[Pil-pc-oceania] National PC Day

[Champagne]

Hi Jedd,

Your question about the purpose of a National PC can best be summed up 
in our principle - 'Integrate rather than Segregate'.The idea came out 
of a workshop at APC8 in Melbourne titled - ' business is not a dirty 
word'. We were brainstorming ways to promote PC and I suggested a 
national day to provide a greater impact. Many of us promote PC activity 
at our local level and the idea was we could value-add those individual 
efforts by focusing on one day. Similar to what the Solar House day does 
in October.

To pick up on Pennys thread, I'm also totally intrigued as to how 
decisions are made in this movement. There is no process, never has been 
and until due process if worked out, discussions such as this one end up 
resembling a dogs breakfast.

It was interesting talking to Robin Clayfield about past convergences 
and how they never really were gatherings for the movement to reach 
agreement on anything.Rather, if anyone had a good idea and the energy 
to carry it through you simply announced it and everyone supported you 
and wished you good luck.

Our lack of a clear structure cripples us as we emerge from 30 years of 
being a bottom-up movement toward a top-down approach able to have 
influence the national political decision makers.

Working through a merger between PIL and the model Sydney presented at 
APC9 to my mind is critical if what we want is to be effective at a 
national level. Otherwise, just continue to act within your bioregional 
framework at the local level.

Adam correctly identified the really big story in PC circles at the 
moment being the Transition Towns movement coming out of Europe. 
Whatever happened to the bioregional concept? I'm very cautious about 
forming PC groups as an entity in themselves and would rather operate as 
a permaculturist integrating the principles at a community level to a 
whole lot of different groups going forward.

 SUSTAIN magazine is an example of an outcome using this approach.

kind regards
John