We’re not on our own here… Mapping the diverse ecosystem that the Alternative UK belongs to
We think this is a great idea from our brethren at Emerge and Life Itself - which is to attempt to map the communities of ideas and practice that many of us feel we are part of.
The worth of doing this is many-fold - a sense of solidarity and mutuality; an identifiable sector for funders and resources to aim themselves at; the prospect of common projects sparking alive, which didn’t seem possible or weren’t even imaginable before such a map.
In Emerge’s words, “we sense that a new ecosystem, or ecosystem of ecosystems, is emerging. A growing number of people, organizations and initiatives are taking alternative approaches to social change, which diverge from and go beyond the more established spaces in civil society and the social economy.”
Does this ecosystem of ecosystems (or ‘network of networks’ as we’ve previously described it) have a name? It has several. “Metamodern” is Emerge and Life Itself’s preferred term - which is simplest described as postmodernism’s plurality and super-awareness, anchored by a new interest in adult development. But we like - as you’d expect - that they have a range of alternatives:
the sensemaking web, the metamodernmovement or meta tribe, the liminal web, the ten tribes of transformation, the intellectual deep web, and the Emergentsia.
Below is a gallery of screen grabs of Life Itself’s initial attempt at an inventory of the elements of the ecosystem, at least:
Emerge group it under these themes:
The ecosystem as we understand it is highly heterogeneous – even disparate. However, there are commonalities. The most basic common denominator is the belief that social change should be paradigmatic, integrated (e.g. inner and outer transformation must go hand in hand) and engaged.
We also see emerging commonalities in key views which we have termed: post-individualism, (w)holism and culture-making (in the form of new norms and narratives).
There is also a focus on complexity, systems and emergence, on developmental models, spirituality and practice, and on sensemaking, different forms of knowledge and what Indra Adnan calls ‘cosmo-local’ activism [thanks folks!] Other commonalities include an interest in decentralized governance, new narratives, alternative social imaginaries and regenerative culture.
Nonetheless, the boundaries, relationships and patterns of influences in the ecosystem remain blurry, with our present awareness feeling like it only touches the tip of the iceberg. Questions that remain unclear include who exactly comprises the ecosystem, how activities and visions relate to one another, where the coherences and tensions lie and how it might evolve.
More here. The group are looking for your input - link to here - and in these ways:
Provide feedback on the project so far, or ideas about which features or foci you think would be most useful going forward.
Suggest organisations to add (or improvements to current entries – especially on your organization!).Coding and design on the project backend and visualizations.
Let us know if you wish to work more directly on the project, or are already undertaking work which you think would be complementary.
Resourcing: We would welcome the sharing of any opportunities for resourcing, or offers of direct support! We are currently undertaking the project using only our own internal resources, which limits the scope and speed of our activities. Additional resources could make a big difference to sustaining and expanding this work.
Even the mapping already done provides us, certainly, with much encouragement. And can you imagine what content entities like these could provide to an alternative media system?