After Stokes Croft: your personal experiences for and against economic growth in Bristol
7.30pm Wednesday May 25th £5 donation
People who’ve left the rat race and feel passionately that economic growth is a dead end are invited to meet others who feel equally passionately that the economy has to get moving again.
Locally, riots in Stokes Croft highlight conflict between a highly successful supermarket and those who would like local diversity and an end to consumerism. These underlying tensions are bound to get more acute in our society.
Across the country, whilst parties and politicians come and go, the cuts take effect and the political and media establishment struggles with how to get the economy growing.
By contrast, many say our oil-based way of life is threatened: oil supplies become dodgy as power struggles continue in the Arab Spring; scientists connect drought and climate catastrophes to industry-made global warming; we’ve reached the peak in world oil production.
Reconciliation Laboratory facilitator, David Mowat says
“Is there not enough consumerism or too much? How can we tackle the issues around economic growth together, in our city, without the unhelpful, win-lose clamour of polarised debate – or riot?
“The Reconciliation Laboratory is an experiment to deal creatively with conflict. Whatever the issue we think solutions that no one has thought of can emerge when people listen deeply to each other.
This requires that people bring their passion to the arena. So whether you’re a business leader, someone with a pension rapped up in shares, a company employee, an anti-capitalist with an alternative lifestyle, you have a story to tell.”
He adds “Can you hear the other side? Do you understand and empathise with how they feel? That’s the challenge.
Come to the Reconciliation Laboratory. We’ve got tried and tested ways to keep you safe as you share your stories and life experiences. There’s good food, live music and the presence of artist Graeme Evelyn’s healing and powerful alterpiece as we sit in the lab together and work on a new brew of reconciliation – one that doesn’t have to mean compromise.”
If intending to come, please email: bigbromoATyahoo.co.uk
