'Coalition of the Willing' is an animated film about an online war against global warming in a post-Copenhagen world. Learn more

1. 

   claireeorourke@gmail.com
   Member

   Hi Tim,

   Thanks for your guest lecture last night (at UTS, Sydney).

   I think the concept of coalition of the willing is tremendously exciting – using the internet to connect vastly diverse groups to fight an on the ground offensive against global warming would be a positive thing for a disenfranchised post-Copenhagen activists, thinkers and businesses to engage with.

   It also opens up possibilities for people who haven’t been immersed in the science or politics so far. My experience is that many people want to help fight this “war” but are generally confused about what they can do and if anything they do will make a difference anyway.

   I first considered the project as a campaign in itself, but I now have more of an understanding that the film is a conversation starter, a way to raise awareness of a different approach we could all take using the internet.

   However, I still believe that there will be loads of people who will watch the film, feel incredibly energised by its message, then not really know what to do as the first step to being part of this creative solution – hopefully this forum will spark many more conversations on the possibilities.

   I’m also interested in your concept of a swarm, as my experience of campaigning, organisations get their constituencies together, decide on the strategy and then enact the campaign – in most cases it’s certainly a top-down structure in terms of implementation, and in some cases, it’s a top-down structure in terms of campaign planning as well.

   Other campaigns or organisations may line up and form alliances and coalitions, but these alliances are sometimes fragile and in some cases can be easily fractured. They come together usually when the campaign target (threat) is so clear and overwhelming that groups temporarily forget their differences and get on with the job of winning that campaign. When the campaign is over, the organisations head back to their respective bunkers and agendas.

   So while I’d love this “direct action through digital collaboration” approach to succeed and I hope that it would be possible given that sites like Wikipedia have been so successful, I see a key challenge.

   The grassroots movement to fight global warming would need vast scale of participants (both organisations and individuals) to make traditional “alliances” or agreements between groups irrelevant in the context of the winning the war on global warming.

   Another reason for the need for scale is that this will be a long, drawn-out battle, and more people could mitigate the risk that people run out of energy to continue fighting.

   I also think organsations that are already engaged in grassroots campaigning on global warming would have to be open and prepared to relinquish some control over their participants, which could be a challenge to organisations that are used to working in more of a top-down manner.

   All in all, it's a top way to start a conversation, as the film stands to engage an really diverse array of people. Are you going to translate it as well?

   Claire
   Claire

   Posted 6 months ago #
2. 

   Tim-Rayner
   Administrator

   Hi Claire

   Thanks for the reflections. Your take on what we're doing is spot on. We're not proposing a new campaign (not yet at least) - we are throwing the idea of a new strategy out there to raise awareness of a different approach we could take to the war on global warming. So, yes, as you suggest, the film is a conversation starter. At the same time, we hope the Coalition of the Willing project serves as an inspiring example of what can be achieved through collaboration. It would be nice to think that the project might inspire people to try creating initiatives along the lines of what we are proposing. But even if people just said: "Hey, that's cool - let's see if we can set-up some collaborative project that's even better !" - it would a step in the right direction.

   Ultimately, what we're doing is promoting an open source culture-shift. We'd like to inspire people to take their work in a more open and collaborative direction. There are incredible opportunities presented by new generation internet tools and platforms for participation. What we're saying is: reach out and take them! Change the way you work to change the world.

   This is why the 60s counterculture is so important for us. The counterculture wasn't just a set of campaigns, each with its own goal - it was a collective effort to transform the culture. The following quote from essay #2 captures the idea well, I think:

   "Marching for civil rights, against the war in Vietnam, for woman’s liberation, drug reform and sexual freedom – these were more than just collective acts of resistance. They were acts of collective creation. People were exploring new ways of living, loving, and being. Individual expression was the visible face of whole new cultures and worlds emerging in this period.

   This is the adventure that we need to rediscover today. We need to go back to the sixties. We need to rediscover the collective charge that comes from taking part in a culture shift to change the world. We need to make joy in collective creation the key to a new revolution and take a flying leap into the future."

   It looks idealistic in print. But the culture shift happened - and it can happen again.

   You also raise an important question: how does the open source/swarm offensive idea gel with traditional established modes of campaigning? As you say: "[O]rgansations that are already engaged in grassroots campaigning on global warming would have to be open and prepared to relinquish some control over their participants, which could be a challenge to organisations that are used to working in more of a top-down manner."

