We developed the seed-funding structure with a fantastic group of Transitioners and hope it really is light touch and open enough to support what you’re doing. The funding is divided in two pots – Our imagination needs DIVERSITY. ‘’Imagination – that ‘ability to look at things as if they could be otherwise’ – needs diversity to feed it. Are we more likely to be imaginative if all our food comes from one vast supermarket, or from a variety of small producers in a vibrant market? If most High Streets across the UK look identical, with the same massive chains, how does that impact our imagination compared with living somewhere that is home to an abundance of businesses unique to that particular place? In our community, the kids seem to have radically different feelings about school than they did ten years ago. The education department’s decision to eliminate testing, to give ample space for unstructured play and to provide students with opportunities within the community to acquire meaningful skills that enable them to live happy and healthy lives by their own definition means that most kids here now love going to school. My son, for example, recently upped his cooking skills by spending a week at a local restaurant. We are living through a perfect storm of factors ruinous to the imagination” warns Hopkins. “As we face vast crises that demand imaginative and urgent responses and a reimagining of everything, we are simply not up to it.”

The Book – Rob Hopkins

Rob Hopkins has long been a leader in imagining how we could remake our societies for the benefit of nature and humankind. His new book is a powerful call to imagine a better world. It should be widely read and appreciated.” —Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; lead negotiator, Paris Climate Agreement Rob Hopkins has long been a leader in imagining how we could remake our societies for the benefit of nature and humankind. His new book is a powerful call to imagine a better world. It should be widely read and appreciated.”— Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; lead negotiator, Paris Climate Agreement Episode Twelve: What if criminal justice resources were instead invested into communities of colour? Reading this book is like listening to the voice of Rob Hopkins. A voice full of kindness, optimism, brightness, humor, and imagination. And that spirit is precisely what we need to build a better future and to reconnect with each other and the better part of ourselves. With this book, Rob poses a crucial question: How could we create another world, one in which human beings live in harmony with each other and with nature, if we are not able to imagine it first? We can’t—and that’s why this book is so necessary.” —Cyril Dion, writer, filmmaker, and producer of the film Tomorrow It sounds made up, doesn’t it? It is. Mostly. ⁴ The story is my imagining of the near future, a story of How Things Turned Out OK.We do have the capability to effect dramatic change, Hopkins argues, but we’re failing because we’ve largely allowed our most critical tool to languish: human imagination. As defined by social reformer John Dewey, imagination is the ability to look at things as if they could be otherwise. The ability, that is, to ask What if? And if there was ever a time when we needed that ability, it is now. The Transition Companion: Making Your Community More Resilient in Uncertain Times. Green Books (2011)

From What Is to What If (Audiobook) - Chelsea Green Publishing From What Is to What If (Audiobook) - Chelsea Green Publishing

That sounds gloomy, but the book definitely isn’t. It begins with a story ‘of how things turned out okay’, outlines the problem, and then sets about imagining things differently. Each chapter poses a ‘what if’ question: What if we took play seriously? What if school nurtured young imaginations? What if our leaders prioritised the cultivation of imagination? The first review of ‘ From What Is to What If‘ is in! It is from Jeremy Williams over at The Earthbound Report’ [original here]. The book goes on sale on October 17th, and many thanks to Jeremy for his review.Do you have a project ready to go, supporting Transition activity in your community under the shadow of Covid-19? Perhaps you have but you don’t know it yet! Or you may have ongoing Transition work that’s really giving value to your community, particularly during this pandemic, that needs support. Towns and cities have already begun transition. Together, mayors have chosen to press ahead toward a healthier and safer world. Whether in Paris or in Totnes, initiatives are being launched and are encouraging us to shift from ‘why not’ to ‘how’ and from ‘how ‘ to ‘when.’ The movement must gain momentum and expand. MICHAEL MANN, distinguished professor, Pennsylvania State University; coauthor of The Madhouse Effect Times of great change invite us to rethink where we are at and what might need to be transformed in our communities. People like Rob Hopkins give us the courage to move forward. By setting an example, he shows us that we are right to place our hopes in a future in which men and women can act as stewards of their environment. The many stories in this book are evidence of the fact that for some people this future has already become a reality.

From What Is to What If - Foreword Reviews From What Is to What If - Foreword Reviews

We do have the capability to effect dramatic change, Hopkins argues, but we’re failing because we’ve largely allowed our most critical tool to languish: human imagination. As defined by social reformer John Dewey, imagination is the ability to look at things as if they could be otherwise. The ability, that is, to ask What if? And if there was ever a time when we needed that ability, it is now.

Reading this book is like listening to the voice of Rob Hopkins. A voice full of kindness, optimism, brightness, humor, and imagination. And that spirit is precisely what we need to build a better future and to reconnect with each other and the better part of ourselves. With this book, Rob poses a crucial question: How could we create another world, one in which human beings live in harmony with each other and with nature, if we are not able to imagine it first? We can’t—and that’s why this book is so necessary.