DISCERNMENT: To perceive or recognize as being different or distinct; to perceive with eyes or intellect; to detect and distinquish as an individual and/or collective mental capacity
EAT LOCALLY: The local food movement seeks to build locally
based, self-reliant food systems characterized by organic
and sustainable food production, processing, distribution
and consumption within a “bioregion” or “foodshed.” Local
food systems are an alternative to the global corporate models
where producers and consumers are separated through a chain
of processors, manufacturers, shippers and retailers. Some
people who prefer to eat locally grown and produced food
call themselves “locavores”.
EMERGENCE: Emergence is the way complex systems and patterns
arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions.
In an emergent structure, when small, local actions begin
to connect and exchange learning, a new level of influence
or order suddenly appears. Three things are guaranteed with
emergent phenomena: Their power and influence will exceed
any sum of the separate efforts; they will exhibit skills
and capacities that were not present in the local efforts;
and their appearance always surprises us.
GATHERING: To come together or assemble as a group; to draw
about or bring things closer to each other; the act of one
who summons or convenes people together; to harvest, pick
and enfold.
GEO-POLITICAL PLACE: A physical place characterized by man-made
boundaries, such as a town, country or continent. Feelings
of connection to these places have been the source of human
identity and belonging and also of conflict and competition
through time.
HUB: A global community of people from every profession,
background and culture working at new frontiers to tackle
the world’s most pressing social, cultural and environmental
challenges. We set out to create places that borrow from
the best of a member’s club, an innovation agency, a serviced
office and a think-tank to create a very different kind of
innovation environment. Places with all the tools and trimmings
needed to grow and develop new ventures. Places to access
experience, knowledge, finance and markets. And above all,
places for experience and encounter, full of diverse people
doing amazing things. We call these places Hubs. In many
ways we’re just getting started. And we’d like you to be
part of it.”
LEARNING JOURNEY: A learning journey is
a trip, which could be internal as well as external; an immersive
experience in a new learning context that is designed to
help participants expand their perspective, stir the imagination
and learn about the system they are trying to understand.
Learning journeys are characterized by experiential learning,
open inquiry, multiple learning approaches, co-creation and
being in community.
LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PLACE: How a person experiences a setting
is considered to be of value in understanding constructs
of the place itself, the person, and the relationship between
the person and the place. We gain access this information
by eliciting the person’s story of the experience and carefully
listening for underlying meanings and patterns that may emerge.
Certain human science research methodologies rely heavily
on the belief in the intrinsic value of lived experience
(See Phenomenology).
METAPHORIC PLACE: People often refer to place in a symbolic,
or metaphorical, way. An example is “a place in my heart”.
The use of the word “place” in this way is different from
tangible, physical places that serve as settings in which
groups gather.
NETWORK: A network is an interconnected system of things
or people. A social network is a structure that facilitates
interaction between a group of individuals or organizations
that are related by a shared interest, values, vision, ideas,
practices, trade and more. People participate in networks
in order to access resources, influence, power, knowledge
and relationships.
ORGANIC: derived from that which is alive and of nature;
resembling a living organism in organization and development;
having properties associated with living organisms.
PHENOMENOLOGY: Phenomenology is the systematic attempt to uncover the meaning of lived experience. It is based on the belief that objective understanding is mediated by subjective experience of the phenomenon and that human experience is an inherent structural property of the experience itself. The word phenomenon comes from the Greek phaenesthai, which means to flare up, to show itself, to appear.
PRACTICES: Practices are characterized by a shared repertoire
of resources: practitioners work with the same tools, express
themselves in a common language, and often hold similar beliefs
and value systems in pursuit of shared goals and interests.
Examples include zero waste practitioners, locavores, spiritual
practitioners, solar panel manufacturers, preschool teachers,
and so on.
continued on glossary
page 3
|