   I guess it's true that the kinds of ideas we are promoting present a challenge for the more inflexible, bureaucratic campaigns and organizations. But I'm not sure that this is an "either-or" situation, with top-down campaigns on the one side and bottom-up movements on the other. I can imagine, for instance, how traditional organizations could establish a presence on a "Catalyst System" and use it as a tool for drumming up membership and forging alliances. Or perhaps they could direct some proportion of their energies to working-up sections of the Green Knowledge Trust or contributing to the Innovation Center. There is no reason why traditional organizations couldn't use these tools to further their specific campaigns. If the tools are functional and free to use, there is nothing to stop them. Once again, it is a question of transforming cultures.

   As for translating the film - this is definitely on the agenda. Right now, though, we're flat out trying to meet the deadlines we've set for the releases, so this may have to wait. Of course, if anyone wanted to send us translations, we'd find a way to post them. All contributions gratefully received!

   Tim

   Posted 6 months ago #
3. 

   claireeorourke@gmail.com
   Member

   Thanks for your thoughts Tim – I’ve been thinking more about your example of the 60’s and how we need to go back to an authentic freedom to enable true change, but I actually think you could back a lot further than that.

   The invention of the printing press was an innovation in technology that enabled access to information to a much broader group. Religion and politics experienced fundamental culture shifts as a result, as more people became acquainted with books and newspapers for the first time.

   Web 2.0 technologies again enable, but in a different way – the technologies use accessible information to allow people to connect and collaborate in fundamentally different ways – and the potential impacts upon culture and democracy I would hazard are beyond our imagination at this time.

   Also, I think this has been hard for us to try and predict, or even come to terms with the possibilities for one fundamental reason. We simply didn’t see this coming.

   The first incarnation of the widely accessible web was just another medium in which to perform the same functions we had been used to (such as publishing and simple direct communications like email) with a few bells and whistles. It’s ironic, as the web was always intended to be a collaborative medium.

   Now people are starting to use the web for what it was originally intended and with accelerating speed communications, marketing, commerce, politics, campaigns and more are adapting. Personally, I’m enthused and can’t wait for what’s around the corner.

   Claire

   Posted 5 months ago #
4. 

   bucketothought
   Member

   The film is a very creative and powerful example of what can be achieved through collaboration, I have been using it as a great example of digital compositing in a class that I teach at RMIT Melbourne. So firstly congratulations!

   My students have all been very impressed with the film, though there have been a few negative reactions, eg "That does sound great, though it wont happen, people will not get involved" and of course that is the problem.. Consumerist Culture has been very successful in separating us all. People either feel powerless or they actually believe that individual acts can make a difference, like turing off a light or not buying products with palm oil.

   The message is a powerful one, it has stayed in my mind over the last few days.

   I was quite disappointed to find it was no more than a rallying cry and there was not a fledgling version of the collaborative spaces that were discussed in the film.. and so I'm afraid that my more "realist" students may be right.. people will be inspired, but upon finding there is not a way to instantly act on the inspiration they could easily fall back into the unconsciousness of modern life.

   I hope that I am wrong, I was inspired to at least join and post this comment - I would be happy to contribute allot more, lets hope that a mass can be achieved and that cynicism and powerless feelings do not win.

   sean

   Posted 1 month ago #
5. 

   luke
   Member

   This film is remarkably inspiring. Though, I find it upsetting that there is little conversation to be found on this forum! I also fear, as Sean does, that as only a message, this video will become nothing more and slowly die out. As Claire said, the campaign needs to be continued, and if not directly by the coalition, I believe you guys should point those inspired by the film in the right direction.

   When I finished watching this film for the first time, I wanted to do something, but was slightly disappointed there was nothing to take part in. What's more, since there is nothing to take part in, it makes me want to START something! I began reading the essays and found the more in depth explanation of the three site network to be something that is quite a realistic idea. My question is why not?

   The open source culture discussed in the film is something that should be embraced! The biggest barrier that is preventing progression is the lack of action! Let's get it done. I'm in! Let's set up a website to gather ideas and start a movement to go along with the message that clearly generates inspiration and sparks the swarm!

   As a developer, I immediately go to the roots of open source. Why not build a community of visionaries and developers to begin this movement? Ask people for ideas about what can be done, not just to start a movement but to spark legitimate change, and DO it.

   Do you guys at the coalition have any plans? If so, I'm certain I'm not the only one the would like to be involved! :)

   - Luke

   Posted 1 month ago #

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