I’m super excited to be part of a wonderful new program, the Reset Reading Group, hosted by our friends at the Commons Social Change Library.

Over six fortnights, we will bring you a series of readings, podcasts and short films to stimulate discussions around how we can build a better world from this moment, and what that better world might look like. And we’ll help you either set up your own discussion group or join one with others around the country to talk about the ideas and think through how to be part of making change.

I’ll be delivering the third session, on Revitalising Democracy, taking you through the work of key thinkers like Murray Bookchin, Chantal Mouffe and Elinor Ostrom, and presenting ideas around ecological democracy. The other presenters are a brilliant collection of some of Australia’s leading thinkers and doers: Original Power’s Karrina Nolan, artivist Alex Kelly, unionist Godfrey Moase, community organiser Amanda Tattersall, and human rights advocate Roj Amedi. They’ll be putting together programs around First Nations resistance, Disaster Capitalism and how to respond, building a new economy, building relationships and power, and centring justice and care.

The program is presented free, so all you need to do is register, set up or join a group, do the readings, and get stuck into the conversations! You can dip in or out if you like, but we encourage you to try to take in the whole program.

This is a fantastic opportunity to use this extraordinary historical moment to deepen your knowledge of political change-making. If we are to “reset” the world instead of “snap back”, we need to be ready to make it happen.

I hope you can join us for this stimulating series!

PS: Submissions to the statutory review of the Commonwealth environment laws, the EPBC Act, are due tomorrow! Every submission helps build support for new laws that truly put protection of the natural world at their heart. You can find tips, ideas, links, and really everything you need to write a quick submission here in our summary of last month’s webinar.

PPS: If you’re one of the fortunate people whose income has been unaffected by the Coronavirus crash, please consider joining the Green Institute’s regular donor program. We’re hard at work shifting plans to bring you online events and reading material, and use this moment to cultivate ecological democracy. Any support you can offer will make a big difference. You can sign up to donate here.