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Summary of Proposal
Monadnock Institute for Community Advancement and Sustainability (MICAS),
operating as a non-profit organization, aims to network and gather a broad coalition of regional community constituents that will inspire and support all of our citizens to create a more sustainable world, both
locally and globally, through shared visioning, shared resources, and shared action.
Current Challenges
Our community and region face unique challenges concerning jobs, taxation, budget crises, housing, and social safety
net funding. We are also impacted by many broader challenges, chief among these are “peak oil” (estimated for 2007); health care & Medicare for retiring baby boomers; the devaluation of the US dollar worldwide;
global climate change,; and trade globalization. Each of these challenges has the potential to erode our economic and social well-being. Plans to address these crises have not been created on a community-wide level.
Individuals, schools, business, government, agencies and community groups often work in isolation and even at cross purposes.
Proposed Solutions
In order to advance and sustain our local communities, we need to address a wide range of interconnected issues.
These include local economics; social and economic justice; freedom, democracy and citizen activism; alternative energy and building; and community resource development and networking. To empower constructive
conversation and action in these areas, MICAS aims to support the development of the following resources:
1. Community Network
MICAS
creates a community-wide network of sustainability resources to build capacity and collaboration on a variety of sustainability initiatives. We liberate the untapped social capital of our region by developing community asset inventories and a comprehensive Internet-based network of individuals and organizations who can share ideas and resources, and publicize needs and opportunities.
2. Community Education
MICAS
facilitates community members to develop the awareness and creative responses that will help sustain our community and planet. This will happen through networking existing educational courses, as well as co-sponsoring, creating new courses, lectures, and collaboratories. Already the Monadnock region has a strong foundation with resources such as the Antioch New England Institute and Antioch Center for Environmental Education programs.
3. Community Dialogue
MICAS
is an opportunity for people to gather to engage in a deeper level of conversation than normally happens in our social and political spheres. Our central question is, “What future do we want to inhabit?” MICAS
helps develop core competencies and collaborative capacity through sponsoring courses in nonviolent communication, consensus-building, citizen deliberative councils, visioning, and youth empowerment.
4. Community Media
MICAS
will utilize audio, video, radio, television, the Internet, and print media to educate, promote programs, and create a resource library and to disseminate courses, lectures, and programs to a regional audience
For more information, please visit the MICAS web site, or to request a PDF file of the proposal (1.2MB), please contact John-Michael at (603) 357-5848 or write john-michael.d@juno.com.
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