Jostling for position on our front pages this weekend are three news items. The first describes the horror of the biggest single tally of deaths in channel crossings to date, when 27 people drowned trying to get to the UK in the worst of conditions. A number of papers carry pictures of the victims in happier days.

The second alerts us to new measures to cope with the latest mutation of the Coronovirus – named Omicron – that might interrupt our Christmas plans. The third takes us back to the so called ‘culture wars’ rumbling beneath all reports of Westminster’s ability to take decisive action in the multiple crises we face. Wokeness and its sometime friend, cancel culture, are the new scapegoat for our broader inaction around deep system failure.

Where do these headlines take us, other than a profound sense of disconnection between what is happening in our daily lives and the lives of others? Between actions of the past and present, now colliding to produce multiple catastrophes? We worry about our Christmas supply chains: will they deliver the stuff we need to have a good time? Meanwhile, people in the countries that produce out-of-season food, the latest toys, that extra party dress, are dying. Whether as a result of the climate crisis generated by our insatiable demands. Or in trying to get to the ‘land of dreams’ where – according to our soft power – freedom from scarcity lies.

We should rise to our new responsibilities, drawing connections between our past and present methods of becoming a wealthy country at the cost of others. Instead, the media gives headlines to the dangers of ‘wokeness’, fanning the flames of ‘anti-wokeness’, stoking fear of cancel culture. The effect is to render young people who are finding their political voice for the first time, wielding their social media power, as the real danger in our midst – the enemy that must be defeated. While the old socio-economic-political system continues to take us towards the cliff, the disruptors of that system must be removed.

This is not to defend of cancel culture – that’s a blunt and unforgiving tool. But it is an invitation to take a wider, higher, deeper view of the deep system work now needed, as confusion reigns. A BBC news item “Cambridge Sculpture Makes A Stand On Culture Wars” reports that:

Paulo Freire may not be well known in the UK but he's one of the most influential thinkers in education. His arguments for critical thinking in schools and universities have shaped teaching well beyond Brazil, where he was born 100 years ago.

Now, a group of leading academics at the University of Cambridge have installed a bronze sculpture of him in the library at the Faculty of Education, just south of the city centre, as a symbol of "tolerance and dialogue" at a time of "culture wars" on campus.

Yet, those of us who are long term admirers of Freire would find it hard to stomach that his statue is being used to silence a movement that is itself generated by the ‘need to be heard’ by society.

For what is wokeness, if not those who ‘woke up’ to injustice on a global, generational scale? Who stand for the rights of diversity in all its forms? Who claim historic and present day vulnerability in the face of a society that cannot ‘see them’ enough to include them – for which they are derided as ‘snowflakes’ ? Who are historically minorities, less privileged and who only have blunt tools to make themselves visible?

The internet revolution of the past 30 years has mobilised and increasingly integrated the voices of the excluded and given them a platform for the first time. Like the apocryphal lion with a thorn in its paw, it must use its roar to get the attention it needs from those capable of removing the damage.

The chorus of the woke is very uncomfortable for those with a lifetime of privilege under their belts – most of whom cannot acknowledge themselves as part of that category. To avoid finger pointing of any kind, let’s consider that we might, ourselves, be those people. Despite being very much in favour of granting everyone rights – in principle - we now find ourselves the target of those we would otherwise support. Of course, we will defend ourselves and use our own tools to do so – but may find ourselves lacking the skills, or the will, to generate meaningful dialogue. Sadly, social media only reflects back a toxic system that affords way more opportunities for self-expression than opportunities to be genuinely heard

This is the prime reason that A/UK calls for smaller spaces of shared meaning and belonging, as locations for the difficult conversations that have to take place now. When you start with a place-based community, you begin with a shared interest in the fruits of your discussion. After all, everyone has to be able to live together: the decisions that are made in a local People’s Assembly, Citizens Jury, Citizens Assembly, Youth Parliament or even Fridays for the Future affect you and your friends and family directly. Each of these achieve different levels of listening and acting, but all hold the principle of diversity.

The good news is that diversity has been proven again and again to deliver maximum creativity and energy, whether to a company, a movement or a municipality In direct contrast to our current socio-political system which rests on homogeneity, the new one emerging is likely to be more ambitious, drawing on a wider variety of skills to be able to deliver on its promises.

The even better news is that these spaces for whole-system work are growing in number. The mainstream news continues to report mostly on the polarising conflict – culture wars indeed – and our collective inability to resolve it. But everywhere, new patterns of coming together, listening and discussing are clearly forming. Read this week’s blog by our LifT co-creator Harald Schellander on the ‘round table’ movement in Austria, taking place under the very noses of those who insist Austria is slipping into fascism. Both perspectives might be right and are important. But what should we give our attention to and invest our energies in today – our fears or our hopes?

Here is an extract from this week’s blog [link] to whet your appetite:

Around this Round Table, Alex (Samyi, Museum Director) has built both a manifesto and, as a concrete action, a citizens' council based in the museum which meets once a month. "The aim of the regular meetings is to discuss wishes and projects, find solutions and pass them on to the local council. Unlike referendums, which are simple yes/no votes on legislative initiatives, citizens' meetings fulfil the requirement of real political participation," says Alex. "The Round Table envisions a world united by self-organised communities, namely as United Communities with museums as new political centres. Museums are per se places of self-enlightenment and, like Round Tables, create a certain form of equality in the negotiation of knowledge and social issues. The Round Table of the Museum am Bach is based on the assumption that equality for all is not an unrealistic goal. Everyone is invited to participate in shaping the world. In the spirit of the postulate of the artist Josef Beuys, who would have turned one hundred years old this year: 'Everyone is an artist.'”

In our work with Harald, we draw new lines of possible development that link such round tables to the initiation of CANs. As more autonomous forms, the CANs can create not only pressure on the local council, but become cosmolocal initiatives that are tackling climate crisis in real time. The round table-like initiatives – you might include empathy circles, death cafes, mutual aid networks, fun palaces – mean anyone can join and be heard. This is vital at the heart of any new socio-political system now emerging to become robust.

So let’s think again about wokeness and our own part in making it possible for the new voices – and energies – to be heard. Even when those voices are difficult to listen to, or when the woke come without their own awareness of others’ pain. This is an historic moment for diversity of every kind to move into relationship and build a system more capable of meeting the crises we face together.

Alternative Editorial: Who Needs To Listen Now?