Resources: you use some, you share some.

David Korten at the YES! reception

Originally uploaded by lind.diamond

Thursday heralded the beginning of the workshops, and it felt good to dive in to the meat of the forum. After a nice breakfast with most of the Yes! crew at a little hole-in-the-wall (great, cheap, HOT food, even if the service was slowed down to a Georgian pace) I hopped across the street for a workshop with Share The World's Resources (STWR). A small group based in the UK, STWR have set out to change the structure of the global economy from a neoliberal system that champions raw monetary gain to one that ensures efficient distribution of the most basic goods worldwide. What impressed me most was their holistic vision: they're working to build a coalition of national grassroots offshoots who work as a combination think-tank/lobby group/organizer who will build popular support while simultaneously working with politicians, economists, and world leaders to re-design the system. The presentation was intriguing if a little futuristic and abstract; they're a young organization looking for people to jump on board; my impression was that the success or failure of this very ambitious project depends very much upon how well the people they recruit can organize. They could go far or nowhere at all. I hope it's the former!

We dedicated the afternoon to preparations for the Yes! reception that evening. It was a wild success with about 100 members in attendance, great food, beverages, and people. The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History was a beautiful venue (we had a room with large windows and enough space for standing and seated socializing.) A half an hour of short speeches by Yes! staff (Fran and Sarah), board members (Tanya, Puanani and Dave), library manager Sharon Robinson and USSF organizer Alice Lovelace (who read some of her own poetry) was really quite inspiring.

We ended on a very positive note (surprise!), with Fran leading the whole reception in song. The Library staff had to kick us all out at the end, because we were loathe to break off the myriad of conversations buzzing about the room.

All in all, a great success. Andy, who organized a lot of the logistics, might consider a future as a party planner.