Our vision, mission and values are an important first step towards creating our ideal community culture
We have already established a clear and compelling vision for the future as a cooperative worldwide alliance. This sets out the 'why' behind our intentions and the 'what' behind what we want to achieve. It provides meaning and purpose to serve as a guide for making decisions and taking action. Our mission encapsulates the 'how' and our values are those we share naturally as sovereign community members.
This clarity of purpose has served us well in attracting and welcoming new members to the fold through our 'founding phase' of bringing the Community Assembly of the British Isles (CABI) and Assemblies of the World (AOW) into fruition. It has helped us establish a firm foundation in a supportive environment across our 'aurora network' that will continue to nurture our blossoming future together.
As we have tipped into the 'development and transition' phase of our organic evolvement, we must now keep the momentum going by building on what we have created and working together as a team of many teams. We have three years to establish 18,400 assemblies which means there is still much work to be done.
This is why it's a good time to revisit our shared vision, mission and values and start thinking about how we are going to realise our goals now and in the years to come.
It means it's time to abandon the old system as best we can with more means and support available for us to do so. We can then focus our hearts, minds and energy on designing a new way of life for ourselves, for our beautiful home on planet Earth and for future generations - from the ground up.
Our vision
Our vision for CABI was our starting point for the website together with our mission and values. These have recently been updated to include our association with our parallel network, Assemblies of the World. These value statements run through the heart of what we do and resonate with all our members as something we aspire to achieve 'for and by the people.'
To establish a cooperative network of services and knowledge-flow for self-sufficient Community Assemblies and Community Assembly Hubs across the British Isles, and in association with our parallel network, Assemblies of the World, in support of our local, regional and wider communities.
Everything rests on establishing an active network of Community Assemblies here and overseas. Enlisting our 'founding assemblies' has been our first priority which has involved many hours of hard work and resolve from everyone involved.
We send out thanks all our Founding Facilitators, Emissaries, CHI Practitioners, CABI members and International Friends who have made the commitment to abide by Community Law and take action in their communities when most would not during the early stages.
Our mission
Our mission focuses on developing our directories and services as we build our membership, liaise with potential members, create helpful content, send out updates, answer enquiries, develop our framework and deliver our services. We are here to support members who are actively joining together, learning from each other, and pooling skills and resources to establish the best ways to serve their communities and the wider world.
To provide a platform for publishing and sharing the knowledge and experience gained by community members and local groups working together in harmony for the good of all. To progress the growth of our network here and overseas and provide support for local people and their community facilitators.
More of us are taking on the mission to play our part in making connections, organising activities and making things happen in our communities. We now have the knowledge, information and resources we need to forge ahead and build on the hard work invested and progress we have achieved so far.
Our values
Our values encompass our intention to work in the best interests of our members, and humanity as a whole, at all times. Our values underpin our intentions, help us to build trust and enable us to provide an equitable, friendly, kind, respectful and effective service to each other and those who depend on us.
Working together to build caring and motivating cultures founded on shared values where everyone is treated fairly and supported to make a valued contribution to community objectives according to Natural Law and in harmony with the values and wider aims of the Community Assembly of the British Isles and Assemblies of the World.
These top-line value statements describe the ideal from which we can establish a definition of the ethical values we commonly share. This can be done by using an original academic model for 'motivating community cultures' as described below.
Buckminster Fuller
Defining our culture
With our shared vision, mission and values in place, the next step is to define the culture we want to create and are already creating for our communities. This will provide a practical framework for us to live together in harmony and thrive as individuals and teams as a cooperative network.
We can already see such enriching cultures being created by Community Assemblies working together on the ground and they are making great progress. The ethos demonstrated in A Community Assembly in Action is a wonderful example of Founding Facilitators driven by a passion to make life better for everyone.
Many of our Founding Facilitators (and Emissaries) have reported a kind of 'telepathy' whereby all parties simply 'know' the best thing to do in accordance with their moral compass and common sense. They are able to take the initiative and get things done that much more quickly, enjoyably and effectively.
As Community Assemblies, facilitators and members of the community come together to make important decisions, make suggestions and take action without fear of retribution. They feel a sense of belonging in an open and caring environment. They ask for feedback and make amendments. They learn and improve as they go along, building on achievements, trying things out and being open to new ideas ... and so it goes on.
If only we could capture that ethos and put it in a jar, I wonder what it would look like?
It would provide a wonderful framework that we could all aspire to. Realising our ideal 'motivating community culture' is something we could all benefit from and add value to with our unique knowledge, skills and experience. It would enable us to design a universal model that we could all feel proud of.
Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity,
and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.
Isaac Newton
Defining our intentions
With these overarching aims and objectives in mind, it is up to all of us to think about the future we want for ourselves and the Community Assemblies we are part of and would like to create. There will be many commonalties and many differences we can share and enjoy to increase our knowledge, broaden our perspective and get the things we need without having to keep re-inventing the wheel.
The benefits are multi-fold and here are a few that spring to mind:
The energy created by the individuals, groups and networks who internalise and live by these values is beyond measurement. When our Emissaries, Community Assembly facilitators, advisors and members work together for the benefit of the wider community - magic happens.
It's already happening and more frequently. Only this last week three new local assemblies joined together in Cornwall to meet up regularly to discuss plans, share ideas and pool skills and resources.
Raising the bar
As we welcome in the March Equinox at the end of Winter and ease ourselves jubilantly into our new flow of 'building, development and transition', I hope this provides some food for thought and that you will feel inspired to take action.
I wish you all a beautiful start to Spring as we prepare to take things to the next level.
Sue Cartwright AInstAM
Community Assembly of the British Isles
Editor
Further Reading
A Community Assembly in Action - Sue Cartwright
Creating A Community Assembly - Nick Kitchen
Seeing The Light - Nick Kitchen
The Future Is Us! - Nick Kitchen
The Science of Natural Law - Sue Cartwright
The Truth About Knowledge - Sue Cartwright
To 'Have' Or To 'Be' - Erich Fromm
About Sue
Sue is a writer, administrator, researcher, web designer and founder of Spiral Leaf sharing the beauty and abundance of Nature, Spirituality and Natural Health.
Sue is Founding Facilitator of the Community Assembly of Devon, and editor/designer of the Community Assembly of the British Isles website and blog.
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If any of our members have questions, feedback, comments or requests for resources, please get in touch. We welcome your insights to ensure we remain relevant, objective and true to our shared vision, mission and values.
We are a Private Members' Association of enlisted Members, Community Assembly Facilitators and Special Advisors who form local assemblies across the British Isles under Natural Law, working together with Emissaries, Facilitators and Members of our worldwide parallel network, Assemblies of the World.
