement on what the group is there for.
I feel it is an important puzzle to solve how we can organize ourselves
effectively. For me, that means a bottom-up organization, a spontanous
coming together of small groups for different purposes, that then builds
into bigger networks of cooperation and synergy.
We're a "civilization" of just 1169 people here. Think about what would
happen if we were 1 million people, or 6 billion. We've better work out the
principles of how we organize ourselves in useful ways while the numbers
are still small.
If we're successful in that, what we do might well become a seed for a more
meaningfully structured global society.
I fully realize that many of you already run or participate in
well-organized projects, organizations, companies, etc. That is great. NCN
is in part here to facilitate that others hear about what you do, and to
supply connections and support for you, or missing pieces of the puzzle.
But NCN is also here in its own right, to explore what it takes to organize
and coordinate something as grand as building or growing a new civilization.
In the different interactive spaces in NCN you currently see individuals
communicating with each other. In the chat room, on the discussion list, on
the bulletin board, individuals are sharing their ideas, their opinions,
their visions, their knowledge. They are sometimes arguing, sometimes
agreeing, sometimes dreaming together, sometimes inspiring and enlightening
each other, sometimes annoying each other. Each different space has a
certain feel to it, and a certain consensus on what works there. But also,
people come and go, it is not quite clear who's there and what is supposed
to be accomplished there. It makes for stimulating discussions, but not
necessarily for productive teamwork.
I'm looking for a "next level" of effective teamwork, and of being able to
hear from groups what they are doing, and not just from individuals what
their ideas are. Nothing wrong with ideas, I'm just also searching for the
keys to concerted action.
So, this is an invitation to grab a piece of the puzzle, make it your own,
decide what you want to do, find some people to do it with, and do it.
What is always welcome on this particular mailing list are calls for people
to come together on common projects, and progress reports on what your
experiences or accomplishments are in group projects.
An online team or community probably needs some communications facilities.
Many of you have them available from your internet providers or public
servers, such as mailing lists, bulletin boards, chat channels, or web
pages. If not, let's talk about how we can put them together.
The New Civilization Network doesn't have a pre-written script. It is
basically just us people who are here and what we do. So, let's do
something. Not all of us doing the same thing, but those of us having
common agreements on what to do, let's get together and focus on that. And
let's compare notes between us.
- Flemming
o o
/ \------------------ Flemming A. Funch ------------------/ \
/ * \ World Transformation/New Civilization/Whole Systems / * \
/ * * \ ffunch@newciv.org / * * \
o-------o----------- http://www.worldtrans.org/ ----------o-------o
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Dec 07 2000 - 23:22:12 PST