Transform Australia - By Andrew Gains

Self-initiated action

There are important things you can do without necessarily being a member of Transform Australia or of any organisation.

We have common cause: changing the direction of Australia so that we become an ecologically sustainable and socially healthy society - a whole system change.

Such a change will come about through a process of

• Aspiration - a critical mass embracing the goal of healthy whole system change

• Understanding what is involved
• Some of us engaging others in understanding whole system change
• Real-world on the ground changes that support long-term viability

All of us can contribute, starting where we are. You can champion whole system change without anybody's approval. Here are some ideas.

Aspiration statements

The first level is simple, but profound. Some of us might find it emotionally challenging at first. We can intentionally mention 'whole system change’ at the beginning of every public presentation we give, and in ordinary conversation. One way is to make a statement along these lines:

We are in an ecological emergency. I am committed to contributing to the evolution of a socially healthy and ecologically sustainable society - a whole system change. I hope you will join me.

Such an aspiration statement is a sort of 'welcome to the future' - a reminder of what our generation is called to do.

Just a few of us doing this will not amount to much. But if people everywhere begin to hear 'whole system change', the concept will begin to penetrate our collective awareness. We should do it until our friends are bored with it - and then do it some more. We should do it until there is a cultural shift, and our whole culture is excited by a shared passion to become viable.

So we envision thousands of people throughout Australia starting to do this - sort of a guerrilla force with no commander. People in cities do it. Business leaders who get climate change do it. Farmers talk to their neighbours. Writers mention whole system change in opinion pieces in newspapers. Teachers bring up the need for whole system change in staff meetings… And so it goes - the unpredictable emergence of an idea whose time has come!

Self-education

Of course aspiration of itself is not enough. We must understand what 'whole system change' means. This is an enormous topic. However, there are two principles that make it intellectually manageable.

• A viable society will operate on goodwilled partnership/respect values rather than self-aggrandising domination/control values. This is obvious: we care for community and the environment.
• And a viable society will be ecologically sustainable.

Transform Australia has a simple way of mapping how the operation our whole society makes our environmental issues worse. Creating this map enables us to identify all the major elements that must be dealt with if we are to have a prospect of a bright future. These elements include economics, agriculture, personal psychology and industrial design.

Of course there is a great deal of secondary information to be explored, but we start with the big picture. One way of grasping these topics is to read the Transform Australia Framework for Understanding Whole System Change (22pds).

Engaging others in understanding whole system change

In Australia millions of us need to develop a thoughtful understanding of how and why we need to change. So an important next step is engaging friends and colleagues in conversations to think through whole system change.

We have developed a thought starter booklet that uses diagrams as talking points to help you do this. The wiki Communicating Whole System Change gives additional ideas.

Real-world on the ground changes that support long-term viability

A viable society will operate on positive core values that support community wellbeing in the context of ecological sustainability. We call these values partnership/respect values (in contrast with domination/control values).

Our high-level aspiration for healthy whole system change will show up as specific local changes. If we have influence, changing the internal operations of businesses and schools is a direct contribution to evolving a viable society. These human changes complement the technical changes are also a vital part of becoming a viable society.

Historical precedent

Personally, I believe that a multitude of conversations about partnership/dominator relating, what ecological sustainability really involves, and whole system change are essential for evolving a viable society.

The feminist movement achieved changes for women as a result of millions of self organised conversations, workshops and conferences. The movement was inspired, not directed. Women took their own initiative.

For many of these women, the ‘what's in it for me’ was evident. They felt that they were oppressed, and they wanted to find a way out.

Our situation around whole system change is a little bit different. Most of us are still oppressed, but we may not feel it. We tend to take economics and democracy for granted, even though they do not necessarily operate in our favour. And while environmental collapse will be disastrous for all of us, it does not necessarily appeal directly to our self-interest to try to do something about it.

Nevertheless the need is evident. We help ourselves by preserving the commons.

Possible reservations about being a change agent

Advocating whole system change can seem like proselytising. Properly done, it is not proselytising. There is no ideology: it is about helping people come to grips with the reality of our present circumstance.

Nevertheless, you might be shy at the prospect of inviting a friend to go through the thought starter booklet with you, or making a public commitment statement.

Perhaps the most direct way to deal with such shyness is to acknowledge it, but persevere anyway. Just do it. The shyness will disappear with experience, and you will feel stronger for having followed what your heart wants to do, or what your mind knows is necessary.

If you wanted a quick shift, you could use Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) or similar energy psychology techniques to reduce your emotional reaction to thoughts that people might think you're weird or different, or concern is that you don't know enough.

It comes down to this. Given that we are in an ecological emergency, which will you give your allegiance to: your shyness or your willingness to contribute?

Our narrow window of opportunity

It appears that we have less than a decade to shift course. Great changes are under way, both positive and negative. Can we possibly succeed?

We Transform Australia folk are going for it - as are many others, including the Transition Decade Alliance. We invite you to join us in spirit by informing yourself and holding the aspiration to succeed. Join us practice by initiating thoughtful conversations with people you know.

You may want to join Transform Australia as a practitioner member (there is a process). You will be joining a community of brilliant committed people.

Ours is the generation that must turn things around through extraordinary innovation and commitment. If we do succeed future generations will thank us - profoundly.