The Elephant Meets Peter Macfadyen of Flatpack Democracy

As we sit isolated in our homes, our lives severely disrupted by the Coronavirus, many are beginning to ask big questions.

Why are we experiencing new, deadly infections all of a sudden and how do they become pandemics? Why does the infection play out so differently in one part of the world than another? What’s the role of money in all this – how come we didn’t have enough to fix our social and economic problems before and suddenly we have loads? What’s my role in all this? I feel so shocked: why couldn’t we see this coming?

The questions are not easy to answer without pointing at a complex system of interacting practices, theories and structures. And yet, there is a hunger for understanding and somehow doing something about the system that led to this breakdown of global security. But what?

In December 2019, 30 of AUK’s co-creators came together to think about the Elephant in the Room. At the time we were thinking more about the climate crisis and the ten-year window we had to turn the corner on greenhouse gases. What was the socio-political-economic system that had got us into this mess? And what was the alternative?

In the first of a series of Zoom events, we are inviting the original Elephanteers into the spotlight.

Our first, Peter Macfadyen – see his Dec 2019 video for the Elephant series – was part of the Independents for Frome who took over the local council in 2011. He became the first Independent Mayor of Frome and subsequently wrote Flatpack Democracy which has inspired another 21 Councils to follow suit.

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, Peter continues to innovate together with new citizen action networks that have sprung up to help people in need.

In our Zoom event, Peter will be in brief conversation with AUK Co-Initiator, Indra Adnan, to share his thoughts and responses to the Coronavirus moment. After which participants will have a chance to discuss their own responses and share their ideas with Peter.

Find out more and book your free place.

Note: We have an upper limit of 100 attendees.