Thinking creatively about Scotland's future

People in the Edinburgh area should look out for a unique opportunity to taste a process which gives a creative say about Scotland's future next Tuesday, 20th August, in the Thinking Together: Co-Creating Peace event put on jointly by So Say Scotland, Just Festival and the Quakers in Scotland.

The organisers say: "Thinking Together is a treasure hunt for the future, where the clues are hidden in the wisdom of the crowd. Each person's life experience maps the terrain, and the courage to hear each other lights the way forward."

"We are daring to drive people power, through facilitating collaboration, consensus and collective action. Imagining Scotland as a Hub of Democratic Innovation. A Scotland - a world - where everyone has a say!

"Inspired by a process used in Iceland, and supported by a bevy of collaborating partners and volunteers, So Say Scotland hosted their first citizen assembly earlier this year asking the question 'How do we make Scotland a better place?'

This powerful meaning-making experience allows participants to move beyond difference into collaboration and is at the heart of co-creating peace.

So Say Scotland (http://www.sosayscotland.org/) are a politically neutral, broad minded, nonprofit and currently voluntary project, imagining Scotland as a Hub of Democratic Innovation.

This process has been adapted for a recent event at the last annual conference of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), and is being further adapted this autumn for a series of civic forums called 'Imagining Scotland's Future', sponsored by the Church of Scotland.

Just Festival, also known simply as Just, runs from 2-26 August 2013. It is based at St John's Church, Edinburgh, and some 27 other occasional venues, and combines artistic and performance style events with conversations, talks, films exhibits and other ways of exploring how to live together creatively in a mixed-belief society.

Come along to hear more and to experience a little of the Thinking Together process. Quaker Meeting House, 20:30-21:45, Tuesday 20 August, £5.

* Buy tickets for Thinking Together: Future of Scotland
here. http://tinyurl.com/kcez6oa

* For more information on Just Festival, visit http://www.justjust.org and http://justfestivalnews.blogspot.com

* Ekklesia is a sponsor of Just Festival. Our news, reporting and comment is aggregated at: www.ekklesia.co.uk/justfestival