Restoring civil society, reweaving our common stories
›› Chet Phillips
Whether we’re talking neighborhoods or nations, it’s hard to believe we participate in a common story unless we also feel invited to play a meaningful role in the telling, in the dialogues and decisions that weave together a sense of shared meaning in the world.
Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT) is an organization comprised of 27 diverse organizations (and growing every week): unions, conservation and climate groups, faith groups, business communities, and frontline service organizations, united by a common goal: we can only build the power we need to address the greatest challenges facing Greater Victoria together. We know that an inclusive, functioning democracy isn’t something we can hire a proxy to maintain for us. We can’t just elect city councilors and MPs we like and call it a day. The down and dirty work of building and sustaining relationships and reweaving a sense of hope and common purpose depends on all of us.
Whether we’re taking on the lack of affordable housing, access to mental health care, or the need to maintain a livable climate on Earth, the real work of GVAT is the work of inviting you to come forward as agents and authors of our democratic story, in which all of us are both listeners and tellers. To get involved in one of our action research teams working to identify solutions and get our elected government to support them, please contact me at chet@gvat.ca or go to gvat.ca to learn more.
