In the Potteries (Stoke on Trent region) we are minting our own ceramic money! It's a volunteer reward scheme that recognises and rewards community action and volunteering then campaigns for businesses to support this action.
Tag: economy
From soldiers to students, chapels to cinemas: lessons from England’s first capital
“When I first started drinking here, the bottom half of town was out of bounds. That’s where the squaddie bars were.” My new friend pointed out the regimental cap-badges lined up behind the spirit bottles in the nearly empty pub. These days, those knocking back shots are not soldiers, but students. And Winchester’s undergraduates, it …
The gaping hole in the Trade Bill
Liam Fox announced a Trade Bill this morning, the day after a consultation on proposals to be included in the bill closed. What is most vital is what is missing from the bill – the absence of anything to ensure that trade policy is accountable to the public and parliament. Trade deals today have profound …
Lessons from Shirebrook: Economic change is nothing new – civil society must shape it, or be shaped by it
To say that society is shaped by the relations underpinning the way that economic activity is organized is not a new idea. It is most famously associated with Karl Marx, but you don’t have to be a Marxist to recognise that culture, customs and civic life are all to some degree influenced by economic forces. …
Ten years after the crash, is civil society ready to take on big finance?
Ten years ago the French bank BNP Paribas ceased activity in three hedge funds, announcing that it could no longer measure the value of instruments based on US subprime mortgages. The event is widely regarded as representing the beginning of the global financial crisis, as what had previously been regarded as minor turbulence in the …
It’s time for civil society to take over the economy
Part of the purpose of this inquiry is to provide a space for conversation about difficult and controversial subjects which either ignite strong feelings, or get ignored through fear and embarrassment. This article is intended to stimulate an open and respectful conversation about some of these issues, and does not necessarily represent the views of …
Civil society feels increasingly broken – but we can fix it
Part of the purpose of this inquiry is to provide a space for conversation about difficult and controversial subjects which either ignite strong feelings, or get ignored through fear and embarrassment. This article is intended to stimulate an open and respectful conversation about some of these issues, and does not necessarily represent the views of …
Now is the time to join a tenants’ union
British housing is a dangerous mess. But people are organising to protect themselves – like they always have. In 1915 in Govan, just south of the river Clyde in Glasgow, bands of women torpedoed flour bombs at creeping eviction enforcers from the towering windows of their tenements. Exasperated by increasingly predacious landlords and the rising …
Why has civil society failed to stop climate change?
Civil society organisations have mobilised across the country – and the planet – to demand ambitious action on climate change. And yet new fossil fuel projects continue to attract investment. Communities across the world face ever more extreme weather. The planet continues to warm. While there are many positive things to say, honesty requires acknowledging …
Event feedback: Peckham
Civil Society Futures Peckham workshop The basics: Who? Active citizens of Peckham What? Discussing the future of Peckham, and the forces shaping it Where? All Saints Church, Peckham When? 6:30pm, 23rd May, 2017 Why? This was part of Goldsmith’s research Insights: (what stood out for you?) It was clear that people in the workshop had …