A month has passed now since ruePublique’s
last instalment of Journées des Bons Voisins of 2011 took place, and the group
has had the time to relax and reflect on our success and good fortune. Indeed,
we had our first meeting since just this past week-end and the consensus was
that ruePublique has gained enough momentum in the form of recognition and
support that we will indeed continue in our work. What this means is that yes,
we can all look forward to another summer of street parties in 2012; but what’s
more, it looks as though you will not have to wait until then before some other
ruePublique activity comes your way. That’s right folks! We have begun the
brainstorming process that will bring public space surprises to the
neighbourhood over the course of the fall, winter and spring months ahead. And,
as always we are open to like-minded volunteers who would like to jump aboard
and help out in any number of ways.
The catch, if there is one, is what does
“like minded” actually refer to? I say this because ruePublique has had
something of an identity crisis over it’s short lifetime. First, having donned
the completely different name of CarFreeMileEndsansvoitures for the first year
and a half, then working under the very vague banner of Journées des Bons Voisins,
ruePublique’s identity was obscured somewhat, at times confusing supporters and
on-lookers alike. This is not to take away from the concerted efforts of the
group to define our mission, articulate our objectives and share in our
research findings, especially at our last
street event.
It’s just that you would be forgiven if you had already visited all of
our events and even volunteered at them, without fully knowing what the heck
ruePublique, as a would-be non-profit organization stands for.
Meanwhile, would I be forgiven for pulling
out my hair at the thought of rewriting a sort of “mission statement” for the
forty-third time?
Well, no. I wouldn’t forgive myself, since
there’s less hair to spare with every passing day…
In fact I am glad to do it. Every time I do
so, it comes out a little bit different, and it must just be part of the
process of a group’s evolution and development. For sure, our vision and
objectives have changed since we first started CarFreeMileEndsansvoitures, as
is reflected in the name change to ruePublique. Personally I have learned so
much stuff, and have met so many fantastic people that I have the pleasure of
working with, and who have helped to shape the group into what it is today: a
would be non-profit group focusing on the public space of the street as a means
to realise change in our own back-yard. And as young as the group is, it does
have roots, firmly planted in the culture of what might be called urban
ecology, with motivations stemming from global “carbon” issues that also pose
economic and political challenges that can well be addressed in our own back
yard.
To sum up our mission, then, in a few
sentences, I came up with the following:
Embracing the adage of thinking globally
and acting locally, ruePublique exists in order to improve the chances of one
urban community’s ability to respond to the crises of unsustainable activity
surrounding us. By raising awareness, providing information and engaging in
dialogue as well as providing tangible examples of ecologically minded actions,
we hope to inspire people to work toward reducing their carbon footprint,
individually and collectively.
This is a work in progress, as is the whole
ruePublique project: it is all about the dialogue. Actions will generate
discourse. Discourse will raise awareness. Awareness maay inspire the will to
engage, and seek change. Change in our environment begets a general change in
consciousness, which in turn determines our actions… At least this is the
theory of cyclical evolution that I hope for.
As always, I remain open to commentary and
guest/ member contributions here on this blog. So feel free to reply!
P.S. translations too, are always welcome!
