GOOD: citizen-flavoured ideas
We recently wrote about the manifesto (in this blog post) and its capacity to clarify one's vision, be it for an organization, a community or a collective. GOOD is a community developed by and for pragmatist idealists wishing to change society in a creative way. Its manifesto is this simple sentence: GOOD is ____. As vast a premice as it may be, Casey Caplowe, co-founder and creative director, explains the organization's desire to encourage civic engagement by letting community members choosing the means of action through its platform.
GOOD is a global community of people who give a damn
More than a network of individuals, GOOD is building a community of engaged citizens who create change one action at a time. Members are invited to propose ideas and projects they cherish to which others can relate. By sharing individual accomplishments on the platform, initiatives feed each other, like pieces of a truly citizen urban puzzle.
Articulated around its GOOD.is platform, the organization is much more than just a virtual meeting place. GOOD Magazine has an editorial tack focused on social entrepreneurship, design and environment. GOOD Corps is trying the collective engagement motto in businesses and organizations wishing to develop social responsibility.
GOOD Ideas for Cities
Latest addition to the GOOD universe – and not the least – GOOD Ideas for Cities means to match creatives and municipal managers to help them find solutions to problems in their community. Moving beyond the simple dissemination of citizen ideas, GOOD Ideas for Cities is collaborating with municipalities to make them real. All sorts of innovative projects – some playful, some more pragmatic – are thus seeing the light of day: a board game to help L.A. homeless or an urban rehabilitation project that boosts pride in a Dallas neighbourhood.
Although GOOD Ideas for Cities is focussing on American cities – at least for now – there are similar initiatives closer to us. We can think of The City 2.0, which is sprouting around the globe, 100 in 1 Day Montréal, which will be the first North American incarnation of the Colombian initiative 100 en 1 Dia. They all promote, in their own way, a reappropriation of public spaces by collective initiative while giving a voice and some visibility to the citizens involved. We heard this from Louise Guay, in her conference at CreativeMornings/Montréal, when she shared her vision of the city: sutainable mobility combined with participative urbanism and the dynamics of the collaborative economy where citizens are at the focus of action.
It's indeed with initiatives of that nature that we will change things: collectively, as citizens. Go. Let’s give a damn together !
[Text and references: Geneviève Dupuis]