Social Change 2.0 – David Gershon
By Editor, on March 17th, 2011
A blueprint for Re-inventing Our World.
This book begins with ambitious intent: “we are being called to reinvent not only our world,” writes David Gershon, “but also the process by which we achieve this reinvention”. The familiar social change tools of protests, campaigns and lobbying are not working fast enough. To address the accelerating unravelling of our planet’s life support system, we need to step up in our capacity as change-makers. Based on more than three decades of research and an impressive track record of practice, what Gershon offers are proven tools and game-changing principles that strengthen our ability to transform our society.
The focus is on empowerment, behaviour change and community organising; the case histories presented build confidence in the methods because you can see them making a difference. I found myself inspired by the eco-team model for pro-environmental behaviour change, the liveability programme for strengthening social capital in deprived inner city neighbourhoods and the cool communities campaign for tackling climate change. This is a book about reaching beyond the converted, and the detail with which Gershon describes his way of working leaves a trail of useful tips for readers to follow.
There is so much in this work that it took me a while to read. Yet it is well worth the effort – this is a book I want to come back to many times, ideally in the company of others, so that we can together explore how to apply its rich mix of insights and tools. The approach is very much about building synergy, moving on from adversarial approaches and raising the quality of our contribution. As the title implies, Social Change 2.0 offers an upgrade in our operating system for making a difference in the world.
Review by Chris Johnstone
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