To change the way we govern our communities, our cities, and our ecosystems, a variety of different actors and stakeholders – formal and informal, big and small – need to work together – often, for the first time. Given that, our journey is not just a matter of new tools, models, or platforms; qualitative issues matter, too. We need to work together in ways that increase social energy, not suck it dry. We need to foster a culture of “sticking with the trouble”, in Donna Haraway’s phrase – but not a culture that burns us up when we do so.

Pete Lawrence, Co-Founder of the The Big Chill Festival and Cooking Vinyl Records, explains his plans for a new (online and offline) social network led by its members.

For John Thackara, founder of Doors of Perception and Xskool, how we meet is as important as why; he talks about dialogic encounters and different ways to ‘breathe the same air”.